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Rev. Robbie Craig, New Faith Baptist Church International Rev. Jason Coulter, Ravenswood United Church of Christ

9:00 Gathering Music and Registration Pastor Dwayne Grant and Praise Team 9:10 Welcome and Opening Prayer Rev. Devon Brown,

St. Mark UMC 9:15 Opening Song Pastor Dwayne Grant and Praise Team 9:20 Purpose of the Day Rev. Robbie Craig Rev. Jason Coulter 9:25 Words from the Executive Director Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung, Community Renewal Society 9:35 “Dismantling Racism: Where do we go from here?”

Facilitator Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung Expert Panelists o Structural/Systemic Racism Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah

o Institutional Racism Rev. Dr. Velda Love

o The Cost of White Privilege Dr. Michael Emerson o Internalized Oppression Dr. Reggie Williams o White-Black Binary Paradigm Prof. Juan F. Perea, JD

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10:25 Lamenting Racial Injustice (See program for community response) Fr. Larry Dowling, St. Agatha Catholic Church Rev. Walstone Francis, Shiloh Baptist Church, Waukegan Rachel Lyons, Old St. Pat’s Catholic Church

Rev. Danielle Buhuro, Lincoln Memorial UCC

10:55 Platform for Renewal

Violence Reduction Rev. Cy Fields, New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church

Restoring Opportunities (FORCE) Alonzo Waheed, FORCE

Police Accountability Rev. Samuel Paul, Advocate UCC

11:10 Commitments from Individuals and Offering Rev. Robbie Craig, Rev. Jason Coulter Pastor Dwayne Grant and Praise Team 11:20 Commitments from State’s Attorney Kim Foxx 11:35 Closing Call to Action and Benediction Rev. Ann Rosewall, First Congregational UCC, Evanston Rev. Liz Muñoz, Nuestra Señora de las Americas Rev. Yehiel Curry, Shekinah Chapel (ELCA), Riverdale 11:50 Closing Music Pastor Dwayne Grant and Praise Team

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Lift Every Voice And Sing Lift every voice and sing Till earth and Heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the list'ning skies, let it resound Loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the Dark past has taught us, sing a song full of The hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till Victory is won. Stony the road we trod, bitter the Chast'ning rod, felt in the day that hope Unborn had died; yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet, come to the place on which our fathers Sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been Watered, we have come, treading our path through the blood of The slaughtered, out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at Last where the white gleam of our star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by thy might, Led us into the light, keep us Forever in the path, we pray Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of The world, we forget thee, Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, true to our God, true to our native land

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Pass me not, O Gentle Savior Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by. [Chorus:] (I'm calling) Savior, Savior, (Why don't you) Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by. Let me at Thy throne of mercy Find a sweet relief, Kneeling there in deep contrition; Help my unbelief. [Chorus] Trusting only in Thy merit, Would I seek Thy face; Heal my wounded, broken spirit, Save me by Thy grace. [Chorus] Thou the Spring of all my comfort, More than life to me, Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heav'n but Thee?

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Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah is a Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He was formerly the pastor of a multi-ethnic, urban ministry-focused church in Boston committed to living out the values of racial reconciliation and social justice in the urban context. Two books of note that he has written are Prophetic

Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times and The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity.

Rev. Dr. Velda Love is the Minister for Racial Justice for the United Church of Christ (Cleveland, OH). She was previously the Director of Justice and Intercultural Learning at North Park University and on staff at Second Baptist Church (Evanston.) She was also a member and ordained deacon at Trinity UCC (Chicago). She leads workshops nationally and is

noted for her course “Sankofa: Transforming Society and Christian Ministry through History, Culture and Race.”

Dr. Michael Emerson is the Provost at North Park University. He was previously Professor of Sociology at Rice University (Houston) and is considered one of the leading scholars on race and religion. He has written many books including Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America and Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial

Discrimination Shapes Christian Convictions.

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Dr. Reggie Williams is an Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary. He was previously a professor at Baylor University. His recent book Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance has garnered much critical praise. He lectures widely on racism and the church.

Professor Juan F. Perea, JD, is a Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and Boston College Law School. He has written extensively on racial inequality, the Black and White binary paradigm of race, the legal history of race relations in the United States, and the civil rights of Latinos including

the books Race and Races: Cases and Resources for a Diverse America and Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States.

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1. Police Accountability – Excessive ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ and ‘Driving While Colored’

Psalm 5 Community Response: Let us pray… God of tender care and compassion, so often throughout history we have seen the hopes and dreams of the African American, the Latino immigrant, the Native American, and women, devastated by the sins of those with power and privilege. Remove all of us from the crosses that continue to hinder you from bringing resurrection into the lives of the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the poor, the majority of whom are people of color. Hold us in your tender embrace, drawing strength, new life and new resolve to bring your healing power to bear on the injustice of the world. Amen.

2. Spatial Racism – West Side and South Side

Psalm 55 Community Response: Let us pray… God, our Creator, we believe that you dwell in each and all of us, that we are temples of your Spirit. Yet, gracious God, we acknowledge that there are places in us that we would rather not have you enter, places of prejudice, hatred, anger, jealousy and other sins. Help us, loving God, to invite You into those dark places within us, for only when we are filled with the Light of truth and love can we become more powerful conduits of that Light, working to break through the darkness of hearts and minds, in homes and neighborhoods and institutions, to reveal the fullness of the

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beauty now hidden, but yearning to be made manifest in our poor communities of color. Amen. 3. Criminal Justice or Injustice?

Psalm 7 Community Response: Let us pray… God who is mother to us all: we know that you weep at the loss of so many young lives, predominantly young men of color, victims of an unjust system that imprisons them behind bars of poor education and an unjust and racially biased court system. Lord Jesus, remove the blindness of stereotypes and apathy, open our minds, our hearts, that we may accompany all young men and women of color through the hardships of this life into new life and new possibilities. Amen. 4. Education – Zero Tolerance > Restorative Justice >

Peaceable Schools

Psalm 72 Community Response: Let us pray… God of infinite forgiveness and unconditional love: In so many ways our society has failed our children and families of color. As we continue to shake our heads at the immensity of the problem, remind us that you are greater than every challenge, and that with you we can accompany and bring restoration to those who are beaten down by the forces of racism and poverty to rise up together on the journey through death to resurrection for our families and communities. Amen.

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5. Time Served, ‘Imprisonment’ Continues (People with

Records)

Psalm 22 Community Response: Let us pray… Father God, source of life and love, all too often we have participated, sometimes knowingly, often unknowingly, in the death of the human spirit of so many people of color. Help us center ourselves in the love between you and your Son Jesus. Help us draw our formerly incarcerated brothers and sisters and their families into that place where your love conquers all despair and hurt. Anchored there we can face the crosses of this life together, trusting that united with you and with each other, our spirits will never die. Amen. 6. School to Prison Pipeline

Psalm 34 Community Response: Let us pray… God of life, through Your Son Jesus you offer us the fullness of life, yet so often we do not feel valued, not given a chance, shackled and stripped by the forces of racism and prejudice imbedded in our society, forces that continue to diminish our children and youth by not offering them the encouragement and education they deserve. Gracious God, help us all to lift our voices, crying out and working for justice for our children, for our youth, for their families, for all who seek to develop and offer their God-given gifts to the world. Amen.

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7. Personal Accountability

1 John 2:1-11 Community Response: Let us pray… Compassionate and caring God, God who has inscribed the names of all the faithful in heaven: On the cross Your Son Jesus took upon himself the sins of our world, absorbing all of the pain and suffering of eternity, and responding with forgiveness. May we, like Him, commend our hopes, our dreams, our spirits to you. May we work together to eradicate the forces of racism that continue the economic, social, physical and spiritual crucifixion of our brothers and sisters of color, forces that ultimately hurt us all. Amen.

A prayer composed by a young black male, anonymous

Arise O God and defend the cause of your heart. Raise up in us the cries of outrage. Raise up in us commitment to the long struggle for justice. Raise up in us the determination to drive out racism. Raise up in us the grief that cannot be comforted. Raise up in us the courage to speak truth to power, and hope to hatred. God of the ones with hands up and the ones who can’t breathe, Of those with power and privilege who try to do their best Of those tasked with exercising state power and service for us -and against us, Lord, look upon the world you have made. Do not forget your afflicted people forever so that we might praise your holy name with joyful lips. Amen.

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Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is an accomplished leader, prosecutor, and advocate for children and families. She ran for

office on a platform to restore public faith in a criminal justice system that has failed many in our communities. Commitments on Platform for Renewal Foxx attended our State’s Attorney Candidate Forum during the 2016 MLK Faith in Action Assembly. There she made commitments to expand diversion and restorative justice, seek special prosecutors in police involved shootings, and to support state legislation to increase employment opportunities for people with records. As the Cook County State’s Attorney, Foxx now has a critical role in addressing racial disparities and reforming the criminal justice system in ways that will truly improve public safety. As the county’s lead prosecutor she will: set policies and priorities for which cases get prosecuted and how this prosecution is administered; She will also have a powerful voice to advocate for legislative reforms in Springfield; and can be an advocate for stronger prosecution of police officers who abuse their power. These issues are all core components of the 2017 CRS Platform for Renewal. Today we ask Cook County State’s Attorney Foxx to affirm her commitment to these priorities and share her vision for working together to address racial disparities by achieving our shared goals on criminal justice reform, public safety, and police accountability.

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2016-2017 Annual Platform for Renewal

Violence Reduction Our communities continue to be devastated by unacceptable levels of violence. CRS reaffirms its commitment to address this issue, in part by building upon the work done by the Reclaim Campaign. The Violence Reduction Issue Team will create a strategy to monitor and maintain the victories won by the Reclaim Campaign, listen to our impacted communities to identify additional priorities, and launch a new campaign that continues our work into 2017 to address root causes of violence. Police Accountability We will continue in our efforts to correct law enforcement systems that discriminate, criminalize, and torture black communities. This year, we will renew our police accountability campaign by addressing police reform on a city and state level. Our Police Accountability Issue Team will work with the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability and host community conversations on policing to identify priorities for community oversight and reforms to the police union contract. We will also continue our advocacy and monitoring of police reform legislation at the state level. FORCE FORCE (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality) is an initiative led by people with criminal records, their families, and faith allies. FORCE, along with the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI), is working to pass legislation that would create more transparency and fairness in the background check process for employment and housing, two of the most pressing and fundamental human rights. RROCI will also work to expand the sealing of felony records and FORCE will identify another local campaign to work on. We will continue to oppose legislation that creates new mandatory minimums and sentence enhancements.

–Approved by Member Congregations at the Annual Membership Assembly

November 12, 2016

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Community Renewal Society provides assistance to individuals through a fund entitled the Emaroy June Smith Fund. Under the terms of the will, the funds are used “to meet the needs of retired ministers, missionaries, their [spouses] or [survivors], Christian workers and others who have worked along the line of education or social welfare work.” Gifts from the fund go to help those with very low income who struggle with the basic necessities, such as rent, food, medical expenses and other costs. If you would like to apply, please go to communityrenewalsociety.org to download an application. Submit applications to Jawania Williams via email at jwilliams@communityrenewalsociety.org or mail to: Community Renewal Society Attn: J. Williams 111 West Jackson Blvd. Ste. 820 Chicago, IL 60604 Applications must be received by March 10, 2017.

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