Philosophy
CCD Philosophy
We take a wholistic and community-driven approach modeled off the eight key components of Christian Community Development. A significant aspect of our mission is to equip leaders and communities to be a part of furthering the Black story in the South.
Reverse Migration
Reverse migration, articulated by American journalist and commentator, Charles M. Blow, signifies the phenomenon in which descendants of migrants journey back to the South, retracing the steps of their ancestors who initially migrated to the North and West in response to the era of Jim Crow.
This stems from the belief that the South is a sanctuary -- what was once a place to be feared has become a refuge and haven for Black folks to grow in their identity, purpose, and mission in the world.
Formational Books
Here's a collection of books that have had a profound impact on us, shaping our understanding and inspiring our deep interest in the Black narrative. They've motivated us to actively participate in, contribute to, and uplift the Black story through our work. This list is a work in progress, and we'll keep updating it.
This book is foundational to our move to Durham, NC. In it, Charles M. Blow introduces us to a concept called 'reverse migration,' which is a call to African Americans to migrate back to the South in order to receive the rich identity of our ancestors and expand effective Black influence, benefiting the most marginalized in our country at large.
In this book, Blow acknowledges that our ancestors migrated from the South to escape the devil they knew in exchange for the devil they didn't know in the North. Drawing deeply from his own experiences as a Black son of the South and his keen political insights, he presents a succinct, thought-provoking, and fervent perspective aimed at dispelling enduring misconceptions about race and geography in America. As the events of the pandemic and the 2020 protests unfolded, he felt an undeniable call to weave a fresh narrative for Black Americans. This work transcends the typical "race book" label; it's a resounding call to action, a bold proposition for enduring transformation, and a recognition of the imperative shift in power that is needed.
This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life.
Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity, South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.
From 1915 to 1970, Isabel Wilkerson explores the profound impact of the migration of nearly six million people on America, comparing it to historical migrations. Drawing from over a thousand interviews and extensive research, her book, "The Warmth of Other Suns," offers a definitive and vivid account of this transformative period. Through the lives of three individuals—Ida Mae Gladney, who left Mississippi for Chicago in 1937; George Starling, who fled Florida for Harlem in 1945; and Robert Foster, who pursued a medical career after leaving Louisiana in 1953—the narrative unfolds with historical detail. Wilkerson depicts their arduous cross-country journeys, the formation of new communities, and the ways in which Southern migrants shaped and improved cities with their food, faith, and culture. The book is hailed as a riveting microcosm and a significant assessment, an acclaimed classic for its comprehensive narrative, compelling writing, thorough research, and portrayal of lives during this "unrecognized immigration" within the United States.
In Shoutin’ in the Fire, Danté Stewart gives breathtaking language to his reckoning with the legacy of white supremacy—both the kind that hangs over our country and the kind that is internalized on a molecular level. Stewart uses his personal experiences as a vehicle to reclaim and reimagine spiritual virtues like rage, resilience, and remembrance—and explores how these virtues might function as a work of love against an unjust, unloving world.
In 2016, Stewart was a rising leader at the predominantly white evangelical church he and his family were attending in Augusta, Georgia. Like many young church leaders, Stewart was thrilled at the prospect of growing his voice and influence within the community, and he was excited to break barriers as the church’s first Black preacher. But when Donald Trump began his campaign, so began the unearthing. Stewart started overhearing talk in the pews—comments ranging from microaggressions to outright hostility toward Black Americans. As this violence began to reveal itself en masse, Stewart quickly found himself isolated amid a people unraveled; this community of faith became the place where he and his family now found themselves most alone. This set Stewart on a journey—first out of the white church and then into a liberating pursuit of faith—by looking to the wisdom of the saints that have come before, including James H. Cone, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and by heeding the paradoxical humility of Jesus himself.
This sharply observed journey is an intimate meditation on coming of age in a time of terror. Stewart reveals the profound faith he discovered even after experiencing the violence of the American church: a faith that loves Blackness; speaks truth to pain and trauma; and pursues a truer, realer kind of love than the kind we’re taught, a love that sets us free.
While the North American church grapples with an eroding position of privilege in society, there is a liberating vision of church from the margins. This manifesto defines eight marks of liberating churches that were identified through research of antebellum hush harbors. Hush harbors were the covert gatherings of enslaved Africans to worship and organize for change free from the surveillance of plantation Christianity. Liberating Church explores how the marks of antebellum hush harbors are being lived out now in several faith communities. This book offers a guide for anyone who wants to embrace innovative models for building spaces of faith and activism with structural critique and spiritual power.
Isabel Wilkerson's compelling book, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," unveils the hidden but influential caste system that shapes American society. Beyond considerations of race or class, Wilkerson explores the pervasive and powerful hierarchy that dictates people's lives, behaviors, and the destiny of the nation. Drawing connections between the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, she identifies eight pillars underlying these systems, such as divine will and bloodlines. Through deeply researched narratives about real individuals, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Satchel Paige, and herself, Wilkerson illustrates the everyday experiences of the insidious impact of caste. She delves into how the Nazis drew inspiration from America's racial systems and reveals the health costs and cultural and political effects of this hierarchy. Ultimately, Wilkerson points towards a hopeful future by urging America to move beyond divisive human separations and embrace our common humanity. "Caste" is an original and revealing exploration of history and people, offering a profound reexamination of the hidden forces shaping ordinary lives and contemporary American society.
This is the first full history of Operation Breadbasket, the interfaith economic justice program that transformed into Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH (now the Rainbow PUSH Coalition). Begun by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement, Breadbasket was directed by Jackson. Author Martin L. Deppe was one of Breadbasket’s founding pastors. He digs deeply into the program’s past to update the meager narrative about Breadbasket, add details to King’s and Jackson’s roles, and tell Breadbasket’s little-known story.
Under the motto “Your Ministers Fight for Jobs and Rights,” the program put bread on the tables of the city’s African American families in the form of steady jobs. Deppe details how Breadbasket used the power of the pulpit to persuade businesses that sought black dollars to also employ a fair share of blacks. Though they favored negotiations, Breadbasket pastors also organized effective boycotts, as they did after one manager declared that he was “not about to let Negro preachers tell him what to do.” Over six years, Breadbasket’s efforts netted forty-five hundred jobs and sharply increased commerce involving black-owned businesses. Economic gains on Chicago’s South Side amounted to $57.5 million annually by 1971.
Deppe traces Breadbasket’s history from its early “Don’t Buy” campaigns through a string of achievements related to black employment and black-owned products, services, and businesses. To the emerging call for black power, Breadbasket offered a program that actually empowered the black community, helping it engage the mainstream economic powers on an equal footing. Deppe recounts plans for Breadbasket’s national expansion; its sponsored business expos; and the Saturday Breadbasket gatherings, a hugely popular black-pride forum. Deppe shows how the program evolved in response to growing pains, changing alliances, and the King assassination. Breadbasket’s rich history, as told here, offers a still-viable model for attaining economic justice today.