In the midst of yet another killing of an African American by police, and the subsequent urban unrest, many who have turned away from confronting social injustice in America are beginning to face the problems, asking “where do I begin?”

The third in our series of lists “19 Things White Christians Can Do” is next steps for those who have already gone through our first and second list. This list is not exhaustive, and continually updated.

1) Advocate for the creation of more monuments that honor African American history in your city. The entire Tidewater area is home to a rich history of Black oppression, struggle, and freedom. During the national conversation around whose history we memorialize, tell the Norfolk City Council you want to see new monuments built to commemorate Norfolk’s Black history.

2) Demand an increase in affordable housing. Over half of all renters in Norfolk are “rent overburdened,” meaning they pay more than 30% of their income on rent, the overwhelming majority of whom are Black and live below the poverty line. As Suzanne Guinn said in the Virginian-Pilot “Norfolk needs more affordable housing — not more lofts and breweries.” Advocate to the Norfolk City Council for planning laws that favor building affordable and reliable housing.

3) Advocate for a mandatory requirement that renters in Norfolk accept Section 8 vouchers. As of 2019, less than 5% of available housing in Norfolk accepted housing vouchers. Leaving the direction of whether to accept or refuse Section 8 vouchers leads to a short fall of housing opportunities, especially for African Americans in Norfolk.

If you own rental property, accept Section 8 vouchers. Many people think the battle for affordable housing take place in neighborhoods that are already poor and overcrowded. The actual battle for affordable housing takes place in rich neighborhoods, where residents and renters work to keep poor residents out.

4) Fight for upzoning. Upzoning means zoning that allows for taller mixed-use buildings to be built. Many of Norfolk’s residential areas are zoned for single-family housing. Historically, this zoning policy has been used to keep African Americans and minority home buyers out of those neighborhoods. Upzoning would allow affordable apartments to be built in residential neighborhoods, helping to alleviate overburdened renters.

5) Advocate to the Norfolk City Council to end eviction laws. Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, and Chesapeake all place within the Top 10 highest eviction rates across the country. With rising rental rights, increasing job loss, the demolition of public housing and rapid gentrification of Downtown Norfolk, evictions are likely to rise. Tell your city to freeze eviction enforcement. Housing is a human right.

6) Attend your City Council meetings. Everything listed so far can be accomplished by attending your City Council meetings. It’s a great place to go not only to know what’s going on in your city, but also to advocate for equitable policies and changes you want to see enacted. Find the Norfolk City Council meetings here.  

7)  Decolonize your bookshelf. Incorporate books by authors of color, women, and indigenous voices from around the world. Some authors to include are Vandana Shiva, George ‘Tink’ Tinker, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Jamaica Kincaid, Vine Deloria Jr., Frantz Fanon, and Achille Mbembe.

8) Know whose indigenous land you are on. Look at this map and find out who lived on the land before you did. Additionally, encourage Norfolk to recognize and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

9) Join the Virginia Poor People’s Campaign here. Lead by Dr. William Barber III, the Poor People’s Campaign works to fight the “interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.” Check out their Moral Budget, and donate.

10) Understand what it means to ‘Defund the police’. See the URC’s definition here. Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone advocates for defunding the Norfolk police, see what he has to say here.

11) Donate to bail funds. Protesters around the country have been arrested over unrest after the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Many do not have enough to pay their bails. We have advocated ending cash bails on previous lists, now donate to bail funds that help pay the bail of arrested protesters here.

12) Find out where your pension is being invested. If you have a job with a pension or retirement plan, find out if your money is being used to support private prisons. Become a financial activist. Check out Real Money Moves.

13) Join and support Worth Rises, a national non-profit dedicated to ending prison labor here. Sign their petition to congress demanding all jail phone calls be free forever here. Donate here.

14) Understand that the fight against racial injustice is a global fight. From the killing of unarmed African American to Chinese internment of Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, to forced labor for conflict minerals in Africa. Finances have a huge impact here. Think about businesses you regularly buy from, find out where that money goes, and boycott businesses who support racism around the world.

15) Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative. Previously, we’ve mentioned advocating for ending mandatory minimum sentences, and watching Bryan Stevenson’s film Just Mercy. Now donate to the EJI. They help exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners.

16) Tell your school to end its “Zero-tolerance” policies. Find out how your school deals with infractions and disciplinary punishments. Many schools have a “zero-tolerance” policy which can have consequences for children- especially for Black children. Zero-tolerance policies often use police officers and juvenile courts to enforce school infractions, setting up a School-to-Prison pipeline. Black students make up just 16% of all enrolled students, but account for 31% of all in-school arrests. See more here and here.

17) Understand the way unconscious racial bias works. Check out Northwestern University’s resources here. Take the Implicit Association Test here. Ask your family and friends to take it, discuss the results, and how you think it affects your daily life.

18) Donate to a LEAP project. The Law Enforcement Accountability Project funds various projects that highlight police abuse of Black people and ways to stop the violence. Donate or share their projects here.

19) Remember that the moral arc of society is long.  There are times when fighting racial injustice is a sprint, and times when fighting racial injustice is a marathon. There will be mistakes, the Gospel calls on all of us to fight injustice wherever we see it. Many of the issues listed above are not simply political issues, they are moral issues, and they strike at the core of  what it means to be a Christian.