A Beginning
As my research and reading comes to an end for this J-term class I am a mixed bag of emotions. With the prayer "I believe, Lord, Help my unbelief," constantly on my lips these days, I seem to have made my home in the awkward crack between hope and despair. Working on this project this month has opened my eyes to so many others who are fighting the same fight. I am encouraged by the fact that I am not alone. I am inspired by the work that is being done. But for every song I li
Prison advocacy
I am so tempted to say today is the day the world ends.. But while half of me is in despair, the other half says rise up and overcome. We have had bad presidents before, this is nothing new and I shouldn't be so surprised by my country. We will get through this, friends. We shall overcome. Resistance. I cannot push this enough. Resist when the government argues against basic human rights. Resist ignorance. Resist hate. Resist believing that you are disposable! You matter and
Mass Incarceration and for-profit prisons
In past posts I have discussed how our culture has come to the problem of mass incarceration and how it is a continuation of slavery. For a brief recap watch this video: Also, here is some quick and stunning facts about prisons in America: When America "freed" slaves, they included in the 13th Amendment that criminals can still be slaves. This allowed, post-civil war, white southerners to hold black people to slavery based on "crimes." This turned into convict lease system
Advocate to end police violence
Yesterday I blogged on the Black Lives Matter Movement and the police and I mentioned Shaun King's articles for the nydailynews. I focused on one solution he proposed, but I want to share all of his ideas. I've been outlining a national problem and police violence is a large part of that problem. Conversation can only go so far. Here are things we can do about it Shaun King’s 25 solutions to police brutality: Increase the number of people going into the police force – espec
BLM and Police
One huge misconception about the Black Lives Matter Movement is that they are anti-police. I have mentioned this before, but I cannot say it enough - BLM is NOT against the police, BLM is FOR speaking out against police brutality that rises from systemic racism. BLM wants to END systemic racism and state violence, NOT our means of safety. The police are vital to our nation, excessive force and racism are not. I am fortunate enough to live in a small city in Iowa where police
The 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment, we are taught, abolished slavery. Hooray! Rejoice! All is well! But in fact the 13th Amendment says this: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." And thus began the loop hole to the continued killing of black lives. Today I watched Ava DuVernay's documentary called The 13th . In it she co
'Black-on-black' Crime
I already thought my soul was on fire for this topic when I asked the dean of my seminary if I could spend my J-term on Black Lives Matter, but these two weeks into January have shown me that the fire in my soul has a lot of room to spread. And spread it does. The problem of black lives traditionally NOT mattering to/in this country opens up ones eyes into the ways in which this country has failed it's people. It is SO disappointing.. its maddening.. it demands change! That's
Fear and outrage
Fear is an emotion that everyone feels and nobody likes. Fear often expresses itself through other emotions - like anger. One other thing that really struck me about Ta-Nehisi Coates' book Between the World and Me that I talked about yesterday was his openness to talk about black culture and the role fear plays in black life. Currently in America there is a lot of fear going around - particularly fear of the "other." First of all, there is no "other" - we are ALL human bei
Dismantling the American Dream
On the cover of Ta-Nehisi Coates' book Between the World and Me , Toni Morrison is quoted " This is required reading". I couldn't agree more. Required especially if you're white. Coates writes about what it was like and what it means to grow up black in white America. It is written as a letter to his son and hits also on what it is like to raise a black son in white America. The horrors of our country are painted into a picture that is easy to see and impossible to ignore.
Colorblindness - the end of an era?
The more I read about the issue of black lives NOT mattering in our country, the more I learn about the era of Colorblindness. After the era of the Civil Rights Movement came the colorblindness era, the one which I grew up in and the one which I hope and believe is coming to the end of it's days. I only pray it will not merely be replaced by another disguise, but rather be abolished by truth and reconciliation - giving birth to possibly the era of being woke! I really app
