Native Activists Protest the Chiefs
Plus, the problem with “curing” disabilities
Hi everybody,
In this week’s newsletter, our highlights to help us leave colonized faith include:
- The indigenous activists protesting the Kansas City Chiefs
- Debunking the increasing disinformation about George Floyd’s murder
- A deaf perspective on “cures” for deafness
- The connections between Black theology and solidarity with Palestine
- And a song encouraging kindness in an unkind world
One quick announcement: we’ve turned on the comments for paid subscribers! We’re so excited to add another channel for you all to interact with each other and give us feedback. You’ll be able to contribute your thoughts on all these newsletters and the other articles we publish. So comment away!
Sy’s Recommendations
Indigenous Activists Protest the Chiefs
For the second year in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl winners. And for the seventh decade in a row, native activists are fighting for the Chiefs to change their name. The team says its name is no problem because it actually refers to the KC mayor who orchestrated the team moving from Dallas in 1963 and whose nickname was “The Chief.” Ever so slightly undermining that claim is the man in a headdress who rode on to the field after every KC touchdown in the 60’s on a horse named Warpaint. Also the team’s arrowhead logo is a bit of a giveaway. An AP article profiles an Acoma Pueblo woman, Rhonda LeValdo, who has for 20 years organized indigenous activists to change the Chiefs’ name. Her frustration is palpable—frustration at both the lack of change and the team’s hypocritical anti-racism efforts following the summer of 2020. Turning indigenous people into mascots for the sports we play on the land we stole from them after killing most of their people is one of the more absurdly cruel ways we trivialize America’s founding genocide. We should be supporting these activists’ fight any way we can.
- Read about the fight to change the Chiefs’ name
Debunking Disinformation about George Floyd’s Murder
I have previously recommended the work of long-time journalist Radley Balko, and I think his most recent project is really important. He is publishing a series on the right’s concerted efforts to blame George Floyd for his own murder. There are now a documentary, a book, and countless articles and interviews from increasingly mainstream conservative outlets arguing that the police officer was following his training when he knelt on Floyd’s neck, and that Floyd actually died of a drug overdose. Balko has released two articles of a three-part series debunking these claims. His work is thorough, explaining in granular detail how the proponents of this new view are ignoring key pieces of evidence and actively deceiving their audiences. It’s an incredibly useful resource for engaging with people who believe the disinformation.
Jonathan’s Recommendations
A Deaf Perspective on “Cures” for Deafness
Aissam Dam was born deaf, but now he can hear. A recent Vox podcast explains that a new gene therapy for deaf people made it possible. The treatment only works for one particular inherited condition that results in deafness for infants. Very few children have received it so far. One girl who was entirely deaf hears about 60 to 65% of what is going on around her after the therapy. But the great thing the episode does is highlight that the idea of curing deafness is not so simple or exciting among actual deaf people. The host interviews Professor Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, who is deaf and teaches at Gallaudet University, a school known for its large deaf and hard of hearing student population as well as its bilingual English/ASL instruction. She articulated the concern that hearing people often want medical advances like these to be a “cure” or panacea for deafness. But children who have had only partial hearing restored can have significant difficulty learning language and developing critical thinking skills during crucial developmental stages. So teaching ASL and having a signing community is still important. Blankmeyer Burke also discusses how the deaf community reacts when the rest of the world celebrates medical advances that threaten their community’s and culture’s very existence.
- Listen to the episode, or read the transcript
Black Theology and Solidarity with Palestine
Across the Divide is a podcast produced by Palestinian and American Christians who desire to have sincere and honest conversations about following Jesus and examining scripture with regard to Israel and Palestine. An episode with Matthew Vega, a PhD candidate based in Mexico City and studying at the University of Chicago’s divinity school discusses the theological and historical links between the Black church and the struggle for Palestinian Liberation. This episode is a great example of how to enter into intersectional dialogue well. And it helps us see that the deep connection between struggles for liberation and the Gospel’s inherent opposition to systemic oppression are the same across very different contexts like Gaza and the US.
Staying Grounded with Sy
About ten years ago, writer Clive James wrote a poem reflecting on mortality and the nearly 80 years he had been alive. He expressed deep regret, writing "I should have been more kind. This is my fate/to find this out, but find it out too late.” That line in turn inspired one of my favorite songs, which I’ve mentioned on Shake the Dust before. It’s called “Be More Kind” by singer/song writer Frank Turner. It encourages us to remember and hold fast to simple yet priceless wisdom when life feels complex and the world is painful. It urges kindness in the face of confusion and cruelty, the approach that Jesus prescribes but that we often dismiss as foolish. For me, the instrumentals always make it easy to let go of whatever’s bothering me and focus on what matters, or even just let my mind drift a while to unwind. This line is the song’s benediction, and it’s full of empathy and grace: “In a world that has decided that it’s going to lose it’s mind/be more kind, my friends/try to be more kind.” Enjoy!
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Jonathan and Sy
This is my favorite newsletter. As someone who is totally blind, I found the podcast on cures for deafness especially interesting. Stories like this always get me thinking. In one sense, human ingenuity used to cure disabilities, if done properly, could glorify God. On the other hand, I understood what the ethicist was getting at when people get too excited about cures, and then children miss out on critical language development if the treatment does not work. I am so blessed to be totally blind because it meant teaching me to read and write print was out of the question. But I know of many people who had some vision in childhood, but braille was so stigmatized that they weren't taught this skill, and then when they often lost vision in adulthood, they were unprepared, struggling needlessly. I think children should learn how to live with, and ideally nurture a positive attitude about their disability in childhood, and then when they are adults and can consent for themselves, they can choose whether they want a cure. And we as a society, especially Christians should respect those who choose not to take the cure because as Amy Kenny said, God created over 6,000 types of tulips. Maybe people with disabilities are an important part of the beautiful diversity God intended.