Category Archives: Civil Rights

Facing the Unimaginable

Posted on April 11, 2018 by jim

No one in the lynch mob that murdered Walter Johnson was ever convicted. Government officials tried to save his life by hiding him in the woods when the armed crowd attacked the Princeton City Jail in Mercer County, West Virginia. … Continue reading →

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A letter for our times

Posted on August 14, 2017 by jim

In the aftermath of the chaos in Charlottesville, too many moderates remain silent. Anti-American, anti-Semitic racists marched through the city brandishing images of bigotry and hate, culminating in a racist white, male, terrorist driving his car into a crowd of … Continue reading →

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He Was My Brother

Posted on June 21, 2017 by jim

On June 21, 1964, in Neshoba County, Mississippi, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner were assassinated as they worked for civil rights. A deputy sheriff assisted in their murders. They died so others could be free. He was my … Continue reading →

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Embracing evil

Posted on May 5, 2017 by jim

When some Christians talk about Jesus, they are simply wrong. Their politics are more important than the actual teaching of Jesus, and so they’ve twisted Jesus into something that’s not in the Bible and clearly not the message of Jesus. … Continue reading →

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Baptist women in ministry

Posted on February 10, 2017 by jim

Despite the efforts of Southern Baptists and other fundamentalists to rewrite history and erase ordained women preachers from history, Baptist women have persisted. There have always been Baptist women preachers. Perhaps taking inspiration from examples in Paul’s letters, as well … Continue reading →

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“What you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

Posted on January 28, 2017 by jim

On the day the world recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the White House issued a statement that ignored six million murdered Jews, the president signed an executive action that will ensure the deaths of innocent people. The order triggered … Continue reading →

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A racist message in plain sight 

Posted on January 27, 2017 by jim

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Trump White House released a statement that made invisible six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. How do you issue a statement about the Holocaust and not mention Jewish people? Racist antisemitism, hidden in … Continue reading →

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Character as clear as black and white

Posted on January 15, 2017 by jim

The president-elect of the United States kicked-off the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend by attacking on Twitter a civil rights legend who marched with King. John Lewis, a 14-term member of Congress, announced last week that he intended to … Continue reading →

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Saint Nicholas’ Day

Posted on December 5, 2016 by jim

Last weekend at the Mall of America in Minnesota, Larry Jefferson donned his Santa apparel, talked with children, and posed for photos. The internet trolls turned out in force because jolly old St. Nicholas was being portrayed by a black … Continue reading →

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Kristallnacht

Posted on November 12, 2016 by jim

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”                                                                    … Continue reading →

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Original sin

Posted on April 30, 2016 by jim

The idea of original sin really is original, it’s not in the Bible. It’s a concept conceived by Augustine of Hippo. Augustine’s original sin says that you’re born a sinner as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. … Continue reading →

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“What we need in the United States”

Posted on April 4, 2016 by jim
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“To make gentle the life of this world”

Posted on April 3, 2016 by jim

April 4 marks the 48th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. King has been dead nine years longer than he lived. Every year, I revisit the response of Robert Kennedy in Indianapolis, Indiana, following the assassination. This … Continue reading →

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Watch Night

Posted on December 31, 2015 by jim

I learned of Watch Nigh” at my historically black seminary (one of the many, many blessings I received by attending the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University). In the African American community, Watch Night services on … Continue reading →

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