I sometimes tell the story about how back during the pandemic, at the height of the Black Lives Matter marches, my friend Kelly Brown Douglas schooled me on racial reconciliation. That’s the sort of thing she does. Until then, I…
‘Try That in A Sundown Town’
A small radio rested in my grandmother’s kitchen — one of those gadgets stained by time and the touch of hands that saw a day’s labor before sunrise. On it played nothing but Country Gold. As pintos simmered on the…
Duggar in-law preaches that slavery was abolished after Blacks ‘humbled themselves’
A Baptist church in Texas has issued a clarification after the father-in-law of the pastor preached that Black slaves “humbled themselves” and prayed, turning “from their wicked ways,” which led to their freedom through “several white presidents.” Mike Keller, who…
White Christian nationalism is an ‘unholy alliance’ between fundamentalism and politics, Tisby tells BNG crowd
An event that occurred outside Atlanta more than a century ago presaged the violent, racist God-and-country resurgence of white Christian nationalism that pervades America today, historian and author Jemar Tisby said during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Atlanta…
The call is coming from inside the house: White Christian churches as incubators of anti-democratic sentiment
In 1979, “When a Stranger Calls” became a surprise box-office success. The plot, which drew on a common folk legend, wasn’t original, but the harrowing first 23 minutes of the film created a cult following and the film is still…
Coalition urges White House not to overlook Black immigrants
A coalition of American civil rights groups is pressing the White House to enact policies to protect undocumented Black migrants from deportation they believe stems from systemic racism. The Southern Poverty Law Center joined the NAACP, the Haitian Bridge Alliance,…
Opal Lee may be the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet
Opal Lee is lovingly known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” Over the past few years, she worked hard to bring awareness of this historic date to American citizens and lawmakers. The new federal holiday would not exist without her perseverance….
Is calling someone a ‘white supremacist’ the same as calling someone the ‘N-word’?
United States Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, noted for her random assaults on fellow legislators, was confronted by Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Green responded with what has been labeled a “racially loaded attack.” Greene…
What’s the truth about Critical Race Theory and the new framework for AP African American Studies?
Recently, the College Board announced there will be additional revisions to the framework of the AP African American Studies curriculum nationwide. These revisions are in response to a growing controversy surrounding the recently published course framework, which some scholars say…
When a boy gets kicked out of a men’s restroom, it’s time to speak up
Our regular contributor Rick Pidcock has a young son who, like his father, wears beautiful long hair. Recently, his son came out of a restaurant’s men’s room crying because an adult man told him he wasn’t allowed to be in…
Tennessee legislators turn back the clock to Jim Crow time
The recent actions of the Tennessee Legislature to expel two Black Democratic representatives scream for answers. Why would members of the Republican Party, who have spent the past seven years swearing on a stack of Bibles, sometimes held upside down,…
Hypocrisy
When we boil down all the assorted examples of how evangelicals have sold themselves to Donald Trump for 30 pieces of silver, one word summarizes it all: Hypocrisy. Call it irony. Call it opportunism. Call it greed. Call it a…