Religion & Society Program

Today, we are touring The Legacy Museum as part of our pilgrimage. The museum is located in a former warehouse in Montgomery, AL, where hundreds of enslaved people were kept while waiting to be auctioned. https://lnkd.in/e4ymVc7

Today, we are touring The Legacy Museum as part of our pilgrimage. The museum is located in a former warehouse in Montgomery, AL, where hundreds of enslaved people were kept while waiting to be auctioned. https://lnkd.in/e4ymVc7

As Racial Justice and Religion Collective members make a pilgrimage this week to Birmingham and Montgomery, epicenters for the Black civil rights movement, may the spirits of our ancestors inspire them. The Collective is part of the Aspen Institute's Religion and Society Program, which seeks to ignite change through convening, catalyzing, and researching the challenges and opportunities at the convergence of religion, culture, and justice. https://ow.ly/6RoT50PRECj

Two focus groups led by @asmauddinesq and @AndrewRLewis met on 09/28 to talk about their views on religious freedom and the possibility of interfaith cooperation between American Muslims and evangelical Christians. This event was part of the @GeorgeFox Civility Project.

Watch “Sitting for Justice,” a documentary that goes behind the scenes of how the Montgomery Bus Boycott came to be. Included are interviews with civil rights attorney Fred Gray, activists Claudette Colvin and Doris Crenshaw, and several historians. https://ow.ly/xhgk50PQPNO

In the pulpit and the pews, in choir lofts and Sunday schools, the black church continues to offer affirmation and dignity to people still searching for equality and justice, still willing to reach out for a more inclusive, embracing tomorrow. https://ow.ly/Tmw250PQPGZ

Faith and religion continue to impact how we, especially as people of color, navigate our communities and the broader American society. This includes confronting racism and interrogating religion’s role in making true racial justice a reality. https://ow.ly/guMX50PQPwW

Nina Fernando, Executive Director of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, reflects on the Racial Justice & Religion Collective retreat: “Our retreat offered space to explore our personal narratives and our shared communal narratives that connect us to our best selves and to one another, to the stories of our ancestors, and to the even greater story of our shared humanity. We took part in big-picture discussions on how we might go about "constructing an honest, inclusive, and forward-looking narrative in America." https://lnkd.in/gp6zjAge

Last week, The Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program hosted a retreat for the Racial Justice & Religion Collective in collaboration with the Bahá’í OPA in Eliot, Maine, at the Green Acre Bahá’í Center of Learning. Our brilliant facilitators, Dr. Velda Love, PJ Andrews, Selvi Adaikkalam Zabihi, and Mat Cotton, created a gracious space to connect with ourselves and each other. There were tears and laughter, but above all else, there was hope for the world we intend to build together as a collective.

Join us on August 17th for an insightful discussion featuring our Deputy Director, Rev. Dr. Audrey Price, and Executive Director, Simran Jeet Singh. Together, we will explore the impactful interfaith work of prominent Christian, Jewish, and Sikh communities in making racial justice a reality. We will also explore how we can raise awareness and bolster this line of work. Don't miss out - register now at https://bit.ly/3OBjhGx.