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Photo credit: Michael Cheuk

Dr. Anthea Butler is 

• Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania
• Author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America and Women in the Church of God in Christ
• Commentator on and consultant to BBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, History Channel, Religion News Service, and The Washington Post

Dr. Butler was joined by two panelists:
Gayle Jessup White

• Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer, Monticello / Thomas Jefferson Foundation
• Author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy, available November 2021
• Descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’ family
• Board member, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society 

Tricia Johnson

• Director, Fluvanna County Historical Society

The discussion was moderated by  Devin Coles, Founding Pastor of Amazing Changes Ministries.

You can download a 6-Part Discussion Guide that you and your congregation can use to facilitate important and difficult conversations about religion and race. 

Please donate to our work so that we can continue to bring these kinds of educational opportunities to the public!

On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, the Charlottesville Clergy Collective organized the third "Conversations toward Reconciliation" dinner gathering. It was hosted by Unity of Charlottesville. Over 125 people from 23 different faith communities attended the event.

Reverends Don Lansky and Patricia Gulino Lansky, Co-Pastors of Unity welcomed us and offered a prayer to begin our time together.

Apostle Sarah Kelley, Pastor of Faith, Hope, and Love International Healing and Deliverance Center, led in the singing of "Reach Out and Touch, Somebody's Hand."

Rev. Dr. Michael Cheuk, Secretary of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, gave an overview of the work of the CCC and a recap of previous "Conversations toward Reconciliation" gatherings.

Rev. Dr. Brenda Brown-Grooms spoke about her shift in thinking about white people in relation to her call to serve as Co-Pastor of New Beginnings Christian Community in Charlottesville.​

​Rev. Albert Connett of Olivet Presbyterian shared the shift in his thinking about justice in housing for African Americans and how that shift led to his advocacy for this issue in our community.

In response to the events of August 11 and 12, 2017, the Charlottesville to Jamestown pilgrimage, sponsored by the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, provided a constructive opportunity for us to take the next step in addressing racism in America and its attending systemic injustices. During our journey, we heard stories and untold histories, we built relationships, and we identified common concerns that need to be transformed in order to bring about racial equity.

Our journey began on Saturday, October 6, 2018, from central Charlottesville. Our first leg took us past Emancipation Park (Market Street Park) and the proposed site for a marker to remember the July 12, 1898 lynching of John Henry James -- an African American man from Charlottesville. We walked on the Saunders-Monticello Trail, and ended up at Monticello for an education and reflection experience at the African American Burial Grounds, and the reading of the name of three hundred and sixty enslaved at Monticello.

During the week of October 8 to 11, we hosted educational and cultural activities in Charlottesville.

We heard Dr. Karenne Wood present the 18,000 year history of the Monacan people here in Virginia.

Mark Charles, a Navajo Christian, presented the untold history of Christianity's role in constructing white supremacy, and the United States' role in perpetrating not only the enslavement of Africans, but also the genocide of native peoples in America.  

On October 12, we traveled to Richmond where we went on a Slave Walk guided by the Elegba Folklore Society, followed by a time of group reflection and discussion at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Richmond.

On October 13, we took a pilgrimage by bus to Historic Jamestowne as we traveled back through history with Mark Summers of Preservation Virginia to learn about the pursuit of commercial ventures and economic profit that led to the enslavement and oppression of Africans and native peoples. We visited Point Comfort, where Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander gave a history of the site where the first ships carrying enslaved Africans landed in 1619. We ended our pilgrimage at Fort Monroe, the Union fort where escaped slaves went to seek asylum during the Civil War. There, we held a final ceremony, and re-read the three hundred and sixty names of the enslaved at Monticello.


The Pilgrimage is sponsored by Charlottesville Clergy Collective, a nonprofit, interfaith organization committed to addressing racism. We have fifty members representing over twelve Christian denominations and four other faith traditions.
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The Pilgrimage was funded by the generous support of BAMA Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, the Virginia United Methodist Foundation, the New Baptist Covenant, twelve different local faith congregations, and several individual donors. The Baptist Center for Ethics and Monticello provided in-kind services.

​Many thanks to EthicsDaily.com for producing this video.

In the wake of the contentious presidential election, we have witnessed in our country and in our community acts of hate and violence directed at vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups. As faith leaders in Charlottesville, we believe that God calls us to speak out for justice and proclaim a message of hope.

Today, we organized a Call to Prayer, inviting people from our places of worship to walk together from the west end of the Downtown Mall (Omni) to the Pavilion. We have invited many voices to offer prayers there. We want for this community to know that we stand united as people of faith, and that we are devoted to seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

Below are some pictures. More are posted on our Facebook page.

A 'Back to School Bash' will be held at the Sprint Pavilion on Saturday, Aug. 13, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Any student registered in the Charlottesville City or Albemarle County Public School system can receive free school supplies and backpacks while they last. A parent or guardian must be present with child(ren) to receive supplies.

For more information, call 434 293-3212 or email: [email protected].

Sponsored by the African American Pastor's Council, Albemarle County Schools, City of Charlottesville, Charlottesville City Schools, City of Promise, Helping Young People Evolve, and Charlottesville/Albemarle Health Department.