• Racial Justice Policy
• December 10th Statement for Women's Equality & Human Rights
• Health Care Statement
  (PDF: 39K)
• World March of Women (13 demands)
• Mother's Day Statement
  (PDF: 31K)

Walking, we make the way

WICC's policy for racial justice

Preamble

Community groups, unions and the women's movement have been struggling with issues of voice, identity, naming, racial stereotyping, power-sharing and exclusion for at least a decade. Canadian churches and church organizations have come to the discussion of racism much more recently. In the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada, diversity and inclusion have been named as priorities and the council has been educating itself about racism as a barrier to achieving diversity and inclusion.

As Canadian women of faith, we must educate ourselves and identify ways to eliminate racism and white privilege wherever they exist in our churches and our communities. We live in a country where Aboriginal rights are central to the public debate about equality and justice, where immigrants from around the world come to live and work, where incidents of racism and discrimination here are generated more and more by crises and conflict in other parts of the world. Yet most of us know little about the history or present-day reality of racism in Canada.

Background

Racism is an institutionalized system of power. It encompasses a web of economic, political, social, and cultural structures, actions and beliefs that systemize and ensure an unequal distribution of privilege, resources and power in favour of the dominant racial group and at the expense of all other racial groups. A system of subordination is created and perpetuated in society. While racial discrimination is against the law in Canada, racism is still deeply imbedded in our institutions, including the church. Even though we don't intend to practise racism, the fruits of racism - prejudice, bigotry and dehumanization - are evident in our society.

The global roots of racism are being addressed by the global church. In 1999, women from around the world gathered at a World Council of Churches event in Bangalore, India, to name how racism is manifested in specific contexts (for example, Dalit women in India) and how it permeates issues such as migration, sex touring, trafficking, economic injustice and militarism. The vision articulated by these women includes "a world where anti-racist work becomes a priority and is built on a model of shared leadership; a world where all gifts, talents and skills are utilized; and power is derived from cooperation with one another, modeling power with and not power over". They challenged their own organizations and their churches to work to overcome racism.

The UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001 became a catalyst for more intensive work on racism in the churches. In an ecumenical statement, church delegates at WCAR declared racism to be a sin and "contrary to God's will for love, peace, equality, justice and compassion for all. It is an affront to human dignity and a gross violation of human rights". In Canada, the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network formed following the UN Conference in order to organize for long-term change in Canadian church organizations and to support those working to bring about racial justice in the churches. WICC was one of the founding groups of this network.

WICC is engaged in social justice for women, and works to educate and encourage churches to adopt appropriate actions in response to crucial issues affecting women. Issues of gender discrimination - such as poverty and violence - intersect with those of racial discrimination to further marginalize women and make them more vulnerable. This policy for racial justice is one way that WICC is making intentional its commitment and being faithful to God's call to walk humbly and seek justice along the way.

Policy Statement

The Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada encourages women to take action together for justice. The core values of the organization are as follows:

• We trust in God, and seek to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• We have faith in the power of women to transform the world.
• We are strengthened and energized by diversity and mutual respect.
• We share a hopeful vision of equality for all peoples and the integrity of the whole created earth.

Racism is a barrier to living out these values and WICC is committed to working to dismantle racism in a variety of ways. We recognize this is a journey that involves risk but the risk of not embarking on it is greater still. We also recognize that acts of racism, even those which are unintentional, have a profoundly negative impact on individuals and groups. We understand that racism has to do with power and privilege and how resources are used. We know we will be transformed - as an organization and as individuals - in the process of working for racial justice.

We believe:

• that God creates all people equal in worth and dignity.
• that the nature of God is multi-dimensional and that we are all made in God's image.
• that the miracle of God's creation is manifested through our many differences.
• that racism is a sin and violates God's desire for humanity.
• that racism is a rejection of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
• that racism is a violation of human rights. It robs all human beings of their wholeness and is used as justification for economic, social, political and spiritual exploitation.
• that change is possible through a process of truth-telling, repentance and justice-making which leads to transformation.
• that our struggle for racial justice must be based on new attitudes and new relationships.
• that just relationships must be reflected in the laws, policies, structures, language and practices of both church and society.

Therefore, we commit ourselves as an organization:

• to examine our own structures, policies and practices so that they promote racial justice; and to implement anti-racism training and study with all Council members.
• to increase our efforts to invite women of all races into the membership of WICC and to provide leadership development opportunities without discrimination.
• to ensure that all our resources reflect the experience and perspectives of racially diverse women.
• to support groups that are addressing issues of racial justice in our grant allocation.
• to develop and implement a procedure for dealing with racism and racial discrimination within the organization and its membership.

And we will unite our efforts with women across Canada and in the ecumenical community:

• to create opportunities for Canadian church women to meet across racial differences in order to build new understanding and new relationships.
• to create opportunities and resources for study and learning about racism and white privilege, among women in the Canadian ecumenical context.
• to create opportunities for study and learning about the gifts that diverse cultures bring to our society.
• to organize for long term change in Canadian churches and church organizations through participation in and support for the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network with the aim of eliminating all forms of racism in our churches.