‘Is Racial Justice Possible?’

In a time when conversations about racial justice can feel polarized or paralyzed, Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Minnesota, is offering a bold and faithful witness to what is possible when a congregation commits to repair. Its journey is documented in the video “Is Racial Justice Possible?,” the second installment in the five-part series “Zero to One: A Congregation’s Journey to Repair,” produced by the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This video, available on the PC(USA) Vimeo channel and the Center’s resource page, features candid reflections from Oak Grove members and leaders as they wrestle with the theological, historical and personal dimensions of racial justice. Through interviews and Scripture, the video explores how faith communities can move beyond lip service to tangible action — especially reparations.

The voices in this episode are diverse and deeply rooted in experience. Becky Dop, a ruling elder, said, “I do think racial justice is possible,” but cautioned that achieving it requires intentional learning and listening, especially about white privilege and its pervasive influence. Ruling Elder Bob Heise added, “Until you actually get in and start doing something about it, you're effectively paying lip service.” Their words reflect a congregation that has moved from reflection to action.

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The video also features the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms. Ross-Allam speaks to the spiritual urgency of reparations, noting that preaching the gospel without addressing systemic racism felt hollow. His work with Oak Grove began during a time of national and local reckoning in the wake of the deaths of Philando Castile and Jamar Clarke and helped catalyze the church’s commitment to reparative giving.

Other voices, like Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020), bring historical and denominational context to the conversation. Street-Stewart reminds viewers that Oak Grove’s story is part of a larger narrative of settler colonialism and Indigenous displacement, while Bentley challenges the church to develop the “moral imagination” to envision a different world.

Scriptural grounding for the episode includes Galatians 3:23–28, emphasizing communal responsibility and spiritual unity. These texts frame reparations not as political gestures, but as expressions of the gospel.

The “Zero to One” series chronicles Oak Grove’s journey from initial conversations to concrete commitments, including significant financial contributions to Indigenous and Afro-American communities made possible through the nonprofit organization Restorative Actions. Each episode is released weekly through August and early September, offering a step-by-step look at how one congregation is living out its call to justice.

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“Is Racial Justice Possible?” doesn’t offer easy answers — but it does offer hope. In order for this hope to be realized, bold political and economic action is required, but so is a collective “metanoia,” — a transformation of our social imagination that repents of past and present systems of thought and socio-political-economic structures.

In response to this particular video and reflecting on the question, “Is racial justice possible?” Ross-Allam said that though the phrase “racial justice” is very familiar, it is in fact an oxymoron. “Reformed theology recognizes there can be no true justice built on the concept of race — especially so-called 'racial justice,'" he said.

This video and its companions offer a spiritual invitation for individuals and congregations to consider their role in repair and to recognize that even small steps taken in faith can lead to transformation.