Right there in the middle of the most famous speech in 20th century American history —Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech — was essentially a pipe-dream prayer that King’s “four little children will one day live in a nation…
Pastor and college president contends wealth gap fuels racial marginalization
While racial progress has been made in some aspects of U.S. life, racial divisions will not be bridged if the country’s large racial wealth gap persists, a Baptist pastor and college president told an interfaith conference on race. At the…
In Wisconsin, the NRA won
While its business operations lie in bankrupt shambles, the National Rifle Association won the day in a Wisconsin courtroom this week. The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges related to the murder of two men and injury of a…
What’s wrong with saying you ‘don’t see color’?
In an effort to prove that they are not part of the American pandemic of racism, I’ve had quite a number of well-meaning people tell me they “don’t see color.” As much as I appreciate what they are trying to…
Why I’m among the unchurched today
In his Nov. 9 analysis, “The Church Is Losing Its Way,” Rob Sellers outlines the numerous ways in which the church is failing. In addition to Sellers’ list (irrelevance, unchallenging, unaccepting, and, most interestingly, unChristlike), I would like to add…
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….
The white evangelical war on truth
“What is truth?” was Pontius Pilate’s cynical retort to Jesus as he presided over his trial and ordered his execution. Pilate’s rhetorical question was proceeded by Jesus stating: “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I…
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…
Putting the white in witness since the 1940s
Now is the time to bring our conversation about whiteness and world-viewing into the present tense. The language and concept of worldviews are somewhat clear in many corners of evangelicalism today, but how does whiteness figure into these concepts? And…
Why is there a boom in enrollment at private Christian schools? Here’s one critical theory: Race
The New York Times headline, “Christian Schools Boom in a Revolt Against Curriculum and Pandemic Rules,” begs the question “Why?” “Why are Christian schools growing? Before addressing this thematic question, there is a definitional concern that needs attention. The secular…
‘Hateful faithful’ model paves the way for a fascist society
I was born, educated and live in Arkansas. Recently, white legislators in Arkansas responsible for redrawing voting districts in ways that fracture communities of Black and Latinx voters expressed dismay when Black and Latinx leaders denounced the re-drawn districts as…
A short history of the roots of colonialism, racism and whiteness in ‘Christian worldview’
The state of the conversation around race in many corners of America, including too many churches, is a mess. And before we get too far down the road, I want to register my hesitation about trying to abridge what I…