A COLLABORATION OF ADVENTIST ACTIVISTS
FEBRUARY 2025
ISSUE 11
GET MORE OUT OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
RACISM OR REFORMATION?
TO FIGHT PREJUDICE
WHEN I WITNESS DISCRIMINATION... BURNING BETHEL
RACISM OR REFORMATION?
I was beginning law school in 1992 at the time of one of Australia’s most landmark court cases. Taking its name from the already deceased Indigenous plaintiff who was seeking recognition of his pre-existing native title over the traditional lands of his people, the Mabo case saw the majority of the judges of the High Court of Australia rejected the long-held doctrine of terra nullius the assumption that the land now known as Australia had belonged to no-one before European colonisation A legal fiction more than 200 years old had finally been undone.
As an upstart law student with all of a few months of legal education behind me, I wrote a paper critical of the High Court’s decision and their “unprecedented judicial activism” in overturning such an established legal doctrine In 30 years of writing, it is one of the few pieces that I regret. Thankfully, no-one read it beyond my long-suffering professor and the paper is now long lost in my academic history but it represents attitudes that probably have had real-world applications at different points in my life
Of course, there is an element of humour in reflecting on my precocious railing against the legal judgment of the highest court in the land, but there is also regret that I did not recognise and celebrate this ruling for the watershed moment it was for Indigenous Australians. And I am deeply disappointed that for all my years of Adventist upbringing, worship services, Bible studies, Sabbath schools and Pathfinder classes, I did not have a theology that would have helped me respond better to an issue such as this, even in the context of my studies but more so in how this might have been lived out.
I
did not have a theology that would have helped me respond better to an issue such as this.
In further studies in more recent years including a postgraduate degree in justice and theology I have become increasingly
convinced of the centrality and pervasiveness of racism in many of the issues of injustice in our world today, how deep-seated and systemic the roots and realities of racism are, and that racism is primarily a theological issue
This growing realisation of racism as a theological issue brings two immediate and profound responses The first is a sense of shame: for those of us with a Christian heritage and confession, this is a faith issue and we have mostly not done it well, either historically or presently The second is a sense of hope and imagination: theology is something we can work with and the best response to bad theology is better theology
The historical reality is that racism and race developed significantly in the 15th and 16th centuries as a theological rationale for the burgeoning European expansion, exploration and colonisation of the world.
As commentators such as Ta-Nehisi Coates have pointed out, race is primarily an invention of racism ¹ There is no biological or other scientific basis for identifying race and the concept as we know it is largely a creation of our modern world While the Bible describes rivalries between families, tribes and peoples, these are more focused on cultures, languages and gods than they are on any physical appearance. Fast-forwarding through history, the plays of Shakespeare offer a relatively more recent literary example in which different characters are portrayed, but “without explicit value judgment, political utility, or the sort of generalising about a people group with which we are familiar today ”²
The historical reality is that racism and race developed significantly in the 15th and 16th centuries as a theological rationale for the
burgeoning European expansion, exploration and colonisation of the world The physical differences of the inhabitants of the colonised lands became a practical short-hand for implementing a theological decree issue by Pope Nicholas V issued on June 18, 1452, which gave the king of Portugal permission “to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed” meaning almost anyone non-European “to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery” and “to convert them to his and [his successors”] use and profit ”³ Part of what is known as the Doctrine of Discovery, such belief was the theological basis for much of what has become the politics and economics of racism, as seen in slavery, discrimination, systemic disadvantage and disparity, and so much more in the centuries since. It was also the underlying belief of the terra nullius doctrine so recently rejected by Australia’s High Court
Unfortunately, this innovation of latemedieval Christianity received less attention in the great reformation movements of following centuries and remains a largely unfinished, perhaps barely commenced, work of Christian reformation And so many in our world have suffered for it. Employing a second Latin term for this short article: we are called to semper reformanda the heirs of the Reformation are always reforming In the theology of race, there is much work yet to be done and it begins with better theology
Our foundational understanding of what it means to be human is that all people are created in God’s image (see Genesis 1:27), loved (see John 3:16) and invited (see Revelation 14:6) by God. This ought to be particularly so in the context of the fellowship and work of the church: “Distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation ”⁴ But, as the concluding comment
might suggest, this should also be our posture towards those in society around us
Here there is yet more theological work to be done The assumptions of 550 years of theological history are not easily untangled or undone. We have followed much of the dominant Christian world in reading the Bible as a white and Western text We perpetuate the Doctrine of Discovery in our standard interpretations of Revelation 13 and we maintain a prophetic focus that ignores much of the world, its peoples and its history We privilege music, language and art from a European heritage as somehow holier than other cultural expressions We have grown our missionary and evangelistic reach on the wings of American empire across the 20th century.
A better theology and better expressions of our theology will launch us into the world around us with more to contribute to the necessary theological and systemic work of un-doing racism Perhaps this was hinted at in the words of then-General Conference president A G Daniells in summarising part of the life work of Ellen White at her funeral in 1915: “Slavery, the caste system, unjust racial prejudices, the oppression of the poor, the neglect of the unfortunate these all are set forth as unchristian and a serious menace to the wellbeing of the human race, and as evils which the church of Christ is appointed by her Lord to overthrow ”⁵ This is the language and faith of reformation and revolution.
I wish this was the understanding of faith that I was taught at Sabbath school, Pathfinders and church when I was growing up. I wish this was the faith that I held when I stepped into law school 30 years ago, which would have seen me much better equipped to applaud and support the slow but significant progress in recognizing Australia’s Indigenous peoples at that time But I also imagine the difference that such a better and growing understanding of our faith could have in the church today and in our world that so needs to be changed
Nathan Brown Adapted from Thinking Faith (2023): amzn to/40JOmxB
1 Ta-Nehisi Coates, “How Racism Invented Race in America,” The Atlantic, June 24, 2014, bit ly/Pulseracism-america
2 Ken Wytsma, The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege, IVP, 2017, page 33.
3. Quoted by Mark Charles and Song-Chan Rah, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, IVP, 2019, page 15
4 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, #14 Unity in the Body of Christ
5 Life Sketches of Ellen G White, page 473
ANTI-RACISM
“The opposite of racist isn't ‘not racist.’ It is ‘anti-racist.’ What's the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti-racist One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist There is no in-between safe space of 'not racist’
“The good news is that racist and antiracist are not fixed identities We can be a racist one minute and an antiracist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what not who we are ”
Ibram X Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist
BURNING BETHEL
The de(con)struction of injustice
Beth-el the house of God on fire? What a fearful vision painted by the prophet: “Seek the Lord and live, or else he might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph. The fire will burn up Bethel, with no-one to put it out”(Amos 5:6, CEB) What’s more, the fire will be started by God! What a shocking proclamation! An appeal that ends as an ultimatum Surely those in Amos’s audience were left wide-eyed and open-mouthed. God rushing like a fire against His own people, against His own sanctuary? That’s not the only alarming thought There’s the finality of it all; no-one can extinguish what God ignites.
Regrettably, Bethel had increasingly been shaped in the image and interests of empire, with its politics and propaganda. Beth-el “the house of God” had morphed into the property and pawn of people and systems of injustice and oppression. Bethel is a metonym for the religious system that apathetically ignores, or overtly approves, injustice and oppression all while keeping a full liturgical calendar and membership list. When Beth-el becomes Beth-empire, things have gone awry
Prophetic voices are often not welcome at Bethel due to the latter’s close identification with the interests and systems of empire Prophetic figures consistently emphasize that true spirituality integrates justice and righteousness into all spheres of individual and communal life The professed community of faith should not support and perpetuate the
inequities and injustices that pervade society at large When a voice of justice is needed, silence is as much an act of collusion as publicly speaking or acting in support of the oppressors When Bethel becomes our house more than God’s, we’ve lost the plot and the point of it all.
Surely those in Amos’s audience were left wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
The consequence of perpetuating endemic oppression and side-lining justice? The combustion of Bethel Bethel will burn because worshippers prefer to use their privilege and power to support abusive people and systems as they prey on vulnerable victims. Crimes of oppression are legitimized by the religious establishment. To be clear, divine pyromania is not the core of this prophetic proclamation. The threat of Bethel burning imagines the deconstruction and destruction of the oppressive people and systems to which Bethel is committed Bethel will burn because professed believers have negated the call to interrupt and counter systemic injustices. Bethel is complicit in the crimes of the oppressors
Bethels of today are complicit too. Racism
is the systemic scandal from which many professed Christian individuals and communions have profited Like the devotees and clergy at Bethel, Christians are confronted with the imperative to stop participating and collaborating in both conspicuous and insidious forms of racial injustice. God’s fiery injunction delivered to the community of faith remains applicable to those who hold the biblical prophetic tradition, and Scripture in its entirety, to be the rule of faith and living.
Racism is a tyrannical construct that must be deconstructed This work of deconstruction necessitates an honest examination of history, of both the dominant and marginalized groups
We must probe the elements that coalesced to create and sustain the system of racism. This continual act of identifying key agents individual and communal and factors is necessary for a truthful interpretation of racism. Interpreting racism invites the past and present narratives of those individuals and communities who have been silenced by a distorted version of Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation Interpreting racism also involves analysing our theology and liturgy to see how much is shaped by Jesus’ life and teaching, and how much is determined by the empire and systems to which we are committed
The recurrent act of truthful interpretation is in itself an interruption of racism. We continue to interrupt racism as we challenge the mechanisms that allow it to thrive not only on interpersonal levels but also on structural levels. An example of interrupting racism is to truthfully interrogate whether our theology is shaped more by colonialism and nationalism than by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
This work is urgent Injustices such as racism must be deconstructed. We are called to identify and expose the complex and intertwined layers. It is imperative that we acknowledge not only interpersonal racism but also the pervasive racism rife within our systems and institutions. People and communities of faith have the vocation of truth-telling and bearing witness evasion will no longer suffice.
As we tell the truth and bear witness to the rampant reality of racism, we are drawn into the
work of destruction. Yes, destruction. The destruction of damaging policies and practices that have created and sustained legacies of oppression through successive generations. De(con)structing injustice involves the holy and faithful work of disrupting, dismantling, disempowering and destroying the structures and systems that support and sustain racism and other manifestations of injustice
The prophetic revelation is often scandalous and confronting to its hearers, both ancient and modern The fiery threat of Bethel burning portends the looming judgment that the contemporary church faces if it continues to frame justice as an elective or side-issue that can be engaged in only when convenient or beneficial. We may substitute “Bethel” and insert the names of our communities of faith and the institutions to which we are affiliated Burning ? What a sobering thought. The prophets insist that theology and liturgy do not delight God when they are divorced from justice Pervasive injustice, such as racism, cannot continue to be papered over by evasive and passive preaching Neither can the laments of the oppressed be muffled by other liturgical practices and theological positions that are ultimately disconnected from the ministry of Jesus Christ and the lived experiences of all God’s children.
Janice P De-Whyte
Excerpted and adapted from A House on Fire: How Adventist Fire Responds to Race and Racism (Maury D Jackson and Nathan Brown, editors), Signs Publishing, 2022: amzn to/4hJvW7a
WHO WE ARE
Pulse is the monthly digital magazine of JustLove Collective
This month’s issue is sponsored by Fountain of Life Foundation (Thank you )
Designed by Jeffers Media
Unless indicated otherwise all Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version.
CHRIS BLAKE
Is professor emeritus at Union Adventist University where he taught English and communication courses, including Conflict and Peacemaking and Critiquing Film. He has also served as academy teacher, editor of Insight magazine, author of many books and articles, and pastor of two small churches
NATHAN BROWN
Is book editor at Signs Publishing, based near Melbourne, Australia He is author of 21 books, including Thinking Faith and Do Not Be Afraid (the devotional book for 2025, published by Pacific Press in North America )
JANICE P DE-WHYTE
Is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at the School of Religion, Loma Linda University
MARCIA NORDMEYER
Is a circulation/reference associate at Union Adventist University's library in Lincoln, Nebraska. She is happily married to Jeremy. Their two children are encouraged to read banned books.
InSpire
The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.
FAUX NEUTRAL
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality
Desmond Tutu
SOUL
SUPPORT
Every student needs someone who says, “You belong!”
Dolores Huerta
REVENGE FANTASY?
PRIMARY SOURCE
My research kept pointing me to the same answer: The source of racist ideas was not ignorance and hate, but self-interest.
Ibram X. Kendi
Malcolm X INSEPARABLE
You can’t separate peace from freedom because noone can be at peace unless they have freedom.
There is no collective slavery revenge fantasy among black people, but I am certain, if there were one, it would not be about white people, not at all. My slavery revenge fantasy would probably involve being able to read and write without fear of punishment or persecution coupled with a long vacation in Paris.
Roxanne Gay
AIRTIME
Racism in America is like dust in the air It seems invisible until you let the sun in Then you see it’s everywhere As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Maya Angelou
JUST LOVE
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr
FREE TO FLY
As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold them down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.
Marian Anderson
Lila Watson LIBERATION
If you have come to help me you are wasting your time But if you recognize that your liberation and mine are bound up together, we can walk together
Activism is my rent for living on the planet Maya Angelou
VISCERAL IMPACT
TRUE EDUCATION
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love
Nelson Mandela
Rosa Parks COURAGE
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
But all our phrasing race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. You must never look away from this You must always remember that the sociology, the history, the economics, the graphs, the charts, the regressions all land, with great violence, upon the body.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.
Audre Lorde CELEBRATE THEM
GET MORE OUT OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
As a historian of race, I find Black History Month to be the most wonderful time of the year The whole country turns its attention toward Black history-makers and their stories We plan events, talk about books and remind ourselves that Black history is indeed American history
But there is an issue with how most of us commemorate Black History Month. We tend to view Black history as isolated points on a timeline instead of a coherent and continuous story. When we look at Black history as a set of separate facts without their proper context, we can miss the significance and the beauty of it
This troubling lack of context is also why so many people think history is boring If it’s just memorizing names and dates devoid of the compelling stories that surround them, then why should anyone care?
When we consider context, we address pivotal questions: Who were the other historical actors influencing outcomes? What other events served as precursors? What were the ramifications and aftereffects?
One example of the importance of context when studying Black history is the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Most of us know of the horrific events that day in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 when four Black girls at church Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair,
Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley were killed in an explosion caused by dynamite. It was a stunning act of racial terrorism, even in the Jim Crow South
When we look at Black history as a set of separate facts without their proper context, we can miss the significance—and the beauty—of it.
But context tells us that the bombing was one of many in a city that had already earned the ignominious nickname “Bombingham.” This horrific act also came partly as a response to the Children’s Crusade, which happened in May of 1963 Hundreds of young people, from middle school to high school, went through training in nonviolent direct action in preparation to march and protest Some of that training happened at the 16th Street Baptist Church.
The images of children being sprayed with firehoses and police dogs snarling at them is etched in our national memory But the protests were effective, and city officials agreed to what became known as the “Birmingham Truce Agreement”, which acquiesced to protestors’ demands for desegregation according to
demands for desegregation according to aspecified timetable. The first public school in Birmingham to desegregate was Graymont Elementary School on September 4, just days before the bombing.
In the aftermath, the bombing had the opposite of its intended effect The attack did not intimidate racial justice activists. Instead, it emboldened them to work harder and helped mobilize public sentiment around desegregation.
We miss all this if we only look at one date on the calendar
If you want to get the most out of Black History Month and understand the larger flow of history, here are a few practices that can help
Go to a museum . . . alone.
I know it may take some planning to get the time and make the arrangements to spend an afternoon flying solo, but it’s worth it
You get to linger over the artifacts. Read every caption Sit on a bench and marinate on what you’re learning. We are so often rushed through a museum because we’re with others and we have to accommodate our schedule to theirs. What if you took all the time you needed to absorb the history at a museum?
Read a whole book on some aspect of Black history.
This isn’t a stretch for folks who love to read, but I’ve learned never to overestimate how many people grab their facts randomly online instead of sitting down with a book for an extended period
Reading a book on history from beginning to end, especially books written by actual historians, gives you a sense of the context and overall timeline of an era. You learn what people and ideas influenced figures from the past You discover lesser-known and under-appreciated people who played a major role in shaping the past You gain a notion of what political, economic and social dynamics influenced decisions
Reading Jonathan Eig’s recent biography of
Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, will reveal King not as a mythological figure but as a man who was brilliant in some areas and disappointingly flawed in others just like every other human being.
Other well-written and researched books include Until I Am Free, Keisha Blain’s biography of legendary Mississippi activist Fannie Lou Hamer, and Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed
You can also check online for Black History Month book reading lists.
We miss all this if we only look at one date on the calendar.
Or you can make history come alive by asking a family member or friend about a historical event or time period.
I remember asking my mom, who was a young teacher in Michigan during the Civil Rights movement, what she remembered about the era
Even though she lived in the North, schools would occasionally get warnings about protests and potential riots. When these notifications came over the PA system, she would have to take her class into the hallway and have the children sit with their hands covering their heads in case rocks or bricks came through the windows
The history we learn from people around us may never end up in a book or documentary, but it adds personal context and significance to the past that we might otherwise never have known.
To get the most out of Black History Month, you can also try explaining some historical event or person to someone else, especially children.
You know you understand a topic deeply when you can effectively teach it to someone else Explaining Black history, especially to a
young person, brings with it the opportunity for them to ask questions in their own way Who was that person? Why were they important? Why did they make that choice? Why does this matter?
When we talk about Black history to other people, their questions and curiosity will inspire us to form a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the subject.
Finally, access the primary sources.
Much of what we learn about history comes filtered from the lens and perspectives of others. This isn’t necessarily bad, but primary sources offer us the unmediated tales of the past.
Primary sources are the words and actions that come directly from the historical actors themselves They are speeches, sermons, songs, letters, memos and eyewitness testimonies from the people who were actually there.
Documentary histories such as Eyes on the Prize, African American Voices: A Documentary Reader from Emancipation to the Present and African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness collect dozens of primary sources in a single volume
While we can always learn from others, there is no replacing looking at the words and actions of history for yourself.
Black History Month serves as an annual cultural tradition where we get to focus on the people and events that often go overlooked and underappreciated Rather than sharing a few posts on social media or reading a few articles online, we can get the most out of Black History Month by recognizing history as a continuous, dramatic story and not just a set of disconnected dates
Jemar Tisby, PhD, is the author of The Color of Compromise and The Spirit of Justice He is a professor of history at Simmons College of Kentucky Adapted from “Opinion: We could be getting so much more out of Black History Month Here’s how,” CNN com
ReView
THE ANTIRACIST DECK
100 Meaningful Conversations on Power, Equity, and Justice
Ibram X Kendi
One World, 2022
Pulse readers! Next to the raw almonds and kale on your shopping list, consider adding The Antiracist Deck by Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi, the beloved author of remarkable titles including Antiracist Baby, Stamped From the Beginning, How to Be an Antiracist, has delighted me once again with the development of The Antiracist Deck While not technically a book, the thought-provoking deck of 100 conversation-starting cards forces the user to examine how they think about race, what culture means personally, and what actionable steps one can take to become more self-aware.
The first way I used my deck, when it arrived in the mail, was simple I slung my hammock across the clothesline bars in the backyard and simply read through them all. Slowly. I silently played conversations in my mind with people I knew Some make-believe conversations were easier than others. I needed help understanding some of the questions A small group of trusted friends would have been extremely helpful
During Hispanic Heritage Month, I flipped through the deck and pulled every card that felt the most applicable to the book display we had
curated in the library where I work I laid them all out on the circulation desk I had five small acrylic sign holders in which two cards could be displayed back-to back. I asked Evan, my student assistant who was working at the time, to choose five cards for the display, then I chose five more. It wasn’t easy but we eventually decided on our top 10 and added them to the display We even had some reflective, wholesome, discussions. It was a good morning
This is one to buy, folks! Most libraries will not want to lend something with 100 pieces that could go missing, and this is not in the read-itonce-and-be-done category anyway I promise you will feel good about the purchase too, unlike that kale that will probably rot in your fridge.
Marcia Nordmeyer
WE CAN DO BETTER
Stephen Chavez
The United States has been called “The Great Melting Pot ” Despite differences in race, religion, culture, people from around the world can find a place in the land that promised refuge for “your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ”
The sad reality is that from its very beginning, the territory that eventually became the United States was a place of racial, religious, and cultural intolerance Here are a few sad episodes:
1. Fifty years after the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Native Americans rebelled against their treatment by the English. Their land had been taken without compensation; many had been sold as slaves in the Caribbean; thousand had been killed in a war that lasted three years Metacom, the Wampanoag chief, along with thousands of his people were killed Captain Benjamin Church ordered the head of Wampanoag put on a pike outside Plymouth Colony the very place where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated where it remained for 20 years. The name of the war was:
A Wampanoag’s War
R The Shot Heard Round the World
C King Philip’s War
D The War of Native Aggression
Answer: C. Metacom was known as King Philip by the colonists n pr/3Q44SUf
3. On May 31, 1921, Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black shoeshiner in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was accused of assaulting 21-year-old Sarah Page. Rumors spread that Rowland was going to be lynched. A mob of White men gathered around the jail. A group of 75 Black men, some armed, arrived to protect Rowland What happened next is in dispute A gunshot went off, and, according to Sheriff’s reports, “all hell broke loose ” Rioters entered the Greenwood neighborhood, one of the wealthiest Black neighborhoods in the country, and burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks Can you guess the number of those killed and wounded?
A. 26 Blacks, 10 Whites
B 150 Blacks, 50 Whites
C 26 Blacks, 13 Whites
D All of the above
Answer: No-one really knows bit.ly/PulseTuslaRaceMassacre
2. The Opium Wars between China and Great Britain in the mid-19th century left many Chinese destitute Significant numbers of Chinese arrived on the west coast of the United States during the Gold Rush They were used as cheap labor for the building of the Transcontinental Railroad The end of the Civil War in the United States caused the economy to decline and anti-Chinese enmity to increase Articles such as one that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Chinese Invasion! They Are Coming, 900,000 Strong” (August 27, 1873), resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed into law on May 6, 1882. Which American president signed the act into law?
A. Chester A. Arthur
B. Calvin Coolidge
C. William McKinley D. Donald J. Trump
Answer: A Chester A Arthur had earlier vetoed an act that would have blocked the entry of Chinese laborers for 20 years. But he then signed the bill that restricted entry for just 10 years bit.ly/40IPjpR
4. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, not only sparked the entry of the United States into World War II, it kindled intense anti-Japanese sentiment, especially in cities on the west coast of the United States President Franklin D Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 An estimated 120,000 American Citizens men, women, and children were forcibly interned to relocation centers in interior parts of the country Two-thirds of them had been born in the United States, secondand third-generation Americans The order was rescinded in December, 1944. Under which American president did the United States officially apologize to those affected by the internment?
A. Jimmy Carter
B. Gerald Ford
C. Harry Truman
D. Ronald Reagan
Answer: C. Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, one of the few times that the U S Government admitted being wrong The act authorized payment of $20,000 to each former detainee who was still alive (equivalent of $52,000 in 2023) bit ly/PulseInternment
TO FIGHT PREJUDICE
Adopting a more gracious and ethical approach to
humankind
Our friends and our enemies help to define who we are. In my office hang a framed rock and a letter one from a friend, one from an enemy
The rock is, in fact, a chunk of concrete sprayed with multicolored paint. It’s suspended on a black velvet background above the word FREEDOM My German friend Hans Steinmuss surprised me with the rock. He told me after he returned from a 1990 trip to Berlin that he brought it to me because he knew I’d appreciate it He picked it up from a big wall that once stood there.
The letter is dated January 9, 1988 Howling at the top, next to a drawing of a soldier brandishing a Confederate flag, are the words “WAR White American Resistance.” Here’s a portion of the letter’s text:
Editor,
Your October 31st issue of Insight is the most brazen piece of race-mixing propaganda I have seen from any church.
Racial treason is an attack on nature itself Hopefully politicians and preachers alike will sooner or later be brought to trial for their ignorant crimes
Sincerely,
Tom Metzger
Shortly after writing this fan letter, White supremacist Tom Metzger was out of the WAR
business Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial counsel for Southern Poverty Law Center, brought a $12.5 million judgment against Metzger for inciting the bludgeoning death of an Ethiopian student in Portland, Oregon Metzger lost the case. Bankrupted and isolated, his prejudiced, racist influence virtually vanished I guess I keep that letter because well, it isn’t often that a celebrity gives me such a compliment.
Normally we receive letters from friends and rocks from enemies, but clarifying truth often requires a closer look.
Dislikes and sick people
Lots of people confuse prejudices and dislikes, which is unfortunate. It isn’t unjust to dislike many things, and for you, those things may include smelly feet and runny noses You just don’t like them. That’s you.
I dislike many things myself Simply scroll down my M column of dislikes.
I don’t like Meanness
I don’t like Most of what I see on TV.
I don’t like Misplaced apostrophes on mailboxes that read “The Miller’s.”
I don’t like Mptying mousetraps
I don’t like MAGA Bibles.
I don’t like Mosquitos.
I don’t like Mushroom-shaped clouds
That’s me. But would you say I’m prejudiced toward these? I hope not
Prejudices are indeed prejudgments, as the word implies, but prejudgments aren’t necessarily wrong we should make them often in our lives. For instance, when the traffic light changes to green, we make a prejudgment that based on experience we may now proceed safely.
The crucial question is, When do prejudgments become wrongful prejudices? Here are two examples
1. When we draw unwarranted conclusions about groups from our limited experience with individuals.
Suppose Janie is at a restaurant and encounters a Brazilian server who gets the table orders wrong, is inattentive and easily distracted, spills a drink on Janie’s friend, and provides extremely poor service without apology. At the meal’s conclusion, Janie turns to her friend and whispers, “Brazilians are so incompetent ”
Let’s analyze Janie’s conclusion. From this one encounter (or more), she has determined that all Brazilians are incompetent. She’s wrong. Moreover, confirmation bias can kick i th t i the future she will notice only what s previously believed.
You’ve heard people use similar “r to draw unwarranted conclusions abo men, teachers, politicians, blondes, A California, the Midwest, truckers, elite rappers, Catholics, environmentalists citizens They’re wrong too
When do prejudgments bec wrongful prejudices?
often results in strange mixes The same person who says, “Mexicans are lazy,” complains that “they’re taking all our jobs ” Once, as we conversed across our backyards, a neighbor of mine began demeaning Mexicans.
“I know,” I replied scornfully “they’re everywhere! Why, I woke up this morning and there were three of them in my house ” (My wife and sons.)
He looked at me with shock. “Oh, I didn’t mean ”
“No, no,” I said. “Of course not.”
The further we are from people, the more certain we are of their motives. This makes it so much easier to hate Iranians or “undocumenteds” or North Koreans or them whoever is the enemy du jour.
2. When we depict people entirely by one trait.
This is trickier As I mentioned earlier, I don’t like meanness. But if I say I don’t like mean people, I’m exhibiting a form of prejudice, because that statement implies (a) certain people are mean always, and (b) meanness is the only quality in them that deserves attention Both are unwarranted prejudgments.
William James muses, “A great man think they are thinking when they are rearranging their prejudices ” This rea
We see this form of prejudice clearly when talking about a person who carries a “handicap.” “A person who is deaf” is not the same as “a deaf person ” How would you like to be referred to by your weakness or challenge? (And we all have at least one )
Moving away from prejudice means we stop stereotyping groups by individuals, and we stop classifying people by one trait Instead of using the group statement “Rich girls are snobs,” we could say, “Lisa acts like a snob sometimes. I wonder why ” The expression, “I hate lazy people” could be “I hate it when Carl won’t help Mom with the dishes ”
It isn’t often that a celebrity gives me such a compliment.
Philip Yancey writes, “I sometimes threaten to produce my own line of get-well cards. I already have a id f th fi t Th would read in h fireworks in th ‘CONGRATULA message: ‘ t that are still wo would look for that a sick per a person of wo have some bo well ”
This thoughtful approach isn’t popular or easy. It requires language specificity and a broader view of life discriminating between rocks and letters, liberation and oppression. But for followers of Jesus, we know it’s the just way
INSPIRATION
Podcasts we just love
COLLECTIVE
A House on Fire: This Adventist Peace Fellowship podcast series is based on the excellent book on race and racism
Adventist Voices: Weekly podcast and companion to Spectrum designed to fost community through conversation
The Social Jesus Podcast talks about the intersection of Jesus, faith, and social justice today
Red Letter Christian Podcast: Christian commentary on the way of Jesus in the world today
Adventist Pilgrimage: A lively monthly podcast focusing on the academic side of Adventist history
Just Liberty: A fresh, balanced take on religious liberty where justice and liberty meet
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE
True Stories of Faith, Race and Resistance
By Jemar Tisby
Zondervan Reflective, 2024, 262 pages
Dr Jemar Tisby is both an historian and a storyteller. In The Color of Compromise (2019), Tisby offered a compelling and sobering history of the 400-year struggle for Black liberation in the United States, with a particular focus on the complicity of Christian churches in this subjugation and oppression In The Spirit of Justice, Tisby spans the same four centuries of history, but by telling the stories of key people who have spoken and acted for justice, with a particular focus on Black men and women who were motivated by their faith to this work.
Although they are there, the stories in The Spirit of Justice are not focused only on the well-known names, but also on quite a number of lesser-known activists and leaders Perhaps some of the most poignant of these are the stories of the wives of murdered leaders, who then stepped up in their own right to continue the work of their fallen husbands Coretta Scott King and Myrlie Evers-Williams, for example. But there are also the lesser-known leaders of resistance and abolition from early periods of United States history, whose stories are also worth telling. The last chapter of this narrative also highlights a number of contemporary leaders and activists, including a mention of our own Garrison Hayes and his significant creative influence.
It is interesting to read these two key books from Tisby as Christian faith as problem compared to Christian faith as resource for liberation and justice This might be a little simplistic, but does highlight how both are true
historically and how both are also true in the contemporary expressions of our faith that we see in the world around us This is a call for discernment and greater pursuit of the way of Jesus that we claim to follow.
But The Spirit of Justice is also an invitation to draw on the best of this history Tisby acknowledges the deflation that many feel with the apparent stubbornness, intransigence and resurgence of racial injustice in our world today, after the centuries of struggle presented in the stories shared in his book. He references the comments of the then-84-year-old EversWilliams at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in December, 2017, that after her lifetime of work she was feeling weary, but that she was “determined all over again” to continue the struggle.
“You have access to the same determination and gumption that characterized every istorical figure who ever dared to fight against racism,” Tisby comments. “You can also resolve to move forward amid opposition Let these true stories of faith, race, and resistance inspire you to draw on the spirit of justice as you continue the struggle for justice today” (page 15)
As such, The Spirit of Justice is not merely a collection of good stories and valuable history, but a resource for sustained energy and hope. We need more of that Spirit
Nathan Brown
I heard something happened to you,” a lady at church sidled up to me in the hallway. “I heard it was significant ”
She nodded knowingly,
When I witness discrimination, I will rise
in defense of the powerless.
“Yes, well, sometimes things happen in the church,” | hedged
“Tell me more. I mean . . . I know what happened, but who did it?”
“That’s not relevant at this point I prefer we not discuss it,” I responded.
“I bet it was a Black man ” She paused for effect. “Black men are rude and loud and mean.” I turned to look her squarely in the eye
“No, it was not a Black man.”
Awkward pause.
“I bet it was a man from New York!” she enthused, confident she’d solved the riddle. “You know Northerners well, you don’t know, you ' re not from here. But let me tell you, Northerners are about the rudest people anyone could ever meet. I cannot deal with Northerners ”
“No, it was not a man from New York. In fact, it was a local man, native to this South A Southerner.”
“Oh Well, sometimes people make mistakes,” she responded quietly, alluding not to herself, but the mystery man in question who had now been identified as male, white, and from the South
I stood in shocked silence as she bade me good-bye and walked away
That encounter was like a punch in the stomach Her comments and assumptions left me struggling to suppress tears tears of shock, grief, helplessness, and fury. My husband is a Black man from New York. He is the kindest, most fun-loving person l’ve ever met. He is the one closest to my heart, the very embodiment of the principle of love manifest in action. He would never intentionally hurt, belittle, or disrespect another person the way the man in question had done to me, publicly, week after week Daily he carries the heavy burden of racial discrimination, not just outside the church, but inside it as well
That brief but painful conversation was a bitter reminder that some of the very people my beloved husband shepherds as a pastor easily assume that anyone who looks or talks like him is likely to perpetrate abuse. When negative things happen, suspicion falls quickly on those who do not look or talk “like us ” This misconception burdens minorities and those who come from different backgrounds, demanding they prove themselves trustworthy over and over endlessly, to everyone
How long will these microaggressions against minorities continue?
When I witness discrimination, I will rise in defense of the powerless.
Stunned speechless, that day I didn’t rise I did not defend people of color. I did not advocate How do you “rise up” when handed a neatly-wrapped package of microaggression? How do you rise up when you too are a subject in question? I am Latina-I could easily be next.
This experience was enlightening. Even though I did not behave in the manner I wish I had in that mute moment. I realize this is a challenge we all experience We all hear jokes and derogatory remarks from time to time, and make a choice to lovingly confront, or to slink back in silence We need to plead with God for eyesight to spot discrimination, and courage to speak out against it
One of the challenges of confronting microaggression is our own caution at possibly misinterpreting others' words I'm not suggesting we go out, sword in hand, into verbal battle. Rebuke doesn't always have to be loud and public to be effective. Sometimes calling someone away into a quiet conversation, or sending a private message, is more effective. Jesus confronted the Jewish leaders throughout His ministry, but His earlier rebukes seemed to often take the form of parables and gentle reminders of truths they knew (or should have known).
After they had steadfastly resisted gentler rebukes, Jesus progressed to more humbling public censure. Those who will not bend must be broken, and there comes a time when calling someone out publicly is the most effective way to bring them to repentance But usually, the less pride is confronted, the easier it will be for an offender to listen and learn.
Silence in the face of evil only emboldens it It makes us part of the problem instead of part of the solution Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must make a plan to deliberately and
fearlessly call discrimination out when we see it We can stare down the bullies with God's grace, patience, and love This is how we teach our children courage and integrity
The time has come for us to put aside the traditional, “That’s how it’s always been ” You and I must stand for the powerless, confident in the knowledge that we are following Jesus’ example This position is neither popular nor easy. However, we are challenged to rise in defense of those who need us
In my own story, I allowed my feelings to get in the way of speaking up I share my misstep with you because now I have a plan for next time. You need one, too. God calls us all to get involved in helping stop biased and discriminatory behaviors.
Jesus set an example for us He rebuked the Jews’ discrimination against Samaritans, women, children, Gentiles, and the poor and needy The power of the Holy Spirit will help us stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Our voices must advocate on behalf of everyone who is not being heard. Our children will inherit our legacy of love
When I witness discrimination, I will rise in defense of the powerless.
God wants to use us to be agents of change and builders for a better tomorrow. Will you let Him use you? I know I will
Melissa Ramos-Mota
Excerpted from The LEAD Anti-Racism Challenge: A 40-Day Journey (Nicole Parker, editor), 2020 For more information, see LeadPledge org
Gratitude
As we launch, we are particularly grateful for every contribution to JustLove Collective. Donations are
of
please see our website at justlovecollective.org
Norma and Richard Osborn
Something Else Sabbath School
Adventist Peace Fellowship
Rebekah Wang Cheng and Charles Scriven
ReView
LOVING
88% Rotten Tomatoes
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols (2016) 123 minutes (PG-13)
Cinematography by Adam Stone
Available on Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube
When Mildred and Richard unite, they compose a common ballad of star-crossed romance Throughout history, from Zipporah and Moses to Juliet and Romeo to Lucy and Desi to Yoko and John to Amal and George, couples from differing races, groups, and backgrounds have sought to love one another despite existing social strictures. What sets Mildred and Richard apart is the legal precedent they evoke, reaching to our day and beyond Surprisingly, their serendipitous surname is Loving.
This eponymous film tells their story in a slow, lush, widening arc Filmed in Virginia with superb cinematography (writer-director Jeff Nichols said he wanted to make “a painfully beautiful film”), Loving tells the personal story of Richard and Mildred Loving, plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated existing state laws prohibiting interracial marriage
Both protagonists in Loving were naturally shy, wishing to stay well out of the spotlight, but love impelled them to step up Mildred Loving, a soft-spoken young woman of Black and Rappahannock Indian ancestry, is acted by Ruth Negga Negga observes, "[Mildred] was a hopeful person. You're drawn to those people . . . because they inspire hope in you.”
Richard is a stoic White bricklayer who falls for Mildred Joel Edgerton, who plays Richard,
notes that Richard Loving " was a quiet hero, and sometimes quiet dignity speaks louder than the typical movie hero who's all too eager to fight.” Peaceful introverts are often champions of antiracism
As 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5 (RSV) notes, “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude ” That tone is fully displayed in Loving
From Zipporah and Moses to Juliet and Romeo to Lucy and Desi to Yoko and John to Amal and George, couples have sought to love one another.
Summary brief
Knowing that interracial marriage in Virginia is illegal, Mildred and Richard drive to Washington, DC, to get married in 1958 Richard purchases an acre of rural land to build their dream house less than a mile from Mildred’s family home
Soon afterward, as they lie in their bed at night, the Lovings are arrested When Richard points to the marriage license framed on
the wall, Sheriff Garnett Brooks informs him that it holds no validity in Virginia and hauls them both to jail. The sheriff later explains, “a robin's a robin, a sparrow is a sparrow ”
The Lovings are sentenced to a year in prison. However, the presiding judge suspends the sentence, provided the Lovings leave and do not return to Virginia together for at least 25 years. They move to DC, where Mildred witnesses the 1963 March on Washington.
“Tell the judge I love my wife.”
She writes to US Attorney General Robert Kennedy for help, and he refers them to the American Civil Liberties Union. A young ACLU volunteer attorney, Bernard Cohen, takes the case He and Phil Hirshkop, a constitutional law expert, believe that the case has a good chance of going to the Supreme Court and overturning similar anti-miscegenation laws across the nation
Before going to argue the case, Cohen asks Richard if he has a message for the court. Richard replies, “Tell the judge I love my wife ”
Following the act
Loving was nominated for many awards, including Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for Negga and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for Edgerton. Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received a five-minute
standing ovation Wendy Ide, reviewer for The Guardian, comments, “Nichols’ understated approach to the story, devoid of dramatic grandstanding, chimes with the dignity of the Lovings who ‘won't bother anyone’ if only they can be left alone to live their lives.” The Loving v. Virginia decision later was used in arguing for legalizing same-sex marriage In 2022, Congress codified the Supreme Court’s decisions in Loving and Obergefell in federal law by passing the Respect for Marriage Act This act requires the US federal government and all US states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States
Wikipedia devotes 20,000 words across 46 pages with 12 categories (including production development, cinematography, costume design, music, sound, and marketing) and 405 endnote references to this film, demonstrating again how stunningly hard movie people work, using exquisite care, to craft a story We as creative followers of Jesus can expend effort to live out and share, with excellence and fidelity, the ultimate story of a God who embodies the freeing mystery of loving.
Chris Blake
Actual photos of Mildred and Richard Loving
