The Racial Equity Team focuses on racial justice, racial equity, and Mount Olivet's role in systemic racism.
The Racial Equity Team devises plans and strategies to share with the Mount Olivet community and with our neighbors in Arlington and beyond.
Since the formation of this group, we have:
Rev. Dr. James Cone, was ordained in the AME church and founder of Black Liberation Theology. His experiences with racism, the assassination of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Euro-centric teachings in seminary led to him developing a new approach to Christian interpretation. Cone upended Christian theology by centering blackness as part of God’s essential nature. He connected the brutality of the cross to the practice of lynching in America, asserting that Jesus was the “first lynchee.” Learn more about Black Theology and James Cone's body of work.

This was James Cone's question as he was developing black theology
James Cone on the Cross and the Lynching Tree
Cornell West - Cone Funeral Comments
This Far by Faith . James Cone | PBS
The Transition of James H. Cone - AME Church
Why James Cone Was the Most Important Theologian of His Time | Sojourners
In Memoriam: Dr. James Hal Cone - Union Theological Seminary
Consider walking in the footsteps of our neighbors by visiting a series of sites, memorials, and living testaments to the courage, resilience, and faith of our African American neighbors. There are two tours that seek to capture glimpses into the story of North and South Arlington. We pray they may serve as the first step in the long walk towards racial equity and justice in Arlington.
Read a short report by Jim Dake on the history of Mount Olivet and racism within Arlington and the United Methodist Church.
Read the reportStart here to learn more about the Racial Equity Team at Mount Olivet, or browse current events to see what's coming next.