Yarl and Gillis, Ramadan in Guantanamo, White People Work
KTF Weekly Newsletter
Hi all,
If you haven’t listened to “Citizens” by Jon Guerra, we highly recommend it. Not just because it’s the theme song for our podcast, but because its lyrics are especially appropriate during Eastertide. It reflects that we hold the resurrection of Jesus in one hand and the fact that his kingdom has not fully come in the other. We find the answer in Christ while we also need more assurance. We know it is finished and “need to know there is justice.” The Cross reminds us of what Jesus died for while the empty grave reminds us of where we can put our hope: to paraphrase Guerra, the city where one day we will arrive as immigrants, but God will call us citizens and welcome us as children home. May it be so.
And with that, here are this week’s highlights.
Jonathan’s Recommendations:
The family of an Atlanta man named Lashawn Thompson says that an infestation of bed bugs and other insects caused Thompson’s death in a psychiatric ward prison cell. This interview (video and transcript available) with his siblings and their lawyer on Democracy Now details his arrest for a misdemeanor, the chronic neglect that led to his demise, and the subsequent resignations of several prison officials. He died alone in a jail where last year at least ten other inmates died. Less than two weeks after Easter we must remind ourselves that Jesus was a prisoner, and so were many of the Apostles. Our prison system is home to vulnerable people made in the image of God worthy of opportunities to flourish, work, steward, and create just like those of us on the outside. Lord have mercy on the Thompson Family and bring comfort to all those this tragedy traumatized.
A homeowner in upstate New York shot and killed 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis when the car her friend was driving mistakenly turned into his driveway. She was white. Earlier this week, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl went to pick up his siblings in Kansas City, Missouri and rang the wrong doorbell. He was met with a gunshot in the head. His assailant then stood over his body and shot him a second time. Yarl went to three different houses before anyone agreed to help him, and the person who did help made him lay on the ground with his hands in the air. Yarl was fighting for his life while the shooter was released on bail. He is Black. The shooter was white. In thoughts posted on Facebook and Twitter, author and activist Ibram X. Kendi encapsulates the role of white supremacy in our culture of fear, our infatuation with guns, and our acceptance of violence as the norm. Oh how I long for things to be different—for all things to be made right. God bless you as you grieve and join Him in the renewal of all things.
“66 Miles Through the Darién Gap” is an episode of CNN’s One Thing podcast that meets migrants on their journey long before they reach the Mexico-US border. Journalists join women, men, and children on a walk through the jungles in Colombia and Panama due North. As the Biden administration lifts a Trump era pandemic policy restricting asylum seekers, hundreds of thousands are queuing up from Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, and increasingly, China. We must work hard to find the humanity amidst the political noise and remember that all of these migrants are made in the image of God. Learning about their stories helps us to resist generalizations and stereotypes, and to seek justice on their behalf whenever possible.
Sy’s recommendations:
Many of you heard our Shake the Dust season 1 conversation with Dr. Lamar Hardwick, AKA the Autism Pastor. One point Dr. Hardwick made was that we show our fear of our own humanity when we exclude or marginalize disabled people for having bodies that work differently. In his ministry, he counters that fear by being open and honest about both his neurodivergence and the effects that his cancer treatment has on him. I’m sharing this short video clip from a recent service at his church, which is a great example of this dynamic at work. He talks about a new complication his cancer has introduced that frankly most people would find embarrassing, but he speaks confidently about it with grace and good humor to show people a better way to interact with the bodies God gave us. It’s authenticity with a purpose that we don’t always see from the pulpit. Plus, it’s funny. I really appreciate it.
White People Work is a podcast by Scott Hall, one of the contributors to our anthology. Scott has spent several years explicitly researching and attempting to make sense of what it means to be a white person in our world, and how white people can better fight for racial justice. He brings his findings and experience to this show, focusing each episode around one question like “What are the common pitfalls of white folks early in the racial awareness journey?” or my personal favorite, “Why are white progressives sometimes the worst?” I would not say this is an introductory course for white people who haven’t thought much about race, but it’s a great place to point white people who are genuinely interested in learning. Scott’s a thoughtful, engaging speaker, and this is a good example of a white person trying to responsibly educate himself and others (something I don’t say lightly). Additionally, even though the podcast isn’t specifically for a Christian audience, you will hear a lot about how theology and church history has shaped modern racism.
It’s the end of the month of Ramadan, and this article by former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mansoor Adayfi marks the occasion with a mixture of nostalgia, grief, and a call for justice. He writes of happy childhood Ramadan memories, contrasted with the many torturous years he spent in US custody. He recounts the lengths to which he and his fellow prisoners went to celebrate holidays in the smallest of ways, often risking solitary confinement or worse. And he mourns the 31 men who are still trapped in Guantanamo despite the fact that more than half of them have been cleared for release. Aside from being a powerful testimony to the humanity of people Christians so often see as “others,” stories like this are a helpful corrective to the narrow narratives those of us from the white Church often tell about “the persecuted church.” In the stories we hear about Christians overseas losing their lives or livelihoods because of their religion, we often imagine ourselves in their shoes, and consequently go hunting for ways that western society is setting its sights on our rights—on our “way of life.” But that’s a misplaced comparison. We are most often the persecutors, and we need to develop solidarity that extends beyond just those who share our creed so that we stop participating in the very oppression we fear.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
The KTF team