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About

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:

Researched Mount Olivet’s history to learn more about the church’s role in race relations and school desegregation efforts;
Created Gifts Celebrating Diversity, a list of Black-owned businesses and culturally diverse and anti-racist books, as a resource for Mount Olivet members interested in supporting anti-racism while shopping;
Sponsored a four-part Wednesday evening adult study: ”Who is My Neighbor: Conversations about Race,” which was attended by more than 30 people each evening;
Joined Arlington County as the first church partner in a program called Dialogues on Race and Equity (DRE).
Begun archiving resources, including historical information and devotional and learning resources that members of Mount Olivet can access and use

Weekly Resources

Every week our team gives you a curated list of books, articles, podcasts, and videos related to racial equity. These resources are sent out in the weekly eNews and can be found in the resource archive here.

via State Library of Louisiana. Unloading the Day’s Shrimp Catch in Manila Village, Louisiana.

this week's resource

May 24, 2026

First Filipinos to Land in the Americas and First Filipino Settlement in the US

If asked, many of us would identify Chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad as the first group of Asian immigrants to arrive in the United States. In fact, Spanish records document the landing of Filipino workers from a Spanish ship in Morro Bay, California, in 1587, although they left within days. The first permanent residents from the Philippines had arrived in Louisiana by the early 1800s, where they fought against the British in the War of 1812 and developed the shrimp industry.