Johnson - Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community

Praise for Holding Up Your Corner

Praise for Holding Up Your Corner

I had been silent too long. As a pastor I knew I had to speak up, but I had no idea how to navigate the complex conversations around race. After reading Holding Up Your Corner , I began to feel empowered and equipped to do my part. As a pastor, I now see myself as having a key voice in our community around issues of injustice. This would not have been possible without the story, inspiration, and guidance of F. Willis Johnson.

Jacob Armstrong, pastor, Providence UMC, Mt. Juliet, TN

Willis Johnsons words on racial inequality, even if its not our fault, its our fight, grabbed me early on and wouldnt let go. This is a rare gem of a book; it opened my eyes, tugged at my heart, and causes me to wrestle with what to do at my own corner. The church has needed this book, and I hope it along with the study guide will become a catalyst for healing, hope, and change in our culture.

Jim Ozier, New Church Development and Congregational Transformation, North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church

Our congregations and communities are crying out for material that can help leaders bridge the divides segregating us by race and class. This is a tremendous tool for leaders of congregations and communities, which I will be putting to great use in my local church and community. This is a must read.

Joe Daniels, pastor, Emory United Methodist Church, Washington, DC

Holding Up Your Corner is the fresh, practical, theological, user-friendly, and urgent resource for which our churches have been waiting. If every congregation across America utilized this as a church-wide study, the entire atmosphere of countless communities would be transformed.

Sue Nilson Kibbey, Director of the Office of Missional Church Development, West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church

Willis Johnson is an authentic and prophetic voice for our day.

Robert Schnase, bishop, Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church; author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

Holding Up Your Corner offers practical ways for communities to do better.

Kim Jenne, Director of Connectional Ministries, Missouri Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

Silence is no longer an option. If you have a passion to engage your community with Christs reconciling power, this book is for you.

Rosario Picardo, executive pastor, New Church Development, Ginghamsburg Church, Tipp City, OH

Holding Up Your Corner guides pastors to lead conversations in diverse communities for the development of peace-filled relationships through Christ-centered transformation.

Robert Farr, bishop, Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church

I read Holding Up Your Corner with a rising sense of excitement and gratitude. This is what is meant by equipping the saints for the work of God in the world. This resource is insightful, intelligent, and inspiringa gift to all who believe in and struggle for justice grounded in their faith.

Allan Boesak, South African theologian and activist; Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Justice and Reconciliation Studies at Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

This book will change us, if we take it to heart and action. I dare you to read and implement it!

Dottie Escobedo-Frank, district superintendent, Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church

Willis Johnson is a pastor and a citizen who can speak to anyone and elevate everyone. His call to hold up your corner will motivate readers of all backgrounds to act for racial justice. His clear guides for conversation and action show us how to do the work.

Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University; author of Youre More Powerful Than You Think

In Holding Up Your Corner , F. Willis Johnson astutely shapes an argument for the Christians responsibility to justice-making.

Pamela R. Lightsey, Associate Dean, Clinical Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Theology, Boston, MA; author of Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology

Racism and racial injustice are a persistent stain in our communities. Holding Up Your Corner is a manuala framework of questions, actions, and models for people of faith and courage, equipping them to engage in the work of tackling these issues.

Asa J. Lee, Associate Dean for Community Life, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC

I guarantee that after reading Willis Johnson you will want to work from your corner to become part of Gods work in the world.

Will Willimon, retired UMC bishop, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

Title Page

Copyright Page

HOLDING UP YOUR CORNER:

TALKING ABOUT RACE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Copyright 2017 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228, or e-mailed to .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been requested.

ISBN 978-1-5018-3760-9

Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

Scripture quotations marked (The Message) are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Dedication

This work is lovingly dedicated to those whose shoulders we stand upon and strivings we celebrate by holding up our corner!

Willis Bing Davis

Willis Bing Davis is a contemporary artist and educator. He was born in 1937 in Greer, South Carolina, but has studied, taught, and lived in Indiana and Ohio most of his life. He graduated from DePauw University in 1959 and is an inductee in the DePauw University sports hall of fame. He operates a gallery and is involved in community and arts programs in Dayton, Ohio, and across the United States. He serves as President of the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Artists. Davis makes art from found objects and uses mixed media, including photography, drawing, painting, ceramics, and sculpture. He is influenced by ancestral resources and makes African-rooted art such as masks and shrines using African-inspired materials.

Davis met the author of this book in 2015, and the two established a friendship. During the development of this book, Davis created a new work, Young Warriors with Dancing Sticks, pictured here. It is a photo collage measuring 20 x 16 1/2.

When I saw Rev. F. Willis Johnson standing in the midst of our young brothers and sisters, who were protesting in the streets of Ferguson, MO, I saw an often forgotten African tradition coming forth. I saw a wise elder from the community standing in the middle of pain and sorrow, offering vision, wisdom, spiritual and moral support to the most valuable segment of our communityour youth, our young warriors and nation-builders. Willis Bing Davis