Hi all,
You can now listen to bonus episodes of Shake the Dust on Spotify! Previously, Spotify only let us put our free episodes on its player, but now, all episodes will be available there just like everywhere else. So check out our recent bonus episodes on Israel and Palestine, Christian nationalism, staying grounded while engaging with injustice, and a lot more! And if you want access to those episodes, become a subscriber!
Our highlights this week include:
- What’s Actually Going on at Columbia University
- The Jim Crow laws still enforced today
- Pearl Moore’s Record Caitlin Clark Couldn’t Break
- Helpful Context and Nuance from the New Zeteo Media
- And Sy keeps us grounded with some self-care wisdom from Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Sy's Recommendations
What’s Actually Happening at Columbia?
Jonathan and I are both alums of Columbia University who did a lot of on-campus activism, so we’ve been watching the recent news there with interest. I very much appreciated yesterday’s episode of the podcast What Next on the Gaza solidarity encampment, which provided some confirmation of what I suspected was going on. Most of university life has been proceeding as normal with a peaceful protest happening on one area of campus. There has been a real increase of anti-Semitism, though not connected to the protests, and the administration has been alternating between aloof and clumsily heavy-handed. Every aspect of this situation aligns with my experience in college: the peaceful activism, the bigotry, and the bumbling leadership. But the administration and the media have listened to the most strident and polarized voices to vastly amplify the drama. The president’s calling the NYPD on the protestors was absurd, and the NYPD nearly said as much. But now, the protests around the school from outsiders, including one prominent Christian nationalist worship leader, are getting more heated. There are protests and counter-protests planned for this evening, so join me in praying that things would remain peaceful, and that the university would follow the protestors’ demands to stop supporting Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
- Listen to the episode or read the transcript
The Jim Crow Laws Still Enforced Today
We talk about the Jim Crow era of American history like it is exclusively a thing of the past, but that’s wrong for at least two reasons. One is that the political ideologies that shaped segregation and discrimination continue to shape policies today, but their adherents talk about things like crime and welfare, instead of speaking plainly about race. The second is that some actual Jim Crow laws are still in effect today and continue to suppress Black power as they were always intended to do. Most prominently, laws that stop people with felony convictions from voting, originally passed by segregationists right alongside poll taxes and interracial marriage bans, still disproportionately prevent Black people from voting. Only now, those laws are all over the country. A recent deep dive by the Marshall Project and Mississippi Today into Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement tells the origin story of one state’s Jim Crow laws, and the never-ending political and ideological struggle to leave that era behind (content warning for descriptions of racist violence).
Jonathan’s Recommendations
Pearl Moore’s Record Caitlin Clark Couldn’t Break
Caitlin Clark is an amazing basketball player (and I don’t only mean among women). She deserves all the accolades that she has received for her stellar career. But some reporters and broadcasters have misattributed one record to her that actually belongs to a soft-spoken, 5’7” Black woman who played in the 1970’s, Pearl Moore from Francis Marion University. Clark now holds the record for most points scored by any woman in the NCAA, but women weren’t in the NCAA until the 1980’s. Moore’s record for most points by any women’s college basketball player, a staggering 4,061, still stands 45 years after she led her school to the post season four years in a row. The media coverage didn’t capture much of her shooting, often well beyond the 3-point line, and her quiet demeanor didn’t garner many headlines. But she got buckets in college, and then won professional championships in both the US and Venezuela. Leaving colonized faith often means getting history correct and honoring those who come before us when they deserve it. And Pearl Moore certainly deserves her flowers.
- Read about Moore and hear her Hall of Fame Induction speech
Context and Nuance from New Zeteo Media
Mehdi Hasan, the journalist and pundit who recently quit MSNBC, has launched an independent news network on Substack called Zeteo. On the second episode of Hasan’s new show, Mehdi Unfiltered, his opening monologue gives much needed context for Iran’s strike against Israel and highlights the importance of history when engaging with the news. He notes that providing this type of context will be what Zeteo is all about. Then, Cornel West defends his third-party run for the presidency, a vehement rejection of the predominant narratives governing our politics. Then, actress and activist Cynthia Nixon speaks as a Barnard Alumni with Jewish children about the protests at Columbia University. We must be people who think critically, look beyond sound bites, and seek truth and justice beneath a surface level. This broadcast and Zeteo are an invitation to all of that. I hope you’ll check it out!
Staying Grounded with Sy
We emphasize emotional health and healing a lot at KTF because it’s a crucial part of discipleship and justice work. One resource on this subject I’ve really appreciated lately is Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes’ Substack, No Trifling Matter. Her most recent post is a great example of the kind of wisdom you’ll get over there. It’s about the questions she asks herself when deciding to say yes or no to commitments. Saying “no” did not come as easily as saying “yes” to Dr. Walker-Barnes, who grew up a “good Christian girl.” But having spent time clarifying her goals in life, as well as the value of her work, she has a much clearer way to triage invitations and make confident choices about how she uses her time, skills, and mental energy. Check out the post, and subscribe while you’re over there!
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Jonathan and Sy