Recommendations offered for improving race relations

By John Shaughnessy

As the head of the Race and Culture Committee at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianapolis, Patrice Payne was asked to share recommendations that would help individuals, their communities and the United States to move toward racial equality.

Here are some of her recommendations:

“Pray for forgiveness for injustices that have been done, both historically and currently.
“Do an honest self-inventory. Reflect on your childhood and young adult years. Think about what biases are a part of your world, what assumptions you make about people of color/Caucasians, and what history you were taught.
“Research information that will help you grow in the area of race relations.
“Turn your new awareness into action.
“Develop relationships with someone of a different culture than you.
“Help redistribute the imbalance of systemic racism by making sure people of color in your workplace or community are represented in decision-making roles.
“If you don’t know what to do, start by doing one small action. This can be the beginning of a transformation for yourself and those around you.”

(The Race and Culture Committee at St. Thomas has also created a list of movies, books, podcasts, articles and other resources to help people learn more about improving race relations. The list is available on the parish’s website at www.staindy.org/church/race-relations-resources.) †

The Criterion

June 26, 2020

Recommendations offered for improving race relations

By John Shaughnessy

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