Fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Name of Event: “The Missing SDG – A Call to Restorative Racial Justice”

Date & Time of Event: April 15, 2025, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am ET

Sponsoring Body: Baptist World Alliance

Language for Event: English

Description of Event
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is a Christian World Communion in 134 countries and territories that draws on over 400 years of shared history and today represents 176,000 churches and 53 million baptized believers. Since 1934 when Martin Luther King, Sr. first attended a Baptist World Alliance Congress, the BWA has actively engaged in a wide range of racial justice initiatives. Most recently, the BWA adopted a major new statement, “Restorative Racial Justice: A Call to Live in Flourishing Freedom (baptistworld.org/racial-justice).”

In keeping with its racial justice thrust, the BWA has planned a side event to support the advocacy for an 18th SDG focusing on racial justice. It is undeniable that racism is evident in many societies through prejudice, xenophobic behavior, structures, and systems. Where there are inequities, inequalities, and disparities based on race, deliberate and intentional efforts must be made to address the evil of racism. Therefore, the time is now for the addition of an 18th SDG focusing on racial justice. There will be three presentations at the side event, namely:

1.“The UN General Framework for Agenda 2030 – SDGs” by Gaynel Curry - Assistant Professor of Law at the University of The Bahamas, Ms. Curry is an Independent Expert Member of the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and works to advance the human rights, lives and livelihoods of communities of African descent worldwide, especially women and girls of African descent.

2.“Presenting the Case for the 18th SDG – Racial Justice” by Dr. Ahmed Reid - An accomplished historian and race relations expert, Dr. Reid served on the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, including time as Chair of this important UN mechanism. He was also the senior race expert at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), bringing his specialized knowledge to one of the world's leading financial institutions.

3.“Why Does Restorative Racial Justice Matter to the Global Church?” by Jennifer Lau - Jennifer Lau is the Executive Director of Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) from 2020, a global mission agency that represents the mission concerns of over 930 Canadian Baptist churches across the country. She is the first woman and layperson to hold the position in its 150-year history.

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with all three presenters.

Location of Side Event: United Nations Church Center, 2nd Floor
777 United Nations Plaza,
NY 10017
USA.

Name Lead Organizer: Elijah Brown
Email Address: elijah@baptistworld.org