When he was 14, Peter Makapela and his cousin Xolani joined scores of other schoolchildren in Cape Town, South Africa, to protest miserable conditions in the area’s schools for Black children. It was 1989, the height of public resistance to…
India at 75: The world’s largest democracy is dying of toxic nationalism
Think white Christian nationalism is the most dangerous form of identity politics in the democratic world? Meet Hindu nationalism, which is systematically destroying secular democracy — and civil society — in India. I sincerely regret raining on the parade of…
To reclaim its role as community thought leader, the church must reflect on its action and its record
I was reading church minutes, bored out of my mind. Not the first time, nor probably the last. Then, I wondered: Why? Why was I so disconnected from what these markers of congregational history have to say? Perhaps some of…
We dissent!
The headline read, “In a 5-4 Vote the United States Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade.” While I knew this decision was coming, I still felt a deep pain in my heart and anxiety swell all over my body. Perhaps…
This Supreme Court’s dangerous vision of ‘history and tradition’
To kick things off today, just a quick reaction to last Wednesday’s Jan. 6 House committee hearings, which featured Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Her testimony contained startling new revelations, even in…
Butler and Barr connect the dots between race and gender and patriarchy
“Race and gender and patriarchy always go together,” Beth Allison Barr said at the outset of a lively conversation with Anthea Butler during the Friends of BNG dinner June 30 in Dallas. Barr, a history professor at Baylor University and…
Was that a blatantly racist tweet from a Texas senator or not?
The ranking U.S. senator from Texas tweeted a response to former President Barack Obama June 25 that online observers immediately called out as blatantly racist. Exactly what Sen. John Cornyn meant is not clear, as he has not responded to…
What has John MacArthur actually said about race, slavery and the Curse of Ham?
“This whole genealogical effort could lead to a new genre of bumper stickers, I think, like ‘My forefathers were Philistines’ or like ‘Goliath was in my family’ or ‘I come from a long line of Hittite kings’ or here’s a…
Is America racist at heart?
A question like this typically puts white Americans on edge or at least ill at ease. But these questions must be dealt with if we are ever to truly live up to the greatness espoused in our Constitution. As we…
Most Americans hang out with people who are a lot like them
A majority of Americans associate most closely with people who look, think, vote and worship like them, according to new research by Public Religion Research Institute. “Across demographic groups, Americans’ core friendship networks tend to be dominated by people of…
America, blood is on your hands
“The language of white supremacy is a language of cowardice disguised as dominance.” — Toni Morrison Deep grief and rage rest upon the heart and soul as we continue to call the names of Black and brown bodies taken, stolen….
Now is the time when we need to hear white evangelical leaders refute white supremacy
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. … This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” These words of…