Judson Church includes a line for Reparations in its annual budget. In recognition of the generational loss suffered by Native Americans through broken treaties and the loss of language and culture through years of forced assimilation, the Racial Justice Team humbly offered the Judson reparation funds to the Minneapolis American Indian Center on May 6, 2025. MAIC focuses its work on supporting Native culture and community, providing services for 4,400 American Indians from 43 different tribes. This vital center was the first center to provide services for native people living in urban areas and it celebrates its 50th year of operation in 2025. We encourage the Judson community to visit the center, have lunch at their café, join in the events open to the public, and get to know their work. More information: https://maicnet.org
Additional funds raised from Randy Baker and Doug Weatherhead’s rock opera workshop were gifted to Judson’s reparation fund in 2025. In recognition of the generational harm stemming from the stolen labor and lives lost during the years of slavery supported by the government of the United States, these reparation funds were humbly offered to the We Win Institute on May 2, 2025. We Win Institute “brings a successful, proven model that engenders pride and love of learning in Black children and youth. Children thrive when they see themselves reflected in the curriculum, the programming, and through the eyes of the caring adults around them.” The members of the Racial Justice team have partnered with We Win during COVID to distribute groceries to their community, volunteer at their annual book fair, and the We Win youth drum group performed here several years ago. We encourage you to seek out ways to connect with WeWin at one of their public offerings this year. More information: https://www.we-win.org
It is the intention of the Judson Church congregation to continue to include these reparations in our annual budget and to continue to honor the pledge we’ve made in our Land Acknowledgement statement to “do better by our neighbors.”