First Church has identified racial justice and working to confront white supremacy as a critical priority. The Antiracism Committee, which is comprised of members of the congregation, develops strategy and implements programs and events that forward our goals.

Among these efforts, we offer annual Lenten Learning Circles focused on antiracist books and podcasts, we utilize resources provided by the United Church of Christ to guide cohorts through a study of white privilege, we have prioritized training our leadership in antiracism, and we are currently developing communities of practice to continue the work in accountable relationships. Most importantly, we partner with vital partner organizations like Washington Interfaith Network, Congregation Action Network, and the Potomac Association of the Central Conference (UCC) to take action in multi-racial coalitions for racial justice, affordable housing, and human rights.

These efforts build on the church’s 2003 designation as a Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural congregation.

History on Racial Justice at First Church

Racial justice has been a priority for First Church since it was founded in 1865 by abolitionists serving in the Lincoln Administration as one of the first integrated churches in Washington, DC. The land on which the building sits is the ancestral homeland of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe, “the people where the rivers blend” and of the Nacotchtank/ Anacostan people, then became a tobacco plantation worked by enslaved laborers. Our founders included General Oliver Otis Howard, head of the Freedman’s Bureau and founder of Howard University. The congregation’s first defining crisis occurred in 1869 when the church’s first pastor and more than half the congregation departed following a conflict over whether black and white people should indeed worship together, including at an integrated communion table. The crisis strengthened our relationship with Howard University, who purchased the note on the new building, saving us for this day.

In the 1950s and 1960s, First Church was a strong supporter of civil rights and served as a meeting place for interracial meetings and as a staging area for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Rev. Bruce Hanson, assistant pastor at First Church, took a leave of absence in 1964 with the blessing of the congregation to work with Bob Moses during Freedom Summer, registering voters in Mississippi. First Church served as a training site for students and volunteers who participated in Freedom summer.

Yet, much work remains to be done. Our 150th anniversary in 2015 provided us with an opportunity to reflect with pride and honesty on our founding and provided us with ethical grounding that will inform our future. Who do we want to be on our 200th anniversary?

Although First Church’s founders were abolitionists, many of them – like abolitionists more broadly – stopped short of calling for racial equality. The congregation recommitted to working on racial justice after the early departure of its segregationist first pastor.

First Church, like many others, has had moments worthy of celebration as well as those which call forth reflection, deliberation, and growth.

In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, we mobilized in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to serve as a public witness proclaiming Black Lives Matter. The congregation also passed a statement entitled, “Becoming an Antiracist Church,” empowering advocacy to support voting rights, affordable housing, criminal justice reform, DC statehood, and more. In 2021, we underwent a Racial Justice Audit testing a resource produced by the Central Atlantic Conference’s Audit Development Team, on which Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss served. The audit provided insight into the need to transform our systems and structures in order to live into our antiracism calling.

Click here to read our Racial Justice Audit report.

First Church is one among more than 1,000 U.S. faith communities that have designated themselves as “sanctuary congregations,” committing to protect and stand with immigrants facing deportation and with other vulnerable groups.

With leadership from members and friends comprising the Sanctuary Working Group, First Church engaged in its own advocacy and education efforts and also partners with Sanctuary DMV and Downtown D.C. Sanctuary DMV Congregations network. Sanctuary DMV is comprised of faith communities in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. that have committed to resist policy proposals that target and seek to deport undocumented immigrants and discriminate against other marginalized communities, including people of color, religious minorities (particularly Muslims), and LGBTQ individuals.

Sanctuary efforts take a variety of forms, including individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children with their parents and are now at risk of deportation because of the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), people threatened by the potential end of the Temporary Protected Status program (TPS) and others. Sanctuary also may involve rapid response to serve as witnesses when there is notice that immigration officials seek to take an individual into custody, accompanying undocumented individuals to legal and immigration proceedings, and training to be an active bystander when witnessing actions against immigrants or other undocumented individuals on the streets and elsewhere.

The decision to become a sanctuary congregation is consistent with First Church’s priorities, history, and beliefs. It also is in accord with the mandates of major religions. For example, the Hebrew Bible references the command to welcome the stranger more than 30 times, and Jesus urges his followers to do the same. The Quran teaches believers to protect the vulnerable.

First Church members unanimously approved the designation in Spring 2016. The vote followed a recommendation from the Church Council, which created a task force of members and friends earlier in the year to discern whether First Church should make the designation and specifically what identifying as such would mean for the congregation. Read the full motion here.

See the history of the sanctuary movement here.