By Grayson Hester Preston Clegg, pastor of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, Ark., doesn’t like the idea of missing out on joy. In January 2019, Clegg joined scores of Little Rock residents in celebrating the inauguration of the city’s first democratically-elected Black mayor, Frank Scott. Having been friends with Scott long before the … Continue reading
The talking heads on cable news are a microcosm of the American conversation. It’s either a scenario of a multi-personality dialogue, where they are all talking over each other, or it’s an overwhelmingly one-sided perspective of all that is going wrong with the opposition. The far-right has its ideology, and the far left joins them … Continue reading
By Elizabeth Batuka, Student.Church Intern As I reflect on my experience this semester, I am reminded of the instance where Jesus is presented with five loaves and two fish and he multiplies them to feed the starving multitude. This is one of the miracles recorded in all the gospels. I sometimes wonder whether this miracle … Continue reading
By Robert P. Jones As I came of age in Woodville Heights Baptist Church, on the white working-class side of Jackson, Miss., I internalized a cycle of sin, confession and repentance as a daily part of my life. Though I wasn’t aware of it at the time, this was a double inheritance. Beneath this seemingly … Continue reading
With removal of Robert E. Lee statue, the Arthur Ashe Jr. memorial stands alone on Richmond’s Monument Avenue By Robert P. Jones The news broke this week that the Virginia Supreme Court has cleared the state to remove the last Confederate monument still standing on the city’s Monument Avenue, the massive tribute to General Robert E. Lee. … Continue reading
By Tiffany Stubbs Have you ever had a call and no matter how many times you answer, you get the same call with the same question? The question could be from a myriad of things, but what if the inquiry were based on your willingness to bring truth to power? How does one navigate the … Continue reading
By Paul Baxley Normally on the Martin Luther King Holiday, we find ourselves listening to Dr. King’s inspirational address given during the 1963 March on Washington, in which he challenged all who heard him with his powerful dream that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be … Continue reading
By Michelle Carroll Wednesday started strangely. Before I even got to my church office, our Senior Pastor was calling to tell me that we’d just learned the Attorney General’s announcement of the Breonna Taylor investigation results had been moved from Louisville to the Kentucky Historical Society, which is about two blocks from the church. “Oh, … Continue reading
By Chris Hughes Elkin, North Carolina, is a town not known for its civil rights activism. The tiny textile town tucked into the Piedmont foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is more famous for the many vineyards that dot the gentle slopes between Winston-Salem and Boone. With a population of around 4,000 people, it is … Continue reading
By Elket Rodríguez The voice speaking through my phone carried me to the side of a brother in the faith. He is Cuban, black and seeking U.S. citizenship. He called to ask a sad question that reflects our times: “How can I protect myself from police intervention?” His question provoked tears as I reflected on … Continue reading
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