I recently traveled to Geneva to attend the fifth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, an advisory body to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. As executive director of JustFaith Ministries, I joined representatives…
Alliance urged to touch the wounds and reclaim freedom
Because “covered wounds don’t heal,” American Christians must continue to expose the truth of their harmful past, Michael Woolf told the Alliance of Baptists annual gathering. That message was echoed in a second address by Kelly Brown Douglas, visiting professor…
NY Episcopal Diocese outlines plan for $1.2M racial reparations fund
The Episcopal Diocese of New York has launched the second phase of its racial reparations efforts, releasing a new report detailing how it plans to invest the nearly $1.2 million the diocesan convention began committing to the effort in 2019.
Tulsa takes a historic step
Tulsa, Okla. — once infamous for the 1921 Greenwood Massacre — is now taking bold steps toward something America has delayed far too long: reparations for Black Americans. And that’s a good thing. A very good thing. The announcement of…
Louisville church reflects on turning white Jesus into brown Jesus
Highland Baptist Church in Louisville transformed its stained-glass Jesus from white to brown to accurately reflect his ethnicity, to continue the congregation’s ongoing reparations work and to push back against Christian nationalism. “We wanted to correct the misrepresentation of Christ…
Remembering the Tulsa race massacre of 1921
On the evening of May 31, 1921, a mob of white people attacked the homes and businesses of Black people who lived in the thriving Greenwood community — considered the “Black Wall Street” — of Tulsa, Okla. Throughout that night…
Reparations should begin with recognition of human dignity, Delbanco says in 50th annual Jefferson Lecture
Reparations for America’s history of slavery must begin with recognition of human dignity, according to Andrew Delbanco, Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University. Delbanco delivered this year’s Jefferson Lecture sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities,…
Black religion and reparation questions
How many times have you heard Black religious leaders preach, teach and advocate about reparation for racial injustice? I have pondered that question a lot, especially since the murder of George Floyd. I have wondered why Black religious leaders are…
Reject ‘rule of law’ hypocrisy and demand reparatory justice
On Jan. 8, 2022, the Mail & Guardian (whose masthead asserts that it is “Africa’s Best Read” newspaper) published an opinion column by Lindiwe Sisulu titled “Whose Law Is It Anyway?” that has sparked a deep conversation in South Africa. I learned…
This progressive church reviewed its history and discovered it hadn’t ‘shown up’ very often on racial issues
Anyone entering the sanctuary of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., for the first time will inevitably leave talking one thing above all — the beauty of the stained-glass windows on all sides of the English Gothic-style worship space. Look…
Beware the Anti-Anti-Racist Evangelical Complex
Since publication of their new book addressing a Christian view on reparations for descendants of formerly enslaved Americans, Gregory Thompson and Duke Kwon have been met with harsh criticism by the “Anti-Anti-Racist Evangelical Complex.” That’s the best name I can…
Following Jesus and doing right
All professing Christians should be able to acknowledge that living the Christian life is a process of growing in the faith and converting this growth to actively walking as Jesus would have us walk. Yet too many professing Christians seem…