A half century ago, Bobby Russell wrote a song about infidelity, murder and a messed-up legal system. The chorus summarizes the result and gives the song its now-famous name: That’s the night that the lights went out in Georgia. That’s…
The Ahmaud Arbery murder trial encapsulates the two Americas today, but there’s a silent third group
One of the things that’s easy to forget about the conviction of three white men for the cold-blooded murder of Ahmaud Arbery is that there almost wasn’t a trial. There were no arrests for two months after the murder. Two…
No, justice was not done in convicting Ahmaud Arbery’s killers
I’m seeing a lot of people describe the guilty verdict for the three men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery as “justice.” I’m not so sure I’d agree. Certainly, the verdict satisfies our desire to see serious consequences for the racist murder…
Accountability for the execution of Ahmaud Arbery: More is needed
I pounded the arm of my chair as each of the jury decisions, nine counts in all, were read by the judge in the case of the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial. The triggerman was found guilty of all counts. The…
Dear white people like me, this is what it means to accuse Black people of causing the very crimes committed against them
If you want to understand what our Black brothers and sisters have been saying for years about always getting the blame for the sins white people commit against them, look no further than a courtroom in Brunswick, Ga., today for…
The air that surrounds the Ahmaud Arbery trial and so many trials
The trial surrounding the murder of Ahmaud Aubrey represents everything I hate about America. It represents the seated hostility Georgia, this country, and the world has for Black people. Ahmaud was 25 years old with so much life to live….
In Brunswick, Ga., a storm is brewing
I was born and raised in Orlando, Fla., and one of the things I remember from my childhood experience was knowing when a storm was coming our way. You just knew from the look and smell that you should prepare…
‘A Change Is Gonna Come’: Ahmaud Arbery and the call to transform injustice
Sam Cooke said it best in soulful, somber song: “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Cooke wrote this song in the early 1960s as a protest to support the Civil Rights Movement. It was a volatile season for this country, as…
Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’
At various times in the biblical narrative, the Hebrew people gathered memorial stones in sacred spaces. These rock formations served as places of remembrance for all to see and be reminded of the power and transformative nature of God. May…
Is it time for Black Christians to give up on the SBC?
This is the second in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. The Southern Baptist Convention has managed to do it again! As the nation struggles through a pandemic that…
Baldwin’s ‘The Fire Next Time’ has arrived, and it burns inexorably toward liberation
As people rise up to declare that they will not endure or be complicit in racist, white supremacist oppression, let’s call their actions what they are: protest, freedom struggle and revolution, not rioting, looting or “disobedience” to the authorities.
Trump’s latest obscenity, a contrived and vacuous photo op, has left a lasting impression
Just as Trump has not risen to the stature of the presidency, religious leaders who have blindly supported and defended him have not risen to the stature of their prophetic calling. A country cannot afford to have both king (president, in America’s case) and prophets fail all at once.