On Sunday, our guest speaker, D’Markus Thomas-Brown, the pastor of Convergence Church, led a workshop entitled, “Our City’s Difficult History and Current Challenges.” You can listen to it here. In addition, here are some resources he mentioned in his talk:

Articles

“Freed People Founded Boone County Churches” from The Columbia Daily Tribune

“Oldest Churches in Ashland, MO”

“How to Become a Less Biased Version of Yourself” from Fast Company

“116 Been Real: Lecrae, ‘White Evangelicalism,’ and Hope,” from Desiring God

“Leaving Columbia, a home that needs healing” from The Columbia Missourian

“GANG: What's in the word?” from The Columbia Missourian

“Little Dixie” from Wikipedia

“Remembering Sharp End Neighborhood” from Vox Magazine

Books

Jason Jindrich, Our Black Children: The Evolution of Black Space in Columbia, Missouri (Jason Jindrich)

John Perkins, One Blood

Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, Divided by Faith

Mary Collins Barile and Christine Montgomery, Merit, Not Sympathy, Wins: The Life and Times of Blind Boone

Doug Hunt, Black and White Justice in Little Dixie: Three Historical Essays

Reggie Williams, Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus

Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible

James Shannon, An Address delivered before the Pro-slavery Convention of the State of Missouri, held in Lexington, July 13, 1855

Note: the elders of Karis Church haven’t read all of these works. Therefore, we can’t recommend every word. We’re not sure D’Markus even can or would. However, we trust him, and trust these resources will challenge our views on racial diversity and reconciliation and will guide us toward better conversations and conclusions in these critical areas.