Susan K. Smith It’s a matter of power Karen Armstrong writes in The Case for God that in spite of the fact that all of the world’s faiths insist that “true spirituality must be expressed consistently in practical…
Uncategorized Racism as Institutional Injustice In March 2012 an African American defense attorney named Bryan Stevenson gave a TED Talk called “We Need to Talk about an Injustice.” While not yet the household name he…
Lisa Sharon Harper Any attempt to repair what race broke in our nation must contend with what race broke in our faith. The varying perceptions of the Christian story divided our nation in antebellum times into two main camps: those who reconciled slavery and those who opposed slavery, both based on biblical…
Kerry Connelly Hard to break free It takes an incredibly strong, brave, and independent person to break free from the tribe - to go against the patterns of behavior and the roles you’ve been assigned to…
Susan K. Smith Jesus seemed absent, his words ignored Our beloved Bible gave us the Great Commandment, found in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is significant that these words are found in all three of…
Catherine Meeks Proximity without a process Physical proximity to one another can provide diverse peoples opportunities for caring relationship. However, without sustained interaction and expression of intimacy among people of different identities, the stage is set…
Ibram X. Kendi Denial is the heartbeat of racism It is hard for me to believe I finished high school in the year 2000 touting so many racist ideas. A racist culture had handed me the ammunition to shoot…
Uncategorized A letter from Jourdon Dayton, Ohio August 7, 1865 To My Old Master, Colonel P. H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee Sir: I got your letter, and was glad that you had not forgotten Jourdon,…
Uncategorized Church Where MLK Launched His Civil Rights Career to Become a Museum https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mlk-church-museum-grant-alabama-civil-rights-bus-boycott-180978446/
Uncategorized White Christian Nationalism in the United States: An Online Mini-Conference https://raac.iupui.edu/programs/events/white-christian-nationalism-in-the-united-states-an-online-mini-conference/
Robert P. Jones Segregation As blacks began to pour into northern cities to escape oppression in the South as part of the “great migration” in the early nineteen hundreds, the Catholic Church responded by…
Susan K. Smith It is our very denial which has allowed the system to continue Though this book will be talking about race and its impact on how both the Bible and the United States Constitution have been read, interpreted, and applied, it is important…
Catherine Meeks The transformation of hearts is essential Opposing racism but not being active in combatting it sounds rather benign. Forfeiting opportunities to act creatively for race relations may be the greatest contributor to racism’s malignant persistence in…
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons King’s commitment to representing the God-given dignity of human life The religious conservatives’ opposition to the civil rights nature of Rev. Dr. King’s ministry also came into focus during the final years of his life, when he embraced a broader…
Religion News Service Patriot games: CRT, Christian nationalism and a battle for the real truth of America https://religionnews.com/2021/07/02/patriot-games-crt-christian-nationalism-and-a-battle-for-the-real-truth-of-america/
Catherine Meeks Embedded in how American institutions and systems function Centuries of racial discrimination and injustice are the foundation upon which current social and economic institutions stand. Education, for example, is touted as a way for persons to participate fully…
Robert P. Jones Underneath the glossy, self-congratulatory histories This book puts forward a simple proposition: it is time - indeed, well beyond time - for white Christians in the United States to reckon with the racism of our…
Lenny Duncan The roots of black Lutheranism in America Jehu would eventually be sent to Philadelphia to be a missionary to the black community there. He founded St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Center City Philadelphia. He bought the land…
Leigh Finke A choice? Some people remain convinced that being queer is a choice, an anomaly, a problem to be solved. But nothing could be further from the truth. Some people argue that queerness…
Kerry Connelly America is good Americans are good. In his July 2019 newsletter to his followers, evangelical leader James Dobson described a visit to the southern border of the United States during what can only…
brenda salter mcneil If we refuse to face the truth There is an insidious and growing evil at work among us that continues to commodify and dehumanize human beings according to a racial hierarchy. This is rooted in a philosophical…
