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A continuation, not a commemoration: at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., religious and civic leaders spoke before thousands of demonstrators who turned out despite intense summertime heat on 26 August.

Forty retired World Council of Churches (WCC) staff gathered at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey on 22 August to celebrate the WCC’s 75th anniversary and to receive greetings and reflections from WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.

A webinar on 25 May, “Exploring the nexus between racism, xenophobia and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and African Union (AU) free movement protocol,” marked Africa Day by focusing on the potential of faith communities, especially Christians, in bridging the gaps that continue to frustrate the free movement of people and goods around the continent.

An online meeting planned for 25 May, titled “Exploring the nexus between racism, xenophobia and the AfCTA, and AU free movement protocol,” will mark Africa Day.

A webinar on 25 April will explore obstacles, opportunities, and strategies to combat racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination in the church and in the world.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is sharing materials for a “Week of Prayer for Overcoming Racism and Xenophobia” in the week that includes the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March and the UN International Day for the Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on 25 March.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will share regional daily prayers on antiracism in the week leading up to the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March.

A webinar on 1 March—Zero Discrimination Day—will explore the theme “COVID-19, Casteism and Caste discrimination: How to mitigate pandemic-reinforced inequality and discrimination.”

When the World Council of Churches (WCC) launched the Programme to Combat Racism after years of in-depth theological reflections and prayer in 1971, South Africa's insidious racist apartheid policies were in full throw. The programme brought the WCC into the world's spotlight. Yet racism did not start 50 years ago. And it did not end with the casting out of apartheid at the end of the 20th century. During that era, figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fought racism in society and the church.

A webinar on 6 December—fifth in an ongoing series—will remember past massacres in Europe.

A 27 September webinar, part of the ongoing “Remembering Past Massacres” series, focused on Latin America, with speakers reflecting on the atrocities committed against indigenous populations in the name of Christianisation, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the ruthless military dictatorships in South America during the 1960s-80s, and the 1937 massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

An upcoming webinar, part of the ongoing “Remembering Past Massacres” series, will focus on Latin America, with speakers reflecting on the atrocities committed against Indigenous populations in the name of Christianisation, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the ruthless military dictatorships in South America during the 1960s-80s, and the 1937 massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

In an ecumenical meeting for North American church leaders on 24 June, prayers and discussion centered on issues that are both deeply painful and seemingly insurmountable: racism, division, vaccine hesitancy, genocide, war. But hope found a way into the virtual gathering as participants supported each other to find ways forward.