Beloved Community
Who We Are
The Anti-Racism Task Force gathered to create a shift in action, thoughts, and systems in our Louisiana United Methodist Conference. We encourage ourselves and others to grow in knowledge and understanding about race, racial history, increased equality, education, and advocacy. We are committed to an on-going conversation that challenges our conterence and world around us.
History
Overwhelmed by the violence against African Americans in 2020, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey called Louisiana United Methodists to participate in Southern Racism Institute presented by Project Curate.
The series focused on the broad issue of racism in the 21st century.
Following the study, Bishop Harvey invited those in attendance to begin to open a discussion to address racial justice and its implications in the annual conference.
Together, those volunteers initiated the Louisiana Antiracism Task Force.
Working through the Covid pandemic, the task force members began to study and inform themselves on what it means to be antiracist and to consider opportunities that might encourage churches and their members to begin to talk about racial injustice in our state and our society as a whole.
Interestingly, the task force members first determined that they needed to talk about their own experiences with racism just to get started.
Read More About the Taskforce's Report to the 2022 Annual Conference
Task Force Members
- Rev. Tiffanie Postell, Chair
- Rev. Lenda Faye Matthews, Secretary
- Rev. Colleen Bookter
- Rev. Mark Bray
- Rev. Elaine Burleigh
- Rev. John Cannon
- Rev. Janet Davis
- Rev. Leah Stevens Gaughan
- Rev. Jay Hogewood
- Rev. Sonya Lars
- Rev. Mollie McGee
- Rev. Ben McGehee
- Rev. Mary Rachel Moore
- Rev. Johnathan Richardson
- Jennifer Rossnagel
- Jennifer Swann
- Rev. Brady Whitton
- Rev. Donnie Wilkinson
- Rev. Lane Cotton Winn
- Rev. Emily L Carroll
Current Programs
Get Informed
Scroll through our Conference Anti-Racism Resource page for a variety of multi-media options for your personal study. Click on this link to discover books, films, documentaries, web articles, podcasts and more to help you explore anti-racism and racial injustice in modern America.
Travel and Explore
Day Trip Information - Plans are in place for trips to explore sites along Louisiana’s African American Heritage Trail, including historic locations, museums, and homes to see the true side of the African American experience in our state.
Extended Trips
Join with other Louisiana United Methodists to venture to historic sites throughout the American South to learn about and experience some of the nation’s most historic civil rights events, including the Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, AL, as well as the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta.
