Corporate Pride, #ChurchToo, Jordan Neely’s Friend
KTF Weekly Newsletter
Hi everyone,
Two quick things before we start. First, if you’re in the Richmond, Virginia area, you should come to Resist Booksellers in Petersburg at 2:00 pm on Saturday and hang out with Tamice Spencer-Helms for a reading of Faith Unleavened and a signing! Second, remember, we have our launch sale for season 3 of Shake the Dust—50% off for a year of our Substack subscription! Monday is the last day, so sign up while you still can!
And now, on to this week’s highlights!
Jonathan’s Recommendations:
The Black Lives Matter Movement centers the unique ways that Black people suffer at the hands of police. University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Cedric Johnson offers an interesting critique of the movement’s focus in this episode of The Gray Area podcast about his book, After Black Lives Matter. Johnson wants the broader racial justice movement to put more of its efforts on challenging the conditions which lead to police brutality and state violence against the poor and marginalized instead of emphasizing changes in policing. He argues that this would ultimately lead to greater liberation of both Black lives and all people who suffer under oppression, White Supremacy, and exploitative capitalism. Johnson draws on both today’s scholars and activists and the thinking of leaders from the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party. This conversation offers nuance, thoughtfulness, and an invitation to concrete action.
A label I frequently see used for former President Trump and his supporters is “fascist.” But what exactly do we mean when we use that word? This video explains the original fascist political movement from a hundred years ago , and how it still influences much political thinking today, even though the label “fascist” is now mostly an accusation. It’s important to know the specific histories and meanings of these kinds of buzz words. People have called me a “Marxist” and “socialist,” and asked if I am “militant.” But all those words seemed to mean little more than I was in the general category of bad people who disagree with the speaker. A lot of these kinds of indictments foment anger without bringing clarity. They morph into ingredients in a word salad that engender feelings, not insight. Accuracy in our critiques is important because God calls his people to incline themselves toward wisdom. The tide of our current discourse pushes us elsewhere and we must resist it.
Former (and soon returning) Shake the Dust guest Irene Cho will be on a panel this Saturday of leaders and survivors discussing how faith communities can fight to end sexual violence in the church. Irene is brave, kind, and generous, and she is not just one to listen to but one to follow. You can watch the event online or live if you’re in the Bay Area; all the info to register is here. Irene will be joined by Rowena Chiu, consultant and former assistant to Harvey Weinstein; author and speaker Nikole Lim; and investigative journalist Bigad Shaban. Singer- activist Jean Nangwala will round out this powerful platform.
Sy’s Recommendations:
There is a different tone to Pride Month this year, as companies face pressure to put distance between themselves and the celebrations while state legislatures pass a series of measures aimed at marginalizing queer people. In that context, this essay from the Appeal is an excellent reminder that the worth of queer people does not come from corporate sponsorships or the acceptance of politicians. The author, Adam Rhodes, acknowledges the anxiety and fear many in the queer community feel at this moment. And he finds a sense of hope in his own experiences of LGBTQ+ people affirming each other and finding pride in their own innate understanding of each other’s value. For straight Christians like me—on top of fully supporting and celebrating our queer neighbors inside and outside the Church during this political moment—we should take opportunities like this to learn from someone who is doing the deeply important work of trying to find love and dignity in community rather than cultural or political triumph.
Justice Clarence Thomas is a figure who is, for different reasons, confusing to many people all over the political spectrum. Just the Court’s second Black justice, Thomas is perhaps the most reliably conservative vote. He objects loudly and often to policies and decisions that those to his left perceive as promoting social justice. Many people have wide-ranging opinions on why he does this, but this recent episode of the podcast More Perfect tries to understand who Thomas believes himself to be. It dives into his younger days as a radical activist, recounts his time in seminary and then law school, traces how Malcolm X continues to influence his thinking, and explains how he ends up with such different conclusions than others whose worldviews have the same starting point. Though I deeply disagree with Thomas’ legal philosophy and policy decisions, there is a lot in his story and his thinking that makes sense, and it’s helpful to understand the differences in where he’s coming from in comparison to his white, conservative colleagues. He is, ultimately, having a different conversation than much of the rest of the Court, and understanding him is difficult if your lens only has room for the politics of white people.
Given how often we’ve mentioned it here, I don’t think it will surprise readers to know that the killing of Jordan Neely hit Jonathan and I pretty hard. Since it took until this week for a grand jury to indict the perpetrator, I thought I would share this moving interview with one of Neely’s friends and mentors, Moses Harper. Harper explains how he met Neely through their shared love of Michael Jackson and dance performance, which they both used to cope with traumatic childhoods. He also details how Neely’s life was only made more difficult by all the systems that failed him, and the toxic masculinity that sometimes stopped him from asking those who loved him for help. The picture Harper paints of Neely is three-dimensional and humanizing—a portrait of immense struggle and powerful joy. May God give us the discernment to see through the stereotypes and anxieties that Hell uses to divide us; may we always see individuals and the divine image instead.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Jonathan and Sy