The “summer of hate” of 2017 revealed to many of us the remnants of slavery in our community and highlighted the necessity for repairing the toxic results of what many see as America’s original sin: the enslavement of millions of people of African descent. Racism is a systemic problem that has poisoned the structures, institutions, and foundational assumptions of the United States. Therefore, no one institution or segment of society can singlehandedly address the challenge of racism. Doing so calls for a level of trust, collaboration, and multifaceted strategies among diverse populations, institutions, and communities that span and bridge many divides, including racial, ethnic, political, socioeconomic, and religious lines. There is no single strategy for healing racism and no one perspective on which all can agree. However, we are all called to play our part to bring about the “Beloved Community,” a phrase used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to describe a society where “caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger and all forms of bigotry and violence.”4

This book gathers firsthand accounts of members of the CCC recalling their experience in resisting white supremacist violence during that “summer of hate” and seeking to repair the damage in the following months and years. Here is what happened as we remember it, and here is how August 11 and 12 changed us and our congregations forever.