We are pleased to announce that the Founder and Managing Editor of the R3 blog, Andre E. Johnson will give the keynote address at the MLK Celebration on Friday evening, January 19, 2018, at 7 pm on the campus of Willamette University. The title of his talk is “Why America May Go To Hell”: The Prophetic Pessimism of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Trump Era.” Below is the abstract of the talk. For more information on other events, click here. Abstract... Read more
by Tom Fuerst It’s one thing for Christians to have a particular perspective on the end-times and how it’ll all play out. But a segment of the Christian population has taken their end-times scheme into their own hands, for years now, attempting to elect politicians who will arrange the political pecking order in such a way that their eschatological agenda is forcibly realized. They lobby and promote agendas that privilege Israel, no matter whether Israel is just or good to... Read more
from The Rhetoric of Religious Freedom in the United States, edited by Eric C. Miller. (Lexington Books, 2017). Abstract: In this chapter, I examine Donald Trump’s rhetoric of religious freedom specifically aimed at appealing to black voters. I first examine briefly two speeches given to predominately-white audiences. In those speeches, while arguably focusing his appeal on economics and jobs, he did it by creating a dystopian view of the African American community. It was this dystopian view and his promise to... Read more
by T. Max Christie McMillan In a previous post on Facebook, I explained that flirting and sexual harassment are not one and the same, citing my extensive HR (Employee Relations/EEO) experience as part of the premise for my position. This gave rise to some questions, concerns, and some comment section and inbox push back. So, allow me to be clear. If you look at what is happening to men in the public eye and this scares you, consider what you are... Read more
by Derrick Holmes I believe that our deepest love for something (or someone) is often made manifest in how honest we are about its current state. This demonstrates the depth of the devotion we have toward it. It must be the most genuine variety of love for the feeling to remain despite the dysfunction or demons (pun intended) evident in them. That love not only exposes things that might be wrong but it also empowers us to confidently confront the... Read more
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, our founder and managing editor, Dr. Andre E. Johnson, was a special guest on radio station 1340 WLOK’s Let’s Talk About It with Twana Coleman. The subject of their conversation was politics. They discussed the election in Virginia and New Jersey, Trump and the Russian hacking scandal and the role of race plays in electoral politics. See the discussion below. Donate to the Work of R3 Like the work, we do at Rhetoric Race and... Read more
We here at R3 are pleased to announce the publication of the Rhetoric of Religious Freedom in the United States edited by Eric C. Miller. We are also pleased to announce that R3 founder and managing editor, Andre E. Johnson has a chapter in the book. Pre-order your copy today. About the Book: The Rhetoric of Religious Freedom in the United States, fifteen scholars from this field address the variety of forms that free, public religiosity may assume, and which rhetorical... Read more
The R3 book series is pleased to announce the publication of Contemporary Christian Culture: Message, Mission, and Dilemmas edited by Omotayo O. Banjo and Kesha Morant Willimas. Pre-order your copy today! About the Book: Contemporary Christian Culture: Messages, Missions, and Dilemmas studies Christian media, its meanings, and its impact on social perceptions and lived experiences in a multicultural context and from within a communication framework. This interdisciplinary collection expands the dialogue surrounding race, culture, and Christian messages and provides a valuable resource... Read more
On Friday, November 3, 2017, Tom Fuerst engaged his Facebook followers in a threaded discussion on race and the Gospel. He started the thread by writing, “White pastors, if you’re not talking about racism, you’re not preaching Jesus.” From there, several people offered comments. Below is a sampling of Tom comments in the thread. To read the other comments and to see the entire thread, please click here. by Tom Fuerst White pastors, if you’re not talking about racism,... Read more
by Ernest Gibson III To the young white man who asked me, “Dr. Gibson, where did you get your eloquence?” I am writing you here, as I am afraid I was unable to be completely honest in the moment in which you posed the question. You see, I have mastered the art of taming my rage, of offering it in such a way that it would not be disruptive. I suppose we might say that it too has an eloquence... Read more
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