Political Science Professor on Why He Got Arrested

May 27, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

The growing movement of people who are putting their bodies on the line to resist the regressive policies of North Carolina’s legislature made the front page of yesterday’s Washington Post. Quoted in the article is Professor Derick Smith from NCA&T University, who has insisted that the Forward Together campaign’s objections are not simply the partisan politics of liberals verses conservatives, but rather a very conservative reaction to extremism in defense of the state’s Constitution. His argument is important because it... Read more

What Democracy Looks Like

May 26, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Ms. Rosamell Eaton rose early at her Franklin County home to drive to Raleigh, North Carolina, with her daughter. At 92 years old, Ms. Eaton admits that she doesn’t get around as easily as she used to. But she wanted to support her daughter, who was arrested last week for refusing to leave her state legislature building when her elected officials refused to hear her concerns. “I raised my family and have lived on the same piece of land for... Read more

UNC Economics Professor on Why He Got Arrested

May 24, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Mass civil disobedience at the NC Legislature has drawn attention in recent weeks, drawing attention to a unique, faith-based movement dubbed “Moral Mondays.” As with any awakening, the most important stories are those about why particular people decide to get involved, putting their own bodies on the line and in jail. Patrick Conway, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote the following letter to his parents to explain his decision. When he shared... Read more

A New Day in North Carolina

May 22, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

For the past four Mondays in Raleigh, North Carolina, evening sessions at the Legislature building have been interrupted by a growing numbers of protesters. After months of petitioning Gov. McCrory and leadership in both houses, NC NAACP chapter president, Rev. William Barber, called for civil disobedience to highlight immoral policies which are being made into law with disregard for the millions of North Carolinians who will be harmed. On the first “Moral Monday,” April 29th, seventeen people were arrested. On... Read more

Drinking from the Justice Well

May 8, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Ten years ago, when we were starting a little community in Durham, NC, that wanted to take Jesus and justice seriously, we went every year to the annual conference of the Christian Community Development Association. Back then, a long weekend with two thousand people who were walking the same journey felt like an oasis. We never missed it. About that time, Charles Marsh, a great theologian and historian at the University of Virginia, published his book The Beloved Community: How... Read more

Mothers Day, Pentecost, and the Family of God

May 7, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Jesus said, “Call no man ‘Father,'” but promised that those who left their homes would find mothers and sisters and brothers in the God Movement. As we get ready to celebrate Pentecost just after the day that’s set aside to honor mothers in the U.S., here’s a little reflection on what it means to part of the family of God and practice our “family values.” Read more

“Ilegal”: the New “N” Word?

May 6, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Last week, I wrote to say how I’m inspired by the young people at our local Catholic parish here in Durham who are advocating for the release of their youth minister, Fabiana. She was arrested and shipped three states away for deportation because her immigration papers are not in order. I’ve been asking people of faith and good will here in Durham to stand with these kids and appeal for the release of Fabiana Polomo-Muniz. What most Americans don’t know–what... Read more

On Followership: Building Up the Movement I Can’t Lead

April 30, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Daryl Atkinson isn’t just quoting statistics when he talks about America’s most overlooked domestic crisis–mass incarceration as a result of the War on Drugs. 2.3 million people in prison, nearly 7 million in our criminal justice system. The United States incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than any other nation in the world. Since the early 1980’s, when our War on Drugs was declared, incarceration rates have increased by nearly 800%. The result: 65 million Americans–most of them people... Read more

Instead of “Leadership Development”

April 24, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Ms. Juanita teaches three year-olds at the Head Start program downtown. She stays just a few doors down from us in Walltown, but I never see her in the morning. She catches a bus to work long before I come downstairs, put the kettle on for tea, and walk down to the sidewalk to get the newspaper. A room full of three year-olds is no walk in the park. (I know; mine usually wakes up before the tea is done.)... Read more

Growing Smaller

March 29, 2013 By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

I love the intimacy of Jesus’ ministry on that first Easter–with Mary in the garden, calling her by name. With Cleopas on the road to Emmaus, sitting down to break bread. The resurrection is BIG news, yes. But we know it now, even as people knew it in the beginning, through Jesus’ little way of love. We know him in the breaking of the bread. When I was in college a mentor said to me, “always remember: good things start... Read more