Interfaith Response to White Supremacy
An Interfaith Response to White Supremacy is an education and engagement initiative led by a growing group of religious and civic leaders in Atlanta.
White supremacy poses significant threats to a range of communities in Atlanta including African Americans, Jews, Muslims, Latinos, Asians, the LGBTQIA community, immigrants and refugees, and all people of good will and faith. As white supremacist nationalism is often linked to white Christianity, there is an additional threat to Christians of conscience.
Extreme white supremacists’ goals are ideological, making this movement a form of domestic terrorism — the use of violence and fear to achieve political ends enshrines white dominance in political and economic life by policy and force.
An Interfaith Response to White Supremacy seeks to galvanize the will of Atlanta’s broadest community to eliminate the threat of white supremacy.
Starting in September 2020, Interfaith Response will host a series of public programs related to White Supremacy; these educational sessions will happen virtually in the short term. When audiences can gather in person safely, programs will be held at different houses of worship and other sites of conscience around the city. All are welcome to these programs, and we will conduct outreach to congregations of all faiths to attend.
AN INTERFAITH RESPONSE TO WHITE SUPREMACY LEADERSHIP GROUP
- The Reverend Dr. Joanna M. Adams, Pastor Emerita, Morningside Presbyterian Church
- Rabbi Peter Berg, Senior Rabbi, The Temple
- Mr. C. Philip Bowen, President and CEO, In Touch Ministries
- The Reverend Dr. William Clarkson IV
- The Reverend Dr. Gerald L. Durley, Pastor Emeritus, Providence Missionary Baptist Church
- Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus, Senior Associate Rabbi, The Temple
- Ms. Sherry Frank, President, National Council of Jewish Women Atlanta
- Mr. Tom Glenn, Trustee, The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation
- Ms. Leslie Gordon, Executive Director, The Breman Museum
- The Reverend Dr. Dock Hollingsworth, Senior Pastor, Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church
- Ms. Soumaya Khalifa, Founder and Executive Director, Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta
- Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman, Vice President Southern Division, Anti-Defamation League
- Mr. Richard Rose, President Atlanta Branch, NAACP
- Ms. Jill Savitt, President and CEO, National Center for Civil and Human Rights
- Dr. Clay Scroggins, Lead Pastor, Buckhead Church Atlanta
- Mr. Arnie Sidman, Retired Executive, RJR Nabisco
- Rabbi Alvin M. Sugarman, Rabbi Emeritus, The Temple
- Pastor Vonnetta L. West, Lead Teacher and Pastor, Our Neighbor’s House
- Mr. Dov Wilker, Regional Director, American Jewish Committee
- The Reverend Dr. George Wirth, Pastor Emeritus, First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
- The Right Reverend Bishop Robert C. Wright, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
An Interfaith Response to White Supremacy grows out of work of a group of clergy and community leaders involved with the Atlanta Interfaith Manifesto (AIM). In 2016, AIM brought together religious, business, civic, academic, and philanthropic leaders – inspired by the 1957 Ministers Manifesto – to foster respect and cooperation among people of different beliefs and backgrounds and generate conversation about embracing pluralism and diversity.