Damascus Road

DAMASCUS ROAD was founded in 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, during the Restoring Our Sight Conference. The name Damascus Road refers to the process of transformation that Saul experienced on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–31). While Damascus Road (DR) provides space for individual transformation, the entire program is designed to work toward long-term transformation of institutions, particularly churches and faith-based organizations.

The inception is credited to about 250 Mennonites and Brethren in Christ, who, during the conference, sought to address elimination of racism in the Anabaptist community. They aimed to explore the biblical basis for antiracist work, as well as the history of racism in the Anabaptist tradition, emphasizing institutionalized racism. The overarching purpose of Damascus Road was to lay the groundwork for the long-term work of dismantling racism in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations, conferences, and institutions by training teams, leaders, and supporters from those organizations.

To achieve this, the organization set a goal to equip each person and team with a biblical basis, grounded in the Anabaptist tradition, for dismantling racism and a basic analytical framework for dismantling systemic racism.

Damascus Road's antiracism work is carried out primarily through workshops organized at the local level, with organizational help and trainers provided by the national organization. Workshops include: Antiracism Analysis Training, which helps articulate the biblical call to antiracist action and presents a common language for talking about racism; Introductory Workshops, which provide a customized introductory analysis; Antiracism Organizing Training, which encourages teams to continue to deepen their theological understanding of antiracism work, learn basic concepts and skills for institutional organizing, and develop a vision, goals, and strategies for their work; Antiracism Educating and Communicating Training, which covers concepts and skills for effective antiracist education; Bread for the Journey, which develops team resources and networking; and Set Free and Fire & Clay Retreats, in which participants explore issues of internalized racist oppression and superiority.

Over 60 institutional teams and 1,300 individuals had participated in Damascus Road training by 2005, which included these workshops plus conferences, [Page 230]networking events, consultation, and antiracism audits. The Core Organizers, composed of eight trained individuals, provide additional emphasis on broader organizing concerns, while the Core Chaplains seek to articulate the theological and spiritual foundations of antiracism.

The teams that participate in the training represent various institutions, such as congregations, church con-ferences/districts, denominational boards, mission agencies, colleges, high schools, and service organizations. Damascus Road's work is grounded firmly in the Anabaptist family of churches (Mennonite, Brethren in Christ, and Church of the Brethren); however, they do accept all those who are willing to participate. The organization publishes regular newsletters and provides video and print resources for antiracism work. Damascus Road is part of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. Peace and Justice program.