Nearly three weeks after presidents of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries issued a controversial statement on systemic racism, other elected leaders within the SBC began to respond to the criticisms — although not with the same clarity with which…
Please listen to my friend Ralph West about racism and the SBC
Ralph D. West Sr. does more for race relationships by walking into a diverse room than many of us will do in a lifetime trying to help. My friend Ralph has merely to be present in a group of Blacks…
Another prominent Black Baptist pastor publicly quits the SBC
For the second time in two days, a prominent Black pastor has publicly quit the Southern Baptist Convention over its seminary presidents’ campaign against Critical Race Theory. “I keep hearing the words of Harriet Tubman: ‘We out,’” said Charlie Dates,…
The tangled beauty of America and original sin
The six Southern Baptist seminary presidents have condemned Critical Race Theory and forbade its use in seminary education. With this, they fell into lockstep with President Trump whose executive order forbade its use in federal agencies. He said Critical Race…
‘Cultural humility’ fosters a lifelong self-examination of racism
The work of identifying racist attitudes and behaviors is not only uncomfortable, but also never-ending, said Kerri Fisher, a lecturer and diversity educator at Baylor University. Recognizing white privilege and oppressive social systems isn’t enough to sustain “cultural humility,” said…
Why are SBC seminary presidents rejecting Critical Race Theory if they teach about Jesus and the prophets who denounced injustice?
This article is part of a series on Critical Race Theory published throughout the month of December. See the links below for previous articles in the series. On Nov. 30, 2020, presidents of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern…
SBC seminary presidents are ‘complicit with evil,’ revered California pastor says
J. Alfred Smith Sr. is not happy with the six Southern Baptist Convention presidents, who recently issued a declaration against Critical Race Theory. “They are more afraid of Critical Race Theory than the ugly racism that has our democracy about…
Want to understand Critical Race Theory? Read the Good Samaritan story
This is the third in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory grew out of the work of legal scholars of color who recognized how racism was structured…
I didn’t understand the Black experience in America but I am learning
Diane Wesh first fled the cultural racism of America by what she called “solo travel,” which was getting away from the forces of racism she experienced every day of her remembered life. This is part of her story: “Being Black…
SBC seminary presidents are propagating fear to maintain control
This is the first in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. Earlier this month, all six presidents of the seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention announced a total…
How 300 children lost their fathers to lynching on a single day because of a conspiracy theory
At last count, 73,923,495 Americans have voted for Donald Trump. Trump eclipsed Barack Obama’s previous record by more than 4.5 million votes. Trump topped his own 2016 performance by 11 million votes. That’s huge. Trump lost the election; but he…
Panel urges Southern Seminary to make amends for past racial sins
Panelists at a Dec. 2 virtual forum on “Race and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary” agreed the Louisville, Ky., school’s entanglements with slavery and racism demand a stronger response than the school has put forward. However, participants in the West…