by Daniel White Hodge Sigh…..let me gather my thoughts…I realize here at work I’m supposed to be doing “work.” Like getting this IRB together for a research project, or, reviewing an essay for a journal I’m guest editing. Or…but, to be Black and “woke” in this country here in the U.S.A. is to be in a constant state of frustration and discontent. I had spent the day yesterday discussing the current murder of yet another Black body, then, the love... Read more
by Andre E. Johnson When I first read Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, I immediately assigned it for my classes and told anybody who would listen to me that Chapter 3 alone was worth buying the book. In chapter 3, Alexander demonstrated how the entire criminal justice system is stance against poor people of color—especially African Americans. After reading how the justices ruled in McCleskey v. Kemp , the decision that effectively eliminated challenges to racial bias claims in... Read more
by Matthew Vega My sophomore year of high school, I was sent to an alternative school in Aurora that met in a factory building. Yes, a factory building. Before we were allowed inside, we were subject to metal detectors, pat downs, and asked to flip our shoes upside down and smack the heels of them together to make sure we weren’t carrying anything suspect inside. Before I worked at Wheaton, I worked at an alternative school. I was naive enough... Read more
As mothers there are certain expectations and demands society places on us. This role sometimes poses challenges with our additional professional obligations. Yet, as a Momma, we dare not put anything or anyone before our children. We are not afraid risk it all for another hug, another kiss, or attendance at baby boy’s or baby girl’s events. We take extreme strides to salvage who we are as Momma. …Sometimes the road is rocky and replete with lions and tigers and bears. There... Read more
The Memphis Commercial Appeal is reporting that Dr. Marcia Bowden and her husband, Ira Marche have filed suit against the city of Southaven, Mississippi and Officers Sgt. Brett Loganzino and Jeremy Delaney. The suit claims that the officers violated the couple’s civil rights during a traffic stop last year. They both are asking for one million dollars in damages. I wrote about the incident that happened on September 7, 2015 under the title Dear Black People: “Our Respectability Will Not... Read more
by Benjamin Short This happened recently while tailgating for Memphis. Tent next to ours was completely hammered. Something happened, a little scuffle broke out between a couple really drunk people. We watched, a little amused, cause it all seemed harmless. Then a white guy started yelling at a black guy, “you’re just a no good n—-r.” Friends pushed him out of the tent, he kept yelling and wouldn’t leave. I yelled at him to get his attention. Rough summary was,... Read more
by Matthew Vega I’m not sure what happened to Chris Brown. I remember working in the projects I had grown up in, picking up kids to go trick-or-treating, and playing “Forever” as loud as I could so that we could have something to jam to. It became the go-to, so it always made me happy when I heard his music. Now, when I listen to his music or see pictures of him, my emotions range from anger to sadness. After... Read more
by Dameon Madison “The year was 2016, it was seemingly a rebirth of consciousness, the eyes of society were being forced to turn its attention to existing American atrocities, protests of oppression and injustice were flooding the streets, panelists were taking stage to articulate the need for change and reform, rallies were en masse, there was an energy an undercurrent for transformation – and there she stood, silent, apathetic, divorced from the very reality she was called to confront .... Read more
by Peter Gathje The conversation was around the sentencing of the man who killed Semaj. In May of 2014, a security guard shoved Semaj off of a MATA bus. As he fell from the bus he hit the sidewalk face first and fractured his skull. He never regained consciousness and died a few months later. Testimony indicated the security guard escalated the situation by forcibly confronting Semaj who was drunk and being disorderly. One summer during graduate school, I worked... Read more
by Randall Mullins A friend of mine decided to begin a group to talk about racism in his church and modeled it after Alcoholics Anonymous/Twelve-Step groups in which members begin meetings by saying “my name is ____ and I am an alcoholic.” Twelve-step folks gather around common powerlessness, failures and heal by speaking the truth about their lives. In my friend’s group people introduce themselves by saying “my name is ______ and I am a racist.” At this time in... Read more
Rhetoric Race and Religion
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