In view of Donald Trump’s mounting legal issues — and especially the prospect that he may be charged with criminal conduct — we should ponder his continued popularity with people who call themselves “evangelical” followers of Jesus, or to be…
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…
The U.S. Supreme Court in a four-letter word: Bork
In recent days, the Supreme Court of the United States has issued several landmark decisions. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, six of the nine justices decided to overrule the court’s 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which…
Sympathy does not defeat white supremacy
On May 14, 2022, an 18-year-old white man killed 10 Black people and wounded three others at a TOPS supermarket in a Black neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y. He drove more than 200 miles from his home in southern New York…
The bigotry on display in the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is nothing new
In recent days we have witnessed unprecedented evidence of bigotry and violence. Bear with me while I mention some of the more obvious examples. Start with the abuse and disrespect Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson experienced last week from Republican members…
Two key developments in voting rights rulings in Arkansas
Arkansas now finds itself at the center of the nation’s debate over what’s “election integrity” and what’s “voter suppression.” And a Baptist judge is one of the key players. Arkansas Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen (who also is a BNG columnist)…
Global ‘thoughts and prayers’ will not stop a sociopathic bully
What should your neighbors do if a bully breaks into your home in broad daylight, begins killing members of your family, and publicly announces that the killing will continue until you surrender or abandon your home? Should the neighbors send…
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…
The re-assassination Of Martin Luther King Jr.
A year to the day before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist pastor, publicly defined the war in Vietnam as a civil rights issue on April 4, 1967, in an address titled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence to…