“There were two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) Born into slavery in Maryland around 1822, Harriet Tubman dreamed of freedom….
Shurden Lecture takes on the ‘myth of American chosenness’
Modern American Christian nationalists stand apart from their predecessors who at least claimed some degree of respect for religious freedom and other values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, a religion scholar said. Catherine Brekus, professor of the history of religion…
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….
Akin apologizes for tweet about slavery but is chastised by the SBC’s far-right
A Southern Baptist Convention seminary president apologized March 11 for his “unwise words” in a tweet about Texas Tech University football coach Mark Adams. The apology tweet was graciously received by many in the SBC and beyond, but it was…
Slavery and guns in America: The constitutional parallels
“We don’t have to die like this. We don’t have to live like this.” Those two sentences have become something of a mantra for Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I heard her say…
Baylor unveils design for “Monument to the Unknown Enslaved’
Baylor University has released the first detailed renderings of an addition to its Founders Mall that will be called “Monument to the Unknown Enslaved.” The monument is a priority project of the Baptist school’s Commission on Historic Campus Representations, which…
Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say
Baptist Christians must dive fearlessly into the white supremacist and pro-slavery histories of their religion and congregations, Camille Loomis Rehnborg said during a webinar hosted by the Baptist History and Heritage Society. “We need not fear the discomfort we might…
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,…
Where God is: Preaching the hard truths about change
Last fall on the second Sunday of Advent, I preached a sermon at the American Cathedral in Paris on change, our fear of change, the difficulties of change. And on race. It was a pretty typical sermon for Advent, that…