Angry Voters, Right-Wing Populism, & Racial Violence: People of Faith Can Help Break the Linkages
We are in the midst of one of the most significant right-wing populist rebellions in US history as illustrated by the Tea Party and Patriot movements. Will religious and progressive activists provide a voice and outlet for populist fear and anger or will these dispossessed voices find a home among the potentially violent elements of the far right?
Bad Magic: Voodoo According to Disney
Disney’s first black heroine, yes, but this is a case of one step forward, two steps back—the film’s representation of Voodoo is prejudiced and misinformed.
Mormonism’s Black Issues
While many Mormons would like to forget the Church’s history of discrimination against blacks, an Apostle’s recent statements comparing the post-Proposition 8 Mormon backlash to the Civil Rights-era harassment of black voters have brought that painful past back into the spotlight.
Fear of a Black President
The president reminds Glenn Beck, and those who identify with his neo-white nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority. The pride with which this segment of society has rallied the troops around its shared sense of whiteness reveals that their skin color is the one true object of pledged allegiance and determinant of professed patriotism.
The logic of Evangelical theology tends to reduce systemic social problems to individual sin — not racism, for example, but racists. How did this play out among Republicans, and their constituencies, during Sotomayor's confirmation hearings?
On Religion, Abortion, and Politics: Dr. George Tiller's Christian Ethics
A Lutheran pastor explains how the murdered abortion provider could have been a Christian in good standing with his church and faith community—and how the politics of abortion is tied to the history of racism.
The Nation of Islam at the End of the Apocalyptic Age?
Has the Nation of Islam, a tradition hinged on separatism, evolved into supporters of the President of the United States? If so, how does that affect the Nation’s ground-up community networks and sociopolitical analysis of American society?
A new form of bias against Muslims is taking shape, one that masks as “objective” and based on observation.
Ahmadinejad Aside, Anti-Racism Conference Was Deeply Flawed
At the largely symbolic “Durban II” conference, some Islamic states and their allies are busy equating faith with race, conflating religious criticism with bigotry, and fashioning new political cudgels with which to pummel the West.
RDPulpit: Ahmadinejad Gives Another Victory to the Israeli Right
When representatives of many Arab and Muslim nations publicly applaud Ahmadinejad’s racist rant, the real losers are the Palestinians.
No Conspiracy Theories Needed: Abortion Foes Cry Racism
In order to attract a different demographic of supporters, the anti-abortion movement has adopted the theory that reproductive freedom is actually a plot to rid America of its black and brown citizens.
Inauguration Day: Re-imagining Ourselves
With the election of Barack Obama Americans have proven that we are able to re-imagine something as fundamental as race, as the perception of our bodies in society. But oppression is a complex mechanism, and we cannot allow ourselves to be blinded to its workings.
Post-Racial? Yes and No.
In the journey toward white comprehension of the legacy of racism, consciousness comes slowly. But now is the time for the hard work, the time for what Dr. King called “creative action.”
Commentators maintain that the selection of Rick Warren was a shrewd political calculation. But what of the moral center?
A Color-Blind America? Don't Fall For The Okey-Doke
Barack Obama tried to run a color-blind campaign, and he won. But don't believe the hype: an Obama victory doesn't mean an end to racism in our culture, or that we should blithely forget the history of racial injustice.
History in Real Time: Teaching Obama
A professor of African-American religious history talks about teaching with a heavy heart, year after year, about the truths of racism. With the election of Barack Obama, this year will be different, but the journey of healing has only just begun.
History in Real Time: Teaching Obama
A professor of African-American religious history talks about teaching with a heavy heart, year after year, about the truths of racism. With the election of Barack Obama, this year will be different, but the journey of healing has only just begun.
History in the Making: Religion, Race and Gender in the Presidential Election
A distinguished scholar and minister reflects on the persistence of racism in US political history, on the role of religion in political culture, and on the fulfillment of long-awaited vision of a world community built on justice and freedom.
Racism takes many forms, and the history of American racial prejudice is centuries-long. Is it naive to think that it does not play a role in the 2008 election?
Dispatches from the Election: John McCain, Great White Nope
Friday's historic debate in Mississippi showcased the McCain campaign's election strategy: Talk down to Obama and play to the racist element in the Republican Party.
African Anglo Male, Obama, Running Against White Anglo Female, Hillary...
...against Republican nominee, John McCain...
Getting Wright Wrong: Preaching is Not Policy
Anyone who thinks that full agreement with your pastor is necessary has never been to church...
The religious right tries to cut off public funds for Planned Parenthood; a look at the effort to discredit PP with allegations of racism.
Mark Twain’s Blasphemy
A consideration of the legacy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, on the eve of the 123rd anniversary of its publication.