Diocesan Commission formed for Racial Justice and Reconciliation

The new Diocesan Commission met recently over Zoom for the first time.

A Word from Archdeacon Callie Walpole: 

We are so pleased to announce the formation of an official Diocesan Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission in the Diocese of South Carolina. Much of this work is already being done by many of you throughout the diocese—some of you for decades, perhaps your whole life, while others of us became more intensely involved following the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in 2015.

A diocesan commission allows us to unify our efforts and broaden and strengthen our common work. This commission is tasked with advancing the cause of racial justice, reconciliation, and healing. The commission held its first meeting this past Thursday, October 29. Stay tuned for how you can be involved and how you might also share your own ministry with this group. A few of the emerging goals of this commission include:

• To encourage and enlist others in our struggle for truth and justice with respect to racial matters.
• To plan and facilitate training opportunities for both diocesan leadership and the wider diocese.
• To encourage and facilitate the ongoing work of uncovering the history of our diocese with regard to the experience of Black Episcopalians.
• To tell the story of the Black saints of our diocese, both historical figures and contemporary communicants.

Gail DeCosta and the Very Reverend Dr. Adam Shoemaker serve as co-chairs. The members of the commission at present include: Tommy Bultman, Mamie Bush, Thaddeus Daise, Alison Davidow, Dr. W. Franklin Evans, John Gardner, Harriett Green, Magi Griffin, Carol Grish, Marj Kenney Williams, Minerva King, Nancy Laprade, Denzel Walls, Virginia Weaver, and Carolyn Wright-Porcher. Tater and Bill Beak and Lynn and the Reverend Greg Smith are serving the commission as Helpers.​

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