Self-confessed racists have been meeting at a church to discuss their problems with people different to them.
The 'racist anonymous' meetings are being held at Trinity United Church of Christ in Concord, North Carolina.
It comes after a spate of hate crime incidents in the area and they were organised by Rev Nathan King.
He told WCNC: "It seemed like every week we were coming into worship and we were doing another prayer because someone had been killed in the street"
The class would help people "deal with the racism within ourselves," he added.
There has been a mix of people attending, from all walks of life and all colours, the pastor continued.
The meetings follow a process similar to that of alcoholics anonymous and participants are allowed to speak as often, or as little, as they wish.
"It's an anonymous meeting, so there's safety in that," Rev. King said.
Video footage of a meeting shows one woman saying: "Hi, I'm Carol, and I'm a racist."
She said she was there to "seek solutions to understand what behaviour is appropriate and healthy".
A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference
In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.
Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.
For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.
Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.
Support Us
Article by Antony Bushfield
Antony Bushfield is a multimedia journalist for Premier.