Almost one month ago, a viral video captured the killing of George Floyd, an African-American man, by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, resulting in his death. The killing of black people by police was not new, the disproportionate impact of disease on people of color was not new, but the two events meeting at the intersection of inequality has opened the eyes of many to the systemic and institutional racism at work in our nation.

In Baptism, we Episcopalians vow to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being – but, before we make those vows, we renounce evil. Our faith calls us to examine our own consciences and our society and renounce racism. It’s not enough for us to not be racist, we must actively contend for justice and peace against racism.

To help us do that, lawyer, parishioner, and Vestry member Sherry Soanes has redesigned a course she teaches at American University. For six weeks, participants will read about and discuss structural and institutional racism, inequality, socialization, privilege, and our Christian response. Join us and let justice roll.

Register now by emailing Kevin Laskowski.

Space is limited initially to 20 Holy Cross parishioners to promote open and rigorous discussion. The course is structured along the lines of a college course.

Sessions are cumulative, and registrants are expected to commit to all six sessions and read and view suggested materials (approximately two hours per week) prior to each class.

Let Justice Roll begins July 1 and ends August 12, with a break July 15 for Vestry.

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Sherry D. Soanes is a Holy Cross parishioner and an adjunct instructor at American University. There, she teaches a groundbreaking course aimed at giving students the tools to engage around issues of historical and current structures of power, privilege, and inequality, which forms the basis of this formation offering. She joined the Department of Justice in July 2008 after eleven years in private practice litigating civil disputes for commercial businesses. She is a graduate of Howard University (B.A., cum laude, 1988) and the American University, Washington College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1997).