By Lisa Williams, MTS Student Rhetoric of Race Class-Summer 2012 part of the Rhetoric Race and Religion Institute*Special to Rhetoric Race and Religion IntroductionThe genesis of the word “race” was predicated upon the procurement of social, economical and political domination in order to render people of color impotent. Throughout history, the marginalization of African Americans has existed on a continuum, providing variant experiences that are often ignored due to an overzealous inclination by White America to relegate all persons of... Read more

Peter Gathje serves as professor of Christian Ethics and Associate Dean at Memphis Theological Seminary. His teaching and research interests include Christian discipleship in relation to poverty, racism, and homelessness, nonviolent social change, and state violence, particularly the death penalty and war. He is a founder and co-director of Manna House, a place of hospitality for homeless persons located in Memphis. Dr. Gathje has written two books, Christ Comes in the Stranger’s Guise (1991), Sharing the Bread of Life: Hospitality... Read more

Americans understand that Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day,” as my parents called it, has something to do with honoring the nation’s war dead. It is also a day devoted to picnics, road races, commencements, and double-headers. But where did it begin, who created it, and why? As a nation we are at war now, but for most Americans the scale of death and suffering in this seemingly endless wartime belongs to other people far away, or to people in other... Read more

Laura Polk holds a masters degree in applied anthropology from University of Maryland, College Park. A child of missionaries, she is interested in the way that culture intersects (clashes?) with Christianity, particularly when it comes to race, gender, and politics. You can follow her on Twitter @lolaelizabeth. Read more

By GERREN KEITH GAYNOR In a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify. “Aren’t you glad Jesus got up?” the woman, Twanna Gause, asked the predominantly black congregation, which responded with enthusiastic shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah.” “He got up so I can come out,” Ms. Gause said, as worshipers hopped out of their seats and cheered in agreement. “He got up so you can come out.” For black... Read more

by Jodi Kantor The United States quietly passed a milestone this spring, mostly lost amid the clamor of the presidential race: for the first time, neither party’s candidate is a white Protestant. The contenders are both from outsider groups that were once persecuted, and despite Harvard degrees and notable successes, both men have felt the sting of being treated as somehow strange or different. The campaigns have mostly been in a state of détente on identity politics, trying to avoid... Read more

This is a story from the PBS program Religion and Ethics Weekly that examined the lack of African American women pastors in Black Churches. Has much changed since then? http://www-tc.pbs.org/s3/pbs.videoportal-prod.cdn/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf Watch African-American Women Pastors on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. Read more

by Crystal LewisRhetoric Race and Religion ContributorFrom: Crystal St Marie Lewis By now, you’ve probably heard about Pastor (and I’m using that title loosely) Charles Worley’s “Kill-All-The-Gays” rant. It took several days for me to actually watch the utterly vile video for myself because I couldn’t bring myself to press the “play” button. I didn’t see a clip of his hate speech until I stumbled upon this CNN article which records the minister saying: “I want to read it out... Read more

by Rachael Kohn H.L. Menken, America’s most legendary journalist, covered the Scopes “Monkey trial” of 1925 with bluster, verve and flourish. In this watershed case of religious journalism, Menken’s prose leapt off the page with not the least concern for unbiased reportage and with a broad wink to the peanut gallery. “Morons,” “buffoons” and “hillbillies” pepper his daily accounts from the courtroom, while “palpable imbecilities” were frequently identified as the bugbear of a fair trial. Menken’s unconcealed contempt for religion... Read more

Dr. Celucien L. Joseph is an intellectual, scholar, and cultural critic. He is an adjunct professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (South Florida Extension Center). He is the host and founder of Center for Reason, Dialogue, and Faith. He received an M.A. (French language and literature) from the University of Louisville; a Master of Divinity (Biblical and Theological Studies) from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; a Th. M. (New Testament) from Southwestern Baptist Theological... Read more