With the crowd cheering, balloons falling and television pundits starting to praise Kamala Harris for her Thursday night speech accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, the Democratic National Convention program still had another agenda item. Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt and…
Regarding election 2024: Eight things I see
After a tumultuous and fascinating two months in American politics, here are some things I see as this election year moves into its final stretch. After the June presidential debate, Joe Biden’s candidacy was doomed. He was right to drop…
Many Africans root for Kamala Harris but some question her identity and policies
A few days after Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and backed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to run for the office, a message began making the rounds via WhatsApp among some Africans in church groups and elsewhere…
White Calvinist theology has gone to hell
“They’re going to hell,” declared Founders Ministry president and Southern Baptist pastor Tom Ascol. In a scene reminiscent of Oprah Winfrey’s “You Get a Car” giveaway, Ascol proclaimed, “Kamala Harris is going to hell, … (Anne) Branigin is going to…
It’s the democracy, neighbor
Last week, I was driving along a Texas highway in Paige, a rural town with a population of 278, when I saw a sign as foreign to me as UFOs and aliens. The billboard read, “Protect Women’s Rights! Vote Blue…
Call her by her name
Rep. Nancy Mace, after repeatedly mispronouncing the name of Kamala Harris on a CNN panel Aug. 15, was called out for her disrespect by fellow panelist Michael Eric Dyson, a professor at Vanderbilt University. Dyson said: “This congresswoman is a…
MAGA evangelicals cast aspersions on new Evangelicals for Harris group
Donald Trump’s evangelical supporters are not happy about a new group called Evangelicals for Harris — as in Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. In their view, anyone who favors Harris over Trump in this year’s presidential election is forsaking the…
The grace of joy — and the sneerers
One of the astonishing differences in the new Kamala Harris-led change in the political landscape today is the unmistakable note of joy in her campaign and in her followers and, in contra-distinction, the way her political opponents are sneering at…
‘Christians for Kamala’ reaches 40,000 people
Progressive Christian organizers, artists, activists and politicians are adding their names to the mix of prominent leaders supporting Kamala Harris for president. Following the major success of events like “White Women for Harris” and “White Dudes for Harris,” which were…
Responses to Harris’ candidacy provide object lessons in racism and sexism
While it is nothing new, the last few weeks have marked a whole other chapter in ways for us to guard ourselves against racism and sexism in this country. With Kamala Harris now the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party,…
We ‘Jezebels’ can wield power with righteous authority
Until this week, I didn’t know I had something in common with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for U.S. president. In our time, we’ve both been labeled Jezebel. “Jezebel” has been the name for so many women whom…
What does freedom mean to you? Black Baptist women and the fight to vote
What does freedom mean to you? On July 26, former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told Christians at The Believers’ Summit, an event hosted by Christian nationalist advocacy group Turning Point USA: “Get out and vote. Just this…