Black Farmers, White Breakdancers, the Broken Earth
Black Farmers, White Breakdancers, the Broken Earth
Plus, Israeli officials riot to support alleged war criminals
Hi everyone!
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Our highlights this week include:
- Members of Israel’s parliament riot to support alleged war criminals
- The brilliance of the Broken Earth trilogy
- Black Farmers Celebrate $2Billion Payout from Congress
- Olympic Breakdancing and Cultural Appropriation
- Sy keeps us grounded with the moral clarity of Rev. Munther Isaac
- And a preview of tomorrow’s Shake the Dust
Sy’s Recommendations
Members of Israeli Parliament Riot to Support Alleged War Criminals
(content warning, mentions of sexual assault and other violence) Recently, the Israeli Defense Force charged nine soldiers for sexually torturing one of Hamas’ October 7 attackers. The victim was a detainee at Sde Teiman, “an IDF base in the Negev desert that has turned into a notorious Guantánamo-like detention centre for Palestinians.” After news of the arrest got out, about 200 conservative protestors with several members of Israel’s parliament and government in their ranks, stormed the base in protest and did not leave until they were teargassed. Later, IDF soldiers barricaded themselves inside the base with their arrested colleagues and had a stand-off with their own military police. Three hundred protestors, motivated by the same arrests, stormed another base in central Israel, attacking both military police and journalists. These are the lengths to which people who have dehumanized others will go to ensure that no one questions the hierarchy they have created. They will try to stop an investigation into rape and torture simply out of the conviction that their people could not have done such a thing, or that those people deserve no justice. It’s absurd and disgusting. But also familiar to those of us who remember the positions many westerners took toward Arabs during the War on Terror. We have to consistently pray against this kind of depravity, and meet the political will behind these actions with equal protest.
The Brilliant Broken Earth Trilogy
I finally got around to reading the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. I say “finally” because I consume a lot of sci-fi, and this trilogy is the only one in history to win the genre’s highest award, the Hugo Prize, for all three books. The author was also the first Black woman to win the prize for a novel. The story falls in the category of Afrofuturism, with the author drawing on her experience to illustrate, in a brutal post-apocalyptic world, how discrimination and oppression act upon people’s feelings and choices. Jemisin’s characters grow and transform in deep and powerful ways over the course of the books. And they show how the love and acceptance marginalized people either feel or don’t from their communities can determine the outcomes of their decisions. As I said, the world Jemisin creates is brutal. It’s violent and unforgiving. But the stories, images, ideas, and incredible quotes she leaves readers with are well-worth your time.
Jonathan’s Recommendations
Black Farmers Celebrate $2 Billion Payout from Congress
John Boyd, founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, is celebrating a $2 billion victory against long-term discrimination by the Department of Agriculture in their program of loaning to farmers. Due to institutionalized racism, the number of Black farmers dropped 96% over the last century, and 98% of American farmland belonged to White people by 1999. Decades of advocacy to Congress yielded a bit of justice this week for tens of thousands of farmers. Despite this significant win, payouts for farmers will be in the low five-figures, and the fight continues for Black farmers to receive debt relief to escape foreclosure. But I celebrate Boyd’s advocacy. I also lament that my grandfather didn’t live to see these reparations paid during all the years he grew tobacco just miles away from the Boyds’ farms. Fun fact: I actually knew John Boyd’s dad since their land wasn’t far from my family’s in southern Virginia.
Raygun and Cultural Appropriation
Breakdancing debuted and immediately died at the Olympics this year. The competition produced a lot of commentary about cultural appropriation of Black art. But no performance garnered more online attention (and fewer points from the judges) than that of the White, Australian academic who studies breakdancing, Rachael “Raygun” Gunn. Best-selling author Michael Harriot wrote about Gunn, the history of Breaking, and what happens every time White people parrot Black art out of envy for its undeniable cultural cachet. Breakdancing was one of the “pillars” of hip-hop Black people created in the Bronx fifty years ago. But much of the discourse around Breakdancing at the Olympics has nothing to do with its roots. Instead, it focuses on far-flung people trying to recreate someone else’s art without any connection to their culture. Harriot frames the last two weeks within hundreds of years of Black history, starting with the incredible story of an epic dance-off between Mr. Bojangles and his now-forgotten Irish counterpart. If you watched any of the numerous reels of Gunn dancing, take a couple minutes to read this fascinating piece.
Staying Grounded with Sy
Last night, Jonathan and I had the enormous privilege of hearing the Palestinian prophet, pastor, and professor Munther Isaac speak in person. We’ve had Rev. Isaac on Shake the Dust before, but hearing him preach live was an incredible experience. He’s been travelling the US with Friends of Sabeel North America, the organization of the guest on tomorrow’s podcast. And his message is clear and simple. The American church is complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. Not just our silence, but our active support for the war and, importantly, the theology of Zionism. He pointed out that Christian Zionism actually pre-dates Jewish Zionism, and has a far larger number of adherents. My take-away was that our job when it comes to Palestine is simple. Rev. Isaac demonstrated it in all his preaching. And it comes straight from the words of Jesus: testify to the truth. We just need to keep telling anyone who will listen—through our words, votes, protests, purchasing choices, and more—that there needs to be a cease-fire, an end to the occupation, and justice for the displacement and ethnic cleansing it took to create the state of Israel. This job is difficult, but it is not at all complicated. Speak the truth plainly, and support others doing the same. That’s the call. Let’s keep going with determination as we enter the fall and the student protests start up again.
Shake the Dust Preview
Tomorrow, we speak with Jesse Wheeler of Friends of Sabeel North America. Jesse is a theologian and peace activist. We talk about how the average person can tell the difference between good and bad theology, how we can see the fruit of bad theology playing out in the Middle East and North Africa, how Christians should use power, and a lot more. Plus, Sy and Jonathan talk all about the conservative Christian reaction to both the Olympics’ opening ceremonies and the false accusation that a female boxer at the games was a trans woman. You don’t want to miss this one!
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Jonathan and Sy