Under the leadership of Bishop David Graves, the Alabama-West Florida Conference has established The Coalition for Dismantling Racism. This group of leaders met Thursday, October 29, 2020, to begin critical work around racism.
Earlier in the year Bishop Graves encouraged the conference simply to take time and listen and stand in solidarity with people of color. Several intentional times of prayer have been held to keep this conversation on the forefront of hearts and minds.
"This year has been unprecedented in our country,” stated Bishop Graves. “We are at a significant crossroad with racism and equality in the United States and it has been my desire to offer support to people of color. I did not want to be reactionary on this topic after the death of George Floyd. Instead, I wanted to seek God’s guidance and spend time in prayer so that my leadership on this topic was appropriate and helpful. Establishing this coalition will allow multiple voices to contribute to this vital work. This did not need to be a top-down initiative but rather a collective strategic plan.”
The Coalition for Dismantling Racism members are:
Bishop David Graves, co-chair
Audrey Rodgers, co-chair
Rhett Butler
Lisa Bond
Cathy Givan
German Gomez
Sung-Kuk Hong
Tasha Lang
Kristi McClellan
Frederick Outlaw
Katrina Paxson
Jackie Slaughter
Lester Spencer
Lee Thomas
*Celeste Eubanks and Ashley Davis will offer staff support to this team.
The goal of the coalition is to have conversations around racism that will provide guidance to our local churches, congregations and communities on the next steps for the Alabama-West Florida Conference.