Flying Wheelchairs, Abbott’s Atrocities, Caribbean Reparations
KTF Weekly Newsletter
Hi all,
We’re back! We hope you enjoyed the two pieces we published in the absence of the newsletter. There’s a new Shake the Dust coming tomorrow, which you can read about below! But now, let’s jump right in to this week’s highlights to help us leave colonized faith for the kingdom of God.
Sy’s recommendations:
Starting tonight, Tamice Spencer-Helms, who you all should know as the author of our most recent book, is holding a 6-week-long, virtual cohort on the intersection of theology and Hip-Hop. I’ve listened to Tamice give a talk on this subject before (part one here, and part two here), so I can confidently say these classes will be powerful and well-worth your time. You can pick from a range of prices for the cohort based on your financial situation, starting as low as $25. Read more about the course and sign up here!
Congress seems poised to pass a law that would dramatically increase the rights of airplane passengers who use wheelchairs. I’ve written here before about the devastating, even sometimes fatal circumstances disabled people face because airlines break their chairs. The law will address that problem and might even allow passengers for the first time ever to remain in their wheelchairs for the duration of flights. This excellent, short video featuring disabled activist, journalist, and model Madison Lawson shows us the extreme measures she and so many others take while flying just to create a possibility that they will safely reach their destination. The video follows her journey to Washington D.C. and shows us a clip of her testimony to Congress supporting the bill.
Since the world is about to see a star-studded movie about the origin of the atomic bomb, I thought I would share this recent article about Emily Strasser’s new book Half-Life of a Secret: Reckoning with a Hidden History. The article is an interview with Strasser and an excerpt from her book. Strasser’s hometown was one of the three secret towns the US created to hasten the production of atomic bombs during World War II. And her grandfather, like many of the grandfathers around during her childhood, was one of the scientists who built the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Her work on the book made her whole family grapple with the incredible suffering her grandfather helped cause, confronting something they had left in the shadows for too long. But Strasser says they all now know they are better for her work. And she draws a broader lesson from this experience: if Americans ever want to truly reckon with our guilt over the catastrophes we inflict, we must begin by directly facing the truth, especially when doing so is difficult.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
You’ve likely read or listened to a few things about the Supreme Court’s denunciation of Affirmative Action, but this episode of The Daily humanizes those the policy most affects, all the way from Black Americans in the 1970’s to today’s Asian-American college applicants. The interview of an incoming, Korean-American Boston University freshman is especially compelling. The episode highlights that most people are not aware of the historical need for or outcomes of Affirmative Action policies, the differing experiences of non-white populations in this country, or the reality of just how many seats at historically elite universities go to legacy students. About that last point, some Boston non-profits have filed a new lawsuit against Harvard with the aim of ending legacy preferences. I pray that courts would handle these issues more justly in the future.
Barbados is leading a chorus of Caribbean nations in calls for reparations. As this Time article notes, the country’s Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, is a central figure in formal demands for repayment over slavery in the region. The article dives into the history of a plantation in Barbados belonging to the Drax family, White former slave owners from Britain. There are extensive records of their atrocities and their consequent accumulation of enormous wealth. The estate’s present owner, Richard Drax, is a direct descendant of the slave owners and a member of Britain’s House of Commons. The article provides nuance and history necessary for explaining the arguments for and against financial payments to those who continue to suffer from the effects of historical enslavement, White Supremacy, and racism.
The administration of Texas Governor Greg Abbott is truly abhorrent. The governor has shipped migrants from his state to cities whose leaders oppose his views, trafficking humans for a political stunt. His expensive and inhumane Lone Star Operation to “protect” the border has ruined, and in at least 8 cases, actually ended the lives of his own national guard troopers. Now, agents in that operation are ordering state troopers to keep water away from thirsty women and children during the height of summer in the desert, and to set razor wire traps in the Rio Grande River that have critically injured migrants. Our response to these increasingly horrifying abuses of power should be prayer, petitions (literal petitions), and resistance. Jesus help those who our leaders are harming in shameless, despicable ways.
Shake the Dust Preview
Tomorrow, Jonathan, Sy, and returning guest co-host Gabrielle Apollon speak with Jennifer Reynoso-Ng, a doula who worked with Gabrielle and Sy. They discuss Black maternity; racism in medicine and birth work; the logistical, emotional, and spiritual support doulas provide; what doulas and partners can do to advocate for pregnant BIPOC, and a lot more. This New York Times article on Black women’s experiences during birth was the inspiration for this conversation, so give it a read alongside the episode!
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Jonathan and Sy