When I arrived at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, I was quickly immersed in West Texan traditions. This included an undesired baptism into the abyss of country music. The inescapable honky-tonk sounds flooded the dormitory halls and our football locker room. I hated it. As far as I knew, country music contradicted everything about […]
Christology runs through the veins of the Negro Spirituals.
“Every man wanna act like he’s exempt,” Hill raps on “Lost Ones,” as she encourages even the toughest to repent because even they “can’t slick talk on the day of judgement.”
Racism isn’t just racial slurs and hate crimes; it can also be benevolent.
Legendary singer Sam Cooke died in 1964 under circumstances shrouded in mystery. “The Two Killings of Sam Cooke” gives us a look at his life, who he was, what he stood for, and the unanswered questions surrounding his untimely death. Sam was a passionate, loving, gifted, revolutionary, and complicated man. As people fighting the struggle […]
How do you repay the gift of life?
Once listeners grasp the narrative of this album, the emotions hit like the waves that swallowed our ancestors centuries ago.
Christians have a responsibility to recover the Imago Dei where it has been denied.
It was 1860 and the American slave trade had been outlawed for 50 years.
“Yes, I love the Kingdom more than I love my nation. Yes, I love my neighbor more than I love his papers,”
I only learned of theologian Dr. James H. Cone due to his recent passing in April. Jemar Tisby and Tyler Burns discussed the legacy of the late theologian on their Pass The Mic podcast. Donned as the “Godfather of Black Theology,” I was inspired to purchase Cone’s book, “The Cross and The Lynching Tree.” I […]
In the wake of “Black Panther” and the unveiling of the Obamas’ official portraits, there has been a renewed discussion of the importance of black representation in visual culture. What we mean, of course, is not simply an increase in the number of black bodies visible in movies, tv shows, music videos, magazines, and so […]
Adinah’s Heart Moses is about ready to die. Our mediator, the man of God, will never step foot in the Promised Land. His sin disqualifies him. Yet here I stand at the Plains of Moab, awaiting his final words and the fulfillment of a centuries-old promise made to father Abraham. The Promised Land is before […]
“Follow a Crescendo to its highest point and you’ll find that even at your lowest, you were going somewhere higher.”
It’s time to Pass the Remote! Jemar and Tyler are back to talk about Donald Glover’s provocative viral music video, “This is America”. The conversation gets…interesting. Listen in as we discuss: Is Donald Glover better than Kanye West? What does this video’s racial symbolism mean? What can this video teach us about black joy? Is […]
“The role of a bridge builder sounds appealing until it becomes clear how often that bridge is your broken back.” -Austin Channing Brown
“How did you get here? What made you keep going?”
The recruitment of African artists is one of the aspects that makes this album remarkable.
It happens every year. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day and all throughout Black History Month, we hear that Martin had a dream. We see and share clips and excerpts of his famous words in the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Many of us have heard […]
At its best, gospel music is a soundtrack of hope despite life’s trials and tribulations.
