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…
I’ve been following the wrong Jesus
Imagine looking for Jesus in the Antebellum South of America. Both the slave master and the slave proclaimed allegiance to Jesus. The slave master, because he believed all his wealth, wisdom and power over people he considered sub-human was a…
Four states update their constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude
While the prospect of becoming enslaved may seem like an irrelevant question today — slavery was abolished in the United States 157 years ago with the ratification of the 13th Amendment — last week citizens in five states voted on…
Condolences and clarity concerning the death and life of Queen Elizabeth
The death of Queen Elizabeth requires deep reflection. She was matriarch to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and other family members. She was monarch of Britain for 70 years. Most people in Britain, across the British Commonwealth and across the…
Seeing whitewashed history for the pale reality it is
On a recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Richmond, Va., I saw things from a different point of view. As I looked into racial minority issues, predominantly those of Africans, I was shocked at how melanin became evil. It is…
Emotions run high as BNG group walks the sacred ground of Richmond’s mass grave that got paved over as a parking lot
The morning exploration of a long-hidden slave processing site in downtown Richmond, Va., was so overpowering for Kan’Dace Brock that she had to be comforted by others touring the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and historic burial ground. Walking the location where…
In Colonial Williamsburg, a paved-over parking lot and an almost-lost school teach lessons about racism
Recent archaeological and architectural discoveries revealed part of “the hidden story of racism in colonial America” for participants in a Baptist News Global educational tour of Colonial Williamsburg and Richmond, Va. In Colonial Williamsburg, they visited the original building site…