Wesley Foundations host watch party for racial justice documentary
What does a collaboration between two Wesley Foundations to examine racial justice look like? A new documentary exploring this question debuted at Edmond-First UMC on July 11.
“The Wesley Racial Justice Mission Trip” examined a joint mission trip between the Wesley Foundations at Langston University and the University of Central Oklahoma. The foundations traveled together this spring to examine causes, effects and efforts to address racial justice in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
In addition to learning about the group’s experiences, watch party attendees also had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about future efforts to address racial justice.
The purpose of the trip was to build relationships between students of different backgrounds, get hands-on experience with community groups working in Baltimore and have in-depth conversations about racial tensions in that area.
Trey Witzel, associate pastor at Edmond-First, and Kevin Tankerson, associate pastor at OKC-Quayle, led the group’s week-long trip during Langston’s and UCO’s spring break so students did not have to miss school to participate.
The mission trip was funded in part by a $2,500 grant awarded through Young People’s Ministries, part of the denomination’s Discipleship Ministries based in Nashville.
Upcoming opportunities to examine racial justice include a similar trip for high school students next year and a “Get on the Bus” civil rights tour of Memphis and Little Rock in September.
The full documentary is available to view on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/270437170, and a three-minute recap is available at https://vimeo.com/263947104.