{"id":742,"date":"2020-01-07T00:23:37","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T00:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gospelrun.com\/?p=742"},"modified":"2020-01-10T00:17:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T00:17:40","slug":"interfaith-coalition-against-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/07\/interfaith-coalition-against-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Interfaith Coalition Against Racism"},"content":{"rendered":"<body>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>March 2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gospelrun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/ICAR.png?resize=675%2C150\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-589\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gospelrun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/ICAR.png?w=675&amp;ssl=1 675w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gospelrun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/ICAR.png?resize=300%2C67&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conversations\non race and racism have recently re-emerged in the national discourse in new\nand urgent ways.\u00a0 As a public health\norganization, Gospel Run has taken an active role in facilitating this\nconversation within the Chicago faith community.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In\n2018, the <strong>Interfaith Coalition Against\nRacism (ICAR)<\/strong> became a strategic partner of Gospel Run.\u00a0 They are also one of the Official Charity\nPartners of the Chicago Gospel Run 5K\/10K.\u00a0\nICAR is an organization of twelve (12) faith-based member institutions,\nand it was formed after the 2014 crisis in Ferguson, Missouri.\u00a0 Its goal is to unite faith leaders and organizations\nin a bold shared vision of dismantling racism. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reverend Vicky Curtiss, a leader of\nthe Interfaith Coalition Against Racism (ICAR) \u00a0and Associate Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian\nChurch, explains ICAR\u2019s work and how the organization has leveraged funds raised\nthrough the Gospel Run 5K\/10K to address racism through their collective faith\ncommunities.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GR: What is\nthe mission of ICAR? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rev. Vicky Curtiss: <\/strong>Through interfaith collaboration, ICAR does advocacy,\npublic education, peace circles, and anti-racism trainings.\u00a0 We host public forums on issues such as police\naccountability, the racial health gap, and the impact of trauma on youth and\nfamilies.\u00a0 We also advocate for reducing\ngun violence, equitable funding for schools in Chicago, and mass incarceration.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GR: How has ICAR used funds raised through the Gospel Run\n5K to further its mission?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rev. Vicky Curtiss: <\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re grateful to be an Official Charity\nPartner of the race.\u00a0 Our Gospel Run team\nmembers have been able to raise about $7,000.\u00a0\nWe used the funds raised to help pay for multiple anti-racism training\nsessions led by C-ROAR (<em>Chicago Regional\nOrganizing for Anti-Racism<\/em>).\u00a0 So far,\nover <strong>200 people<\/strong> have raised their hands and have completed the\nanti-racism trainings.\u00a0 Each time we offered it, they filled up.\u00a0 We offered both one-day trainings and 2.5-day trainings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GR:\u00a0 Has the anti-racism training made a\ndifference?\u00a0 If so, what has the impact\nbeen?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rev. Vicky Curtiss: <\/strong>\u00a0The\ntraining is not just personal; it\u2019s also about analyzing systemic racism.\u00a0 You learn what to look for and how to\nrecognize it.\u00a0 Once your eyes are opened,\nyou can\u2019t not see it.\u00a0 It\u2019s expanded our\nthinking and awareness of racial and cultural reinforcement and systems.\u00a0 After the training, I have a better\nunderstanding of some of the core values that we need to live into if we want\nto live without racism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Institutionally, our church has formed a racial equity\ncouncil among our leadership, and we\u2019ve launched a transformation team among\nour congregational members who have completed the training.\u00a0 We\u2019re in the midst of an institutional audit at Fourth Presbyterian Church to examine\nour own personnel and organizational\nstructure.\u00a0 It is a nine-month\nprocess.\u00a0 Once the audit is completed, we\nwill have a set of recommendations on what needs to change within our\ninstitution.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Organizational changes are not always easy, and there\nwill be push-back.\u00a0 But that\u2019s a part of\nthe process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GR: Why was it so important for you to take <\/strong><strong>on\nthe issue of racism as an individual, church, and as an organization?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rev. Vicky Curtiss: <\/strong>Our vision is\nto live the beloved community described by Dr. King.\u00a0 I\nbelieve racism is so harmful to all of us, and it does huge damage to people of\ncolor.\u00a0 Our church was initially doing\nmulticultural trainings, but we weren\u2019t getting anywhere and were getting\nfrustrated.\u00a0 Racism is systemic and is\nmuch bigger than individual attitudes. \u00a0We needed tools. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a white person, I was eager to learn more about\nsystemic racism and how to make organizational change. We\u2019re all indoctrinated\ninto white supremacist thinking.\u00a0 It\u2019s\nlike the water that fish swim in.\u00a0 \u00a0As a church leader, I want to mobilize our\nchurch to battle systemic racism \u2013 something that will take a whole lifetime. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GR: How was ICAR\u2019s Gospel Run 5K\/10K experience on race\nday?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rev. Vicky Curtiss: <\/strong>It was fun to be part of the larger community of\nChicagoans brought together by Gospel Run!\u00a0\nIt\u2019s a gift of fellowship and community with\none another.\u00a0 Gospel Run not only enabled\nus to raise funds to further our mission through anti-racism work, but deepened\nfriendships among participants who are diverse racially.\u00a0 It celebrates who we all are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>ICAR Member Organizations<\/em><\/strong><em>:\u00a0 <\/em><em>Fourth\nPresbyterian Church, Downtown Islamic Center, Trinity United Church of Christ,\nOld Saint Patrick\u2019s Church, St. James Cathedral, Congregation Sinai, First\nUnited Methodist Church at The Chicago Temple, St. Stephen\u2019s Lutheran Church,\nLaSalle Street Church, St. Chrysostom\u2019s Episcopal Church, and Episcopal Diocese\nof Chicago.<\/em><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 2019 Conversations on race and racism have recently re-emerged in the national discourse in new and urgent ways.\u00a0 As a public health organization, Gospel Run has taken an active role in facilitating this conversation within the Chicago faith community.\u00a0 \u00a0 In 2018, the Interfaith Coalition Against Racism (ICAR) became a strategic partner of Gospel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gospelrun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ICAR-2.png?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gospelrun.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}