That’s a fairly long title, I know. However, it quite accurately captures where I found myself when Reverend Mary Ann Macklin invited me to share the pulpit at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Bloomington (UUCB) over the Martin Luther King weekend. Of course, I felt honored; there are few privileges more satisfying than having a […]
From the Fig Leaf to the Burning Bush: Who Are We Called to Become? Read More »
Sometimes when bad things happen, the need to do the right thing becomes all the more urgent. The election of the 45th president (which I unequivocally experienced as a bad thing) shattered any illusion that just “getting along” as racialized beings is enough. “Just getting along” does not and cannot foster an expansive imagination of
When Getting Along is Not Enough Read More »
Among polite circles, there seems to be an agreement that there is no such thing as a stupid question. While I remain wholly unconvinced of that notion, one thing I know for sure: There is such a thing as a useless question. How anyone of any political stripe can ask if Donald Trump is a
Spelling Chrysanthemum Read More »
Fear moves in mystifying ways. Although we hardly ever call it by name, it is deeply insinuated in our stories of reality. One such story is captured in Mississippi Burning, a movie about the FBI investigation of the murder of civil rights activists. The scene I have in mind starts with a conversation between two
Awakening from the Trance of Fear (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope for 2018) Read More »
All the ruckus about monuments this past year got me thinking. Having spent my formative years in the American South, I remembered that these massive concrete structures, icons of the Confederacy, were simply part of the landscape. No one paid too much attention to them. It was only as an adult that I decided to
Speaking of Monuments . . . Read More »
Word has it that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is mighty sensitive about his name. Because of his eponymous connection with two storied Confederate generals, he worries that people will caricature him as racist. He has a point. His name is suggestive of a certain legacy. His actions, however, say more about his character than his name
Who Can Be White in Jefferson Beauregard’s World? Read More »
There are times when I feel as if we’re lurching from one hate-spawned atrocity to another. The heart-rending violence in Charlottesville took the life of Heather Heyer, left 19 others with physical injuries, and inflicted soul wounds on countless others. We are long past the point where hand wringing and well-intentioned platitudes about loving each
Charlotesville and the Anatomy of Terror Read More »
Just a few weeks ago, we were all pulled into yet another heartbreaking headline about the senseless death of an Australian woman, killed by a person who had been sworn to serve and protect her. It has been almost 20 years since unarmed Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by police. Since that time, but
After Justine, What’s Next? Read More »
We are more alike than we are unalike – or so says the often-quoted poem by Maya Angelou. Yet a substantial part of our cultural heritage is a racialized narrative that not only emphasizes our differences, but also ranks them as indicators of human worth. Such a narrative can only reproduce pervasive and chronic disconnection.
Who Do You Think You Are: Moving Beyond Words to Rewrite Our Racial Narrative Read More »
