In 2023, Kessler Park UMC hosted a series of events to challenge ourselves and our community to come to terms with the history of racial injustice in our nation, the United Methodist Church, and even our own neighborhood.
We heard from local historians about the history of Native American peoples and the theft of their lands.
We learned about “Little Mexico” and Mexican American migration to Oak Cliff.
Stephenie Drenka and Denise Johnson taught us the history of Dallas’ Asian American Community.
We welcome author Jim Schutze, for a night of conversation on his book, “The Accommodation.”
Dr. Andrew McGregor led almost twenty members and friends on a tour of “Dallas’ Racial History,” which included the the story of the lynching of Allen Brooks, the remarkable story of Anderson Bonner, and a solemn visit to the Freedman’s Cemetery. During this tour, and in subsequent gatherings, we learned about how the African-American heart of Stringtown and Deep Ellum was destroyed, how “North Oak Cliff” was intentionally bisected from “10th Street” by freeways.
Pastor Eric taught us about the horror of how generations of Methodists intentionally backtracked from John Wesley’s original anti-slavery position, to the point that Southern pastors preached on the moral “justness” of slaveholding. Eric blended this with the powerful work of Robert Jones, in his book “White Too Long” about White American Christianity to give us a picture of what the theology of White churches has done to undergird racial injustice.
We confronted the hard truth that Kessler Park has always been a “Green” neighborhood —considered the most “desirable” of all real estate— because of racial exclusions covenants that prevented People of Color from living here.
During this series we actually opened our own ancient church safe, and to our horror, found the original racist deed restrictions for our original church property.
And, finally, we looked at painfully racist history in our greater neighborhood and city.
We remembered the massive Ku Klux Klan rally, which took place just down Colorado Street at the old ballpark grounds, in 1924, an event that almost everyone in Dallas has forgotten about today.
Why do we do this?
Because Kessler Park UMC has made a commitment to be a safe place for people of all races, sexual orientations, and economic circumstances. And we cannot truly do this until we confront the harsh realities that, for decades, intentionally segregated the streets and people of Oak Cliff.
To truly engage in anti-racist work in our time, we must acknowledge and name the sins of our past.
We are not perfect, nor will we ever claim to be. And we seek to approach this work with humility and with the confidence we can alway do more.
But we have committed to this journey.
We finished our series with the questions “What Is Ours To Do?”
We invite you to consider some of the questions our past and our present leave us with in our day:
We welcome any and all of our neighbors to accompany us, as we continue our journey toward racial justice.