by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 Contributor*This first appeared on Crystal St. Marie Lewis blog Once upon a time in a land far away, on a day many thousands of years before today, a man received a bread recipe. The ingredients were not out of the ordinary for the man’s era, and certainly would not be strange for our society: Wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt… The man was instructed to store the mixed bread  elements in a... Read more

by Rev. Earle Fisher R3 Contributor Prepared Remarks of Rev. Earle Fisher at the Justice for Trayvon Rally held at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.  In our attempts to cultivate energy and interest in this event (and others like it all around the country) we have been meet with both the ocean breeze of optimism and the scorching heat of skepticism.  In times such as this, both responses are understandable.  We have done a lot of praying, held... Read more

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640 Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Read more

by Brian FoulksR3 Contributor *This was first posted at Syncopated Hustle  I am not sure from a theological perspective or from a biblical perspective that I can justify what I am about to say-not that it is right or wrong but that it is plausible to consider. I value diversity as much as the next man but I deplore pastors who hide within theological doctrines. As Derrick Bell quotes in Faces at the Bottom of the Well : The Permanence of Racism, “People looking to... Read more

On Saturday, George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the trial for the murder of teenager Trayvon Martin. I was and have remained in shock. No—not shocked—devastated and dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Thinking immediately of my two little nephews who are growing up black and unarmed in America. Thinking for the first time that maybe, possibly, there is a silver lining to the fact that I don’t have children? Could the ache for motherhood be replaced with the... Read more

The Memphis Public Library and Information Center invites customers to go on a journey to learn more about the Muslim faith. Purposed to foster cultural awareness and understanding, upcoming programMuslim Journeys: Muslim Contributions to the United States from 1776 until Today will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2013, 6 pm at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library (3030 Poplar Avenue, meeting rooms A–C). A reception will begin at 5:30 pm. Dr. Edward E. Curtis, author of The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States,... Read more

by Kimberly Peeler-RingerR3 Contributor The trial of George Zimmerman and its subsequent verdict have morphed into a type of post-traumatic stress trigger for me. My first experience with this kind of violence occurred growing up in Buffalo, New York when Black men were being targeted by Joseph Christopher, also known as the “.22 Caliber Killer.” He randomly shot, wounded and killed several Black boys and men because he “hated niggers.” (His words.) I vividly remember the mindset that these young men... Read more

by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 Contributor*This article first appeared in the Crystal St. Marie Lewis blog When I heard the words “Not Guilty” last night, I felt a variety of emotions. Those emotions ranged from initial confusion and disbelief to anger, and were followed by intense sadness and grief. I felt a renewed sense of loss for the Martin family–only this time, that sense of loss was compounded by frustration over the injustices they’re enduring at the hands of our... Read more

by Rev. Earle J. Fisher R3 Contributor I sat on my couch with mixed emotions that past Saturday awaiting the jury to come back with their verdict. I was naively optimistic with a pinch of skepticism.  I saw the puppeteered look of white (male) privilege on the defendant’s face – which matches my emotional irony due to his Hispanic and thereby “minority” ethnicity.  I felt the air sucking tension in the national atmosphere.  And when I heard “NOT GUILTY” I... Read more