Zyan, you haven’t gotten home yet from school, but there are tears running down my eyes as I hear Vice President Harris in the background conceding the election. This morning when you went to school, I could tell in your…
Black bodies provide cover for Republican racism
There was a time when Black Republicans like Frederick Douglass championed the cause of racial justice. They were the “progressives” of their day. None were perfect, but most had a sense of integrity. Colin Powell comes to mind when I…
When white male pastors challenge Black female leaders
Supporters of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists expressed surprise and shock when leaders of the American Baptist Churches in the USA recently sent a cease-and-desist letter asking to be removed as a “partner” on AWAB’s website. The original…
Three community leaders weigh in on Trump’s claims about ‘Black jobs’
One of the divisive claims made by presidential candidate Donald Trump is that immigrants are taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” from Americans. To better understand how this rhetoric is heard in the community, BNG interviewed three diversity and faith…
Tisby’s new book tells stories of faith and justice
History “has the receipts,” according to Jemar Tisby. “History is just stories, and woe to us history teachers who ever make it boring,” said the professor at Simmons College of Kentucky and author of the new book The Spirit of…
Don’t believe Trump’s claims he will be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’
Donald Trump’s controversial claim on his Truth Social platform that he will be “great for women and their reproductive rights” doesn’t break any new ground. All it does is raise suspicions: “Here he goes lying again.” And this is not the…
How MLK’s questions became my questions too
When Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in April 1963, I was a sophomore Bible major at a church-related college in the South, studying to become a preacher. None of my professors suggested that I read…
Harris represents the ‘thorn’ in Trump’s flesh: Strong, intelligent women
Kamala Harris presents a serious challenge to Donald Trump precisely because she is a strong, intelligent woman. Strong women always have been the “thorns” in the flesh of Trump. He can’t help himself when faced with a woman with nerves…
Seeing in color
I am old enough to remember black and white television. Color TVs didn’t become affordable until the mid-1960s, and I recall getting our first one at home in 1969. Seeing actors in full color made a difference. While I can’t…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Nathaniel Jung-Chul Lee
Nathaniel Jung-Chul Lee is an Episcopal priest who studied with Stanley Hauerwas at Duke, completed a Ph.D. from Baylor and teaches at St. John’s University. We’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on issues of race and faith at the Episcopal…
Jesus will not rescue America without our help, Pavlovitz says
Prayerfully waiting for God or the “arc of the moral universe” to heal America’s political, racial and religious divisions will do nothing to alter the nation’s downward spiritual and moral trajectory, activist and author John Pavlovitz said. In fact, no…
Is God really a white man?
White supremacy has been problematic in the United States. As we celebrate AAPI Heritage during May, I am reminded of the hatred, damage and destruction that has been committed against Asian Americans by white American society throughout American history. One…