by Joseph Boston I have zero confidence in the Justice Department’s investigation into the Chicago PD. This is all for show, they have to respond because of the very public corruption, deception, lies and murder of the Chicago PD that is being exposed right now. Chicago PD has BEEN corrupt, it is part of the reputation of these corrupt police that commit crimes and get away with them, it is their “notoriety.” This is not breaking news. If the DOJ does... Read more
by Carol Howard Merritt This post appeared first at the Tribal Church Blog I, like many people of faith, am reeling from Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s proclamations to his student body. Falwell encouraged the students of Liberty University (there are more than 100,000 of them) to arm themselves against Muslim terrorists. His rhetoric reminded me of a bumper sticker I see here in Tennessee: “Only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun.” I went to a... Read more
Here are some reflections from friends of R3 in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. If you have a reflection you would like to share, please send it to [email protected] Don’t blame the NRA for doing what the NRA does; blame conservative media for stoking the fears and resentments of white people who have been led to believe that government, minorities and white women are the sources of all of their material and psychological insecurities.... Read more
By Fredrick D. Robinson Published in the wake of the deadly shooting that shook San Bernardino, California, a New York Daily News headline blared: “GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS”! “This” refers to the gun violence that has become all too normal in our country. In fact, the massacre in San Bernardino marks the 355th mass shooting in the U.S. this year. Many were offended by the Daily News and offered typical rebuttals: “God is still in control,” “Prayer still works,” and... Read more
Jermaine McDonald of Symposium Ethics speaks with Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, the Susan B. Morgan Professor of Religion at Goucher College, about her latest book, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, on the one-year anniversaries of a St. Louis County grand jury’s decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the three-second shooting of Tamir Rice by police officers on a playground in Cleveland, Ohio. Listen to the podcast here Read more
by Chenjerai Kumanyika In light of the recent events in Colorado (again), I’m waiting to see if there will be an organized public denouncing of recent acts of white male conservative christian terrorism by white conservative Christians. Since several white male conservative christian leaders have either remained silent or spoken in support of recent white male Christian terrorist acts, some may feel that white conservative Christians should speak out so that those of us who are not white male conservative... Read more
By Fredrick D. Robinson By now you have probably seen the harrowing footage of Officer Jason Van Dyke emptying his firearm into 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s body. Sixteen shots in all were fired. The bullets tore through his scalp, back, neck, arms, elbow, hands, legs and torso—in some cases eliciting puffs of smoke. Because of the alarming nature of the recording, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved a $5 million settlement to the family even before they filed a lawsuit. The... Read more
In what would become his last public speech, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, in Memphis, Tennessee, told the audience in Mason Temple that night: Now the other thing we’ll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal…..We don’t have to argue with anybody. We don’t have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don’t need any bricks and bottles. We don’t need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to... Read more
These are remarks made at a press conference on Tuesday November 24, 2015 announcing an economic boycott starting November 27, 2015 better known as Black Friday For the past several years there has been an awakening and uprising brewing in many communities of color in response to injustices related to the criminal justice system, police brutality and the violent deaths of so many black Americans. People have rioted, marched, protested, and contested the political infrastructure that continues to oppress and... Read more
Below is a paper I presented for the “Exploring Hip Hop Beyond its Beats and Rhymes: Opportunities to Analyze the Power of Music” panel at the National Communication Association held in Las Vegas Nevada on November 20, 2015. I would like to thank the Cross Examination Debate Association for sponsoring the panel. When Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, it caused a firestorm of social media attention and protests along with criticisms. One of the... Read more
Rhetoric Race and Religion
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In