Salvation Army to host forum in Hoffman Estates after racism guide controversy
The Salvation Army is hosting a two-day racial justice forum in Illinois in an effort to "help alleviate the pain of suffering humanity within our communities and institutions" after the organization sparked controversy last month with a racism guide that it has since retracted.
The Young Adult Racial Justice Forum, hosted by the Salvation Army Metropolitan Division, will take place in Hoffman Estates near Chicago on Jan. 8-Jan. 9 and will feature theologian and activist Esau McCaulley as a guest speaker.
"We believe racial justice is an urgent issue close to the heart of God," the event description states, "and therefore are eager to create opportunities to disciple our soldiers and stakeholders in ways that will encourage deeper holiness and to provide those in our ranks with the resources to help alleviate the pain of suffering humanity within our communities and institutions."
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The forum comes after the Salvation Army faced a backlash in November for publishing a guide called "Let’s Talk About Racism" that contained racially charged language instructing White people and Christians to "evaluate" racist attitudes and practices. The organization later removed the guide from its website for further review.
"Elements of the recently issued ‘Let’s Talk About Racism’ guide led some to believe we think they should apologize for the color of their skin, or that The Salvation Army may have abandoned its Biblical beliefs for another philosophy or ideology," the Salvation Army posted on its website Nov. 25. "That was never our intention, so the guide has been removed for appropriate review."
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaigns have failed to meet fundraising goals in multiple states. The organization has denied that the racism guide has hurt donations.
"We have no information to suggest that the efforts of any political action group is affecting the Red Kettle results," a Salvation Army spokesperson told Fox News on Friday.
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Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.