This article was first published on the author’s personal page and has been reposted here with permission. For the original piece and more great content, click here. — We are living in scary times. Unless you’ve been under a rock, like Jared Leto, then you know we are in the midst of a global pandemic. […]
On February 26th, just before the close of Black History Month, the House of Representatives voted 410-4 to make lynching a federal crime. After more than a century of proposing anti-lynching bills, Congress finally indicated that, at least in this narrow instance, Black lives (finally) matter. But one question immediately leaps to the forefront regarding […]
Here’s a list of Black History recommendations that will take more than a month to engage. There are resources listed for adults, high schoolers, middle schoolers, and elementary school students. There is also a Black History soundtrack that lyrically roots this learning in lament, resilience, resistance, pride, and celebration because our history (and present) is a […]
In this final piece, I will argue that “Black evangelicals” should (re)join historically Black denominations and assist in their strengthening in order to pursue racial reconciliation from a denominational level. They can do this by focusing their time, gifts, talents, and resources. In the previous series installments, I explained that some Black evangelicals have adopted […]
To the women who came forward and engaged the public about their experiences with Russell Simmons, I’m in solidarity with you. Speaking truth to power is freedom and being believed is healing. And your freedom, your healing is long overdue. Black women’s freedom is long overdue. We live in a culture that does not always […]
In the first part of this series, I provided an analysis of the use of biblical and theological concepts among some who promote the notion of racial reconciliation. I argued that exclusive emphasis on texts about unity and oneness functionally operates in a way of discrediting any analysis of or commitment to sub-groups within the […]
Over the past few years, there have been some reports of a “Quiet Exodus” from White evangelical[1] churches by Black members.[2] Amidst recent rhetoric about racial reconciliation, this seems to suggest that Evangelicals have failed in this task. However, the continued support of the current president among the majority of White Evangelicals may shed some […]
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant unexpectedly died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26. Bryant’s 13-year old daughter Gianna, John Altobelli, 56, his daughter Alyssa Altobelli and wife Keri Altobelli along with Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, her daughter Peyton, and the pilot Ara Zobayan, also perished in the crash. The news struck like a power […]
This is the 3rd Interview for A Series of Stories Exploring Black and Brown Perspectives on Work and its Worth. — When Ricardo tells me, “I don’t need a pulpit at work because everywhere is the pulpit,” I’m inclined to believe him. He’s the only person I know that can use chicken and the gospel […]
“This album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothin”[1] was how the song began. However, as a young boy, I did not fully comprehend the depth of the message of this song by a rapper named The Notorious BIG. “Juicy” was one of the singles from BIG’s first […]
As a Black man widely tutored in White evangelicalism, I was conditioned to see James Cone as a heretic. When I first read him years ago, I also considered Cone’s theology to be dangerous. His claims of God’s blackness and a Christology rooted firmly in Christ’s solidarity with the oppressed cut against what I considered […]
10. Open Letter to my Married Friends “Your marital status on earth has changed, but while you have gone from being single to married, you are still single-mindedly devoted to the service of the Lord’s people. I want to remind you that spiritually, your marital status remains the same; God is your husband with a […]
I met Samantha in the ninth grade. I believe the term we used to describe our friendship then was “batty and bench.” Years later, she was a bridesmaid (and sang) at my wedding. She was also in the room when my first son was born. From the time I’ve known her, she’s always tried to […]
As a Black man in this line of work, I have to choose my battles & words carefully.
We have been forced, due to a lack of progress and an overall apathy, to become the freedom fighters of our own lives.
I am honored that my friends and colleagues across multiple industries have trusted me with their stories and have graciously allowed me to share them. I hope their varied journeys, motivations, struggles, disappointments, hopes, and practical advice help us grow as believers, provide insight, comfort, and stir hope in God. But first, here’s a bit […]
It was a spring afternoon and I was returning home from a pretty good day in high school. I got a smile from my crush, popped some lunch table jokes off at my friends’ expense, and my all-white Forces stayed clean. I was winding down the day with my ritual of sinking into my headphones […]
I didn’t know what to expect going into “Waves” but I walked out of the theater feeling a heavy mixture of emotions. This film will do that to you. “Waves” centers around a Black family living in suburban Miami. The family is headed by Ronald, a domineering father, played by Sterling K. Brown. At first, you […]
Black Christians don’t have to leave part of ourselves at the door in an attempt to placate the least culturally-aware white person around us.
On November 1, 2019, “Harriet,” the biopic about Harriet Tubman, will be released in theaters. Tubman is one of the few people in Black History who is generally known by everyone. Her exploits as an escaped slave, risking her life by returning multiple times to free hundreds of slaves are the stories of legend. This […]
