(Adopted unanimously by the church membership on February 15, 2026)
On June 14, 2020, our membership unanimously adopted the First Baptist Church of Madison Statement on Racial Justice. The writing of that statement was prompted by the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, on the heels of countless incidents of police brutality toward Black people, white supremacy, and other senseless acts of violence. Five and a half years later, we see the same and more. Therefore, it’s critical that we renew our commitment to stand against racism and stand up for being antiracist individually and as a church.
Systemic racism, white supremacy, racist acts, and racially motivated police violence still exist. There is still work to do. We here at First Baptist of Madison continue to dig into what it means to do justice where injustice persists. We work towards “justice for all” by focusing on the experiences of Black people in our society because anti-Blackness is at the root of systemic racism. By centering and lifting up Black people, we are setting the stage for equity for all who are oppressed.
We are committing ourselves not only to sustain, but to expand the energy toward this mission in order to counter the unrelenting current of white supremacy. Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, posits that we can increase our capacity to fight our own complicity in racism by engaging in the three actions that comprise his ARC framework: expanding our Awareness of issues related to Black people, becoming intentional about developing authentic Relationships with Black people, and Committing to concrete actions to make antiracist activities a part of our lives. We are anchored in FBC's mission statement and guided by Racial Justice Team’s goals, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Task Force report, Tisby’s ARC framework, and Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA) Co-op’s teaching.
By making our commitments public, we hold ourselves (both as a congregation and as individuals) accountable, we sustain each other in the work, and we inspire others to join us on this journey.
