On February 28th, St. Matthias was fortunate to spend some time listening to the Rev. Dr. Dante R. Quick, Senior Pastor of 1st Baptist of Lincoln Gardens here in Somerset, share important background in a Zoom symposium on Critical Race Theory. He also offered his perspective on what CRT means for Christian education. The symposium was moderated by Dr. Sandra Donnay, parishioner ND and founder of the Racial Equity Initiative, and sponsored by the St. Martin de Porres Society of St. Matthias. First and foremost, Rev. Dr. Quick explained the history of CRT as an academic examination centered in legal studies which debuted in 1971 in the Harvard Law Review; however he put forth an explanation of CRT having begun far before 1971 as explained by forgone scholars and thinkers. He positioned CRT as nothing more than an examination of the relationship or “intersectionality” of race, economics, education, and health through the teaching of real and true American History, and the advocacy of equity vs. equality. You can listen to the full recording of the symposium on the St. Matthias YouTube channel by clicking here. Also provided by Rev. Dr. Quick and the moderator, Dr. Donnay, is the list of resources below. We hope to have them both with us again sometime soon.
Recommended Reading/Books from Rev Dr. Danté R. Quick:
- David Walker’s Appeal by David Walker,
- The Meaning of July 4th For the Negro by Frederick Douglass
- black codes, by the Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica
- A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez
- The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward
- Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
- The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
- Letter from Birmingham Jail by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo
Resources from Dr. Sandra Donnay (on how to talk to children about race): Pursuant to the request by one of the attendees, below are some resources for talking to children about race provided by Southern Poverty Law Conference (SPLC).
https://www.embracerace.org. (Support for parents who want to hold discussions with their children about racism).
https://www.teachingforchange.org. (Recommended Social Justice Books)
https://raceconscious.org. (Resources for talking with children about racism)