{"id":5895,"date":"2017-10-02T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?p=5895"},"modified":"2017-10-15T09:41:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T14:41:02","slug":"are-we-dancing-for-the-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2017\/10\/are-we-dancing-for-the-king.html","title":{"rendered":"Are We Just Dancing for the King?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Dancing\"<\/a>by Alphonso Saville<\/p>\n

As America trods the path towards another showdown in the saga for racial justice, communities of faith must be prepared to provide spiritual and pragmatic resources for sustained resistance.\u00a0 Renowned scholar and theologian Josiah Young<\/a> explains black spirituality is an antidote to anti-black racism and its aesthetics forms can be detected in the acts and perspectives that counter methods and systems of racial injustice.\u00a0 The internal fortitude produced by this artistic tradition is a testament to a rich spiritual legacy and is found in the literature, music, and dance of black folks.\u00a0 Hip-hop artists like the Atlanta-based rap group, Goodie Mob<\/a>, provide invaluable resources towards this end.<\/p>\n

Goodie Mob\u2019s sophomore album, Still Standing<\/em><\/a> (1998),\u00a0 features a skit<\/a> in which an unnamed king demands his servant fetch the Royal Fool to dance to appease the king\u2019s boredom.\u00a0 When the servant returns, he delivers a message from the Royal Fool.\u00a0 \u201cYou f*cking fool!\u201d <\/em>he reads. \u201cN*ggas don\u2019t dance.\u00a0 All they do is this!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The king is furious. \u201cAll they do is this?\u201d he asks in anger and amazement.\u00a0 \u201cOff with his head!\u201d exclaims the king.<\/p>\n

Goodie Mob\u2019s parable explains that when the people hired (or forced) to entertain and work society\u2019s elites attempt to determine the circumstances and conditions under which they perform, they are routinely threatened with violence in return.\u00a0 In Biblical parables, kings rewarded laborers who bucked against the system with violent punishment and forced solitude.\u00a0 In the parable of the talents<\/a>, the laborer who refused to work for the profit of the king was cast into outer darkness after he told the king that he was an unjust man who reaped where he had not sown.\u00a0 Similarly, Daniel<\/a> and the 3 Hebrew boys\u2013Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego<\/a>\u2013were jailed and sentenced to death when they would not assume bodily postures that expressed allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire.<\/p>\n

As these stories depict, threats, loss of wages, and state-sanctioned violence were common responses to those who acted in defiance to government empires.\u00a0 Repeatedly, kings and empirical governments lashed out with violent force to assert their physical dominance over their subjects.\u00a0 Violence was accompanied by loss of jobs and wages\u2013blatant attempts to cut off access to resources needed for bodily health.\u00a0 In the stories of conflict between laborers and elites, phrases like \u201c<\/a>You\u2019re fired!\u201d<\/em><\/a> and \u201cOff with his head<\/em>\u201d signal to demonstrators that they are not permitted to control the postures and parameters of their public performance.<\/p>\n

Jesus admonished<\/a> his followers not to fear those whose only power was to control or kill the body.\u00a0 He wanted them to be clear about the cost of discipleship\u2013it might cost your very lives. Consequently, they needed to develop inner-fortitude impenetrable to the physical tools of the enemy.<\/p>\n

The same idea might be applied to a community of people engaged in active resistance to enemy forces.\u00a0 The internal communal dynamics needed to sustain collective resistance must be developed if movements for justice are to have a lasting effect.\u00a0 The historical record of African American freedom movements demonstrates this necessity.\u00a0 The Montgomery Bus Boycott<\/a> achieved lasting success only because community members rallied to supply resources needed to supplement forfeited modes of public transportation.\u00a0 Such organization required sacrifices from both individuals and communities, and these sacrifices were often made despite attempts by law enforcement and private citizens alike to intimidate boycotters with threats of violence.\u00a0 Perhaps the storytelling genius of Goodie Mob and other hip-hop artists can provide the sustenance we need as we refuse to dance before the king.<\/p>\n

Alphonso F. Saville, IV is a scholar, educator, and artist. His research explores American religious history,\u00a0African American religious literature, and religious freedom in contemporary American society. His poetic works are showcased via Twitter and Instagram. You can follow Dr. Saville\u00a0@drphonsarelli<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Like the work, we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries\/G\u2019Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to support our work.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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by Alphonso Saville As America trods the path towards another showdown in the saga for racial justice, communities of faith must be prepared to provide spiritual and pragmatic resources for sustained resistance.\u00a0 Renowned scholar and theologian Josiah Young explains black spirituality is an antidote to anti-black racism and its aesthetics forms can be detected in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[918,953,273,853],"class_list":["post-5895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-contributions","tag-alphonso-saville","tag-prophetic","tag-protests","tag-resistance"],"yoast_head":"\nAre We Just Dancing for the King?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Alphonso Saville As America trods the path towards another showdown in the saga for 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