Diversity and Inclusion Work Group
At its February 2019 meeting, the REA Board of Directors committed to forming a work group composed of REA members to provide an immediate way to focus sustained attention, transparency and accountability on issues of anti-oppression in the work of our Association. These issues include, but are not limited to, religion, race, ethnicity, culture, language, class, gender, sexuality, and ability. We intend for this work group to become the first step in an ongoing process of reviewing our governance structures, REA nomination and election procedures, program planning and implementation, and our practices of evaluation. The Board is committing both time and resources to this process. This work group works independently from the Board so that it has autonomy and structural authority to address and at points confront us with calls for action to correct unjust systems, texts, and practices. The Diversity and Inclusion Work Group has begun its work and will be active during the November 2019 annual meeting.
The REA membership includes many people with experience and skill in working with people and institutions around racial justice and other forms of inclusion and equity. It was only natural to draw from our own riches to create an accountability work group directly tasked with moving the Association to embody more clearly our commitments around diversity of all kinds. The initial group has five members that are currently developing a structure, process, and outcomes for their immediate work.
- Mark A. Hicks
Mark A. Hicks
Professor of Religious Education
Meadville Lombard Theological School
Chicago, IL, United States
mhicks [at] meadville [dot] edu - Bert Roebben
Bert Roebben
Professor
University of Bonn
Bonn, NRW, Germany
hroebben [at] uni-bonn [dot] de
REA Advisory Council
Harper / Wornom Committee - Katherine M. Turpin
Katherine M. Turpin
Professor of Practical Theology and Religious Education
Iliff School of Theology
Denver, Colorado, United States
kturpin [at] iliff [dot] edu
REA Advisory Council - Addie Lorraine Walker
Addie Lorraine Walker
Professor
Oblate School of Theology
San Antonio, TX, United States
awalker [at] ost [dot] edu - Arch Wong
Arch Wong
Professor
Ambrose Seminary of Ambrose University
Calgary, AB, Canada
awong [at] ambrose [dot] edu
The REA Diversity and Inclusion Work Group works to shape awareness of systemic racism and identify internal barriers to change. They will then create strategies to dismantle racism in REA on all levels, help develop a new cultural identity based on antiracist values, and redesign structures that share power in ways accountable to people of color and other oppressed groups.
