KTF Weekly Newsletter: White on White Violence, Beirut Blast, Olympic Resistance
August 5, 2021
Happy nearly weekend everybody!
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Alright, this week is a little heavier on the political/social education side of what we normally do. So let’s get to it - this week’s resources for helping us leave colonized faith for the Kingdom of God:
Sy’s recommendations:
On our recent Shake the Dust episode, “Reimagining Foster Care,” I mentioned Shattered Bonds by Dorothy Roberts, the seminal book outlining the discriminatory and oppressive operation of the American child welfare system, or as many now call it, the family regulation system. In a nod to Professor Roberts’ work, the Columbia Journal of Race and the Law recently held a symposium called “Strengthened Bonds: Abolishing the Child Welfare System and Re-Envisioning Child Well-Being.” A number of scholars, activists, and affected parents spoke on a wide range of issues from the indigenous experience of foster care, to the perspectives of LGBT youth and disabled parents, to the legal frameworks that perpetuate oppression. And videos of the seminars are now available to watch for free here. This is a great resource for people who want to know more on this subject and get a crucial perspective not often represented in Church.
Michael Harriot is one of the funniest and clearest commentators on the internet about race in America. He can be tough to read for some because, in addition to demystifying racism through incisive argument, he also diminishes its power by writing humor from an anti-racist standpoint. I, personally, think the combination is quite useful. Recently, he wrote about the first day of congressional testimony regarding the insurrection at the capital on January 6. He discusses the absurdity of white people telling Black protestors to focus on violence in Black communities, when Black people do that constantly, and, according to the testimony, just about the entire American government is willing to ignore threats of, and do nothing to stop, white violence. Harriot is also a fantastic person to follow on social media. To get a taste, I would recommend starting with the recent Allegory of the Third-Floor Piano.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
Part of decolonizing our faith is refusing to divorce, dismiss, and minimize the people and stories from the margins. This is especially true in sports and entertainment which we tout as a space that validates the meritocratic society we imagine our world to be; and the Olympics is the epitome of sports competition. Thus, the temptation to separate these two weeks from the complexities of our world is great, and the International Olympic Committee banned athletes from asserting that Black lives matter or engaging in other forms of protest. But we have to say “no”. The forces of racism, sexism, economic and environmental exploitation, and politics are not on break during the Olympics and followers of Jesus must press into living a fully integrated faith under the Lordship of Christ.
NPR’s Throughline podcast places these tensions front and center in its episode, “Olympics: Behind the Five Rings.” Shining a spotlight on poor residents near the games given one-way tickets to leave, egregious labor practices, elaborate schemes funneling millions of dollars to very few, and more penetrates the smoke surrounding the Games and brings what’s outside of the TV screen into view.
The impact of systemic narratives rarely stays in the headlines but living legend, Simone Biles and silver medalist Raven Saunders, are two Black women bringing injustice to the forefront of America’s consciousness – especially the bias against Black women. And before the Olympics began, the fastest woman in America, Sha’Carri Richardson and tennis phenom, Naomi Osaka stood solidly at the intersections of race, gender, and mental health. The IOC suspended Richardson for marijuana use to cope with the death of her mother and Osaka withdrew from Grand Slam competition to protect herself.
Leaving colonized faith involves the tearing down of false walls to bring what’s usually in the darkness to light. These resources aid in the sacred effort of speaking truth to power and humanizing even those wrapped in accolades.
Suzie’s recommendations:
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Beirut blast, one of the most significant non-nuclear explosions in human history. In mourning the fallout of this horrific man-made disaster, it sometimes feels like all we can do is join with the Psalmist in lamenting “How long, oh LORD, will the wicked prosper?” (Ps.94:3). One year on, and not only are the victims of this tragedy and their families no closer to receiving justice, but largely peaceful protests in Beirut marking the catastrophe were suppressed by the culpable political class with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. As followers of Christ, part of living in the tension of “already but not yet” is embracing the pursuit of justice here and now, while acknowledging that only Christ can fully heal and restore that which has been broken. Acting within this tension, calls for global accountability in light of the clear evidence against senior Lebanese officials, as presented in this recent Human Rights Watch report, can inform our cries for justice. And pieces like this New York Times collection of personal reflections on the lasting impact of the explosion can animate our prayers.
As the legal battle gears up over the Biden administration’s latest eviction moratorium, it’s important to understand that the United States was facing an eviction crisis even prior to the pandemic. This unsettling fact is poignantly brought to light in Matthew Desmond’s 2016 New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted. Those who seek to better understand the origins of this crisis, why and how it disproportionately impacts communities of color (particularly Black, female-led households), and the various policy factors at play would do well to consult Desmond’s book. Coincidentally, Desmond is a committed Christian and his groundbreaking ethnographic study, detailed in the book, has prophetic undertones. It confronts power structures and systems of injustice by centering the experiences of the poor and the oppressed, exposing some of the common predatory practices that cast the landlords most committed to fighting the moratorium in a not-so flattering light.
Shake the Dust preview
Tomorrow’s episode is part two of our conversation with Kyle J. Howard. We talk to him about how speaking publicly about his disabilities both helps people and comes with a price, how to maintain energy and hope in justice work with healthy priorities and boundaries, the helpful roles allies can play, how white people can avoid centering themselves, his understanding of his role in the Church as an outsider prophet, and a lot more. Don’t miss it, and make sure to listen to the first half of this conversation in last week’s episode if you haven’t yet!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next week!
The KTF team