Committee on Racial Equity (CORE)

Our Mission Statement:

CORE is committed to the biblical principles of
racial equity and justice as we serve God by loving all.

Trinity’s Committee on Racial Equity (CORE) was created in 2021 by Trinity members who were inspired to take action towards racial equity in our country by embarking on a journey to positively change our community through unity.

CORE falls under the Trinity Missions Committee and includes leaders from the congregation, from Session and from the TPC Staff. CORE’s approach is two-pronged: Congregational-Focused and Community-Focused.

Congregation

The goal of work with our congregation is to cast a light on the history of systemic racism, its history, its consequences, and its presence in our everyday lives and to express hopes for its resolution. Our next congregational event will be CORE’S BIG EVENT on Sunday, January 30th from 12:30-2:00 pm in Eva Joplin Hall.

This intergenerational event will feature a catered hot lunch, guest speaker Rev. Dr. Clay Brantley, table discussion, and opportunities to get involved in CORE and sign up for local activities to learn and grow, such as opportunities for education and discussion among our congregation, such as book studies, recommended learning opportunities, trips/tours, etc. For more information and to register for the event, click here.

Community

Since it’s inception, the CORE Steering Committee has been hard at work learning about the history and needs of the local community, attending City Council meetings, partnering with local leaders in the city and school board, and we have recently joined efforts on developing an East McKinney food co-op.

Through CORE, Trinity also has an opportunity to partner with Flourish Community-Based Initiatives, a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to create thriving communities where all flourish holistically, bringing leaders and institutions from all domains of culture together to work for the well-being of the city. Most recently, members of CORE organized a Coffee Chat for the local pastors of McKinney across multiple denominations and races to build long-term relationships and come together for the common good for racial equity.

Learn More

Below are some helpful resources if you would like to learn more about racial issues in this country. If you are interested in becoming a member of CORE, or would like to be contacted by someone on the CORE steering committee, please let us know by submitting the form at the bottom of the page.

Let’s Do It Differently This Time

What’s the Next Step?

Being Black in America – A Coffee with a Pastor Series

Meet Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History” by McKay Bolden

The Guide to Allyship by Amelie Lamont

Explaining White Privilege to A Broke White Person by Gina Crosley-Corcoran

What White Children Need To Know About Race by Ali Michael and Eleonora Bartoli

21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On a Daily Basis by Heben Nigatu

My President Was Black by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Who Gets To Be Afraid In America by Ibram X. Kendi

Statement of Solidarity by Grace Presbytery

It’s Time to be Unified in Our Outrage by Michelle Kinder

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

On the 400th Anniversary of the Slavery Trade, How Far Have We Come by Michael W. Waters, Dallas Morning News, August 30, 2019

The Accommodation by Jim Schutze, D Magazine

A New Community Vision for Dallas: A 2019 Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Report

“The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorham

“Waking Up White” by Debby Irving

“So You Want to Talk About Race?” By Ijeoma Oluo

“Good White Racist” by Kerry Connelly

“Me and White Supremacy” by Layla F. Saad White

“White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo

“How to Be Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

“The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander

“Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People” by Mahzarin Banaji

“Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson

Seeing White by Scene On Radio – A podcast series from the New York Times on the long shadow of American slavery and being Black in America

Code Switch by NPR – A podcast series hosted by journalists of color, tackling the subject of race head-on

Pod for the Cause – A podcast from the Leadership Conference On Civil and Human Rights

Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi – A podcast interview between Brene Brown and Ibram X. Kendi about how to be an anti-racist

1619 – An audio series from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery

How Does Racism Affect Your Health – A podcast about how structural racism can impact every aspect of health from Mary Bassett for Ted Radio Hour

The Hill We Climb – by Amanda Gorham, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, who read her poem during the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man – Emmanuel Acho sits down to have an “uncomfortable conversation” with white America, in order to educate and inform on racism, system racism, social injustice, and the hurt African Americans are feeling today

Marting Luther King, Jr. Collin County Leadership Breakfast Event (2021)

13th/Ava Duvernay/2016 – A Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system

Selma – A film that chronicles the marches of the Civil Rights Movement

When They See Us – A Netflix documentary about five boys of color who were arrested for a crime they didn’t commit

Just Mercy – A biographical legal drama that tells the true story of Walter McMillian, who, with the help of young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson, appeals his murder conviction. Based upon the book of the same name.

American Son – A Netflix Movie about a mother of color whose son was shot and killed by police

The Hate U Give – A movie shown on HBO highlighting the tension of living between two worlds

Do the Right Thing – A 1989 Spike Lee film that still relevantly depicts race in America

12 Years a Slave – A film based on a true story about a free black man from upstate New York abducted and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War south

Burden – A 2018 movie about a former member of the Ku Klux Klan that learns tolerance through love and faith when he’s taken in by an African American reverend.

An Interview With the Founders of Black Lives Matter

The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem and Improve Policing by Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff

The Urgency of Intersectionality by Kimberle Crenshaw

Racism Has A Cost for Everyone by Heather C. McGhee

Black Injustice – A music video by Zion the Great, a Christian rapper/hip hop artist from McKinney, Texas

“Dear Dr. King: Letters from Today’s Children to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” edited by Jan Colbert and Ann McMillan Harms

“Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children” by Sandra L. Pinkney

“Through My Eyes” by Ruby Bridges

“The Story of Ruby Bridges” by Robert Coles

“The Patchwork Quilt” by Valerie Flournoy

Presbyterian Church (USA) Racial Justice Resources