I have felt a lot like one of the Old Testament kings recently when it comes to Scripture and the injustices in my land. I feel like Josiah when the Torah was accidentally found during a repair job at the temple (2 Kings 22). Generations of doing things a certain way, now confronted with God’s […]
How to overcome our racial biases? Walk boldly toward them.
This TED Talk by Verna Myers on how to overcome our racial biases is worth watching:
Why there are more Black Men in Jail than in Jobs
Did you know the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world? (And we have had a 500% increase over the past 30 years!) Did you know the United States contains 5% of the world’s population but 25% of its prisoners? Did you know there are more black men age 20-34 […]
Aamer Rahman comedy – “Reverse Racism” – Fear of a Brown Planet
Aamer Rahman is an Australian stand-up comedian of Bangladeshi descent. This “Reverse Racism” clip was recently shown at an Understanding Racism workshop I attended and is from Rahman’s album “Fear of a Brown Planet.” The reason I’m posting this is 1.) It’s genuinely funny — if we can’t laugh at ourselves, we are in trouble. […]
Love is not the Answer to America’s Race Problem
The sociological research book Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith shows how white evangelical Christians see the solution to America’s race problem coming at an individual level, not a systemic or legislative level (p.115, “Let’s Be Friends” chapter). The predominant thought is that if everyone became a Christian, the race problem would […]
Why the (White) Church Needs to Care About Eric Garner’s Death
Eric Garner, an unarmed African-American man, was choked to death by white police officers in New York City on July 17th. Yesterday a grand jury decided that no criminal charges would be brought against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who choked Garner to death. Garner was suspected of selling untaxed cigarettes. What is so unique […]