The Black Church: Institution or Abstraction?
Rev. Wright’s assertions that it’s really the “Black Church” under attack help reduce the complexity of the religious life of black America to a soundbite…
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Black Church Blues: Parting with “The Black Church”
The Rev. Wright controversy begs the question: Has “The Black Church” outgrown its usefulness?
Read MoreCan a Morehouse College Man be Openly Gay?
Can the jewel of black academia, the nation’s largest liberal arts college created to produce “exceptional black men,” continue to thrive while it fosters a deeply homophobic atmosphere?
Read MoreWhat’s Wrong with Wright’s Words
Rev. Wright has been likened to his biblical namesake, but there’s a crucial difference between Wright’s rhetoric and that of the prophet Jeremiah…
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King and Obama—Don’t Get it Twisted
There is a temptation to regard Obama’s inauguration as the end of a forty year “wilderness” experience, but symbolism and symmetry can only take us so far. We, as citizens, are going to need to hold Obama accountable.
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A Color-Blind America? Don’t Fall For The Okey-Doke
Barack Obama tried to run a color-blind campaign, and he won. But don’t believe the hype: an Obama victory doesn’t mean an end to racism in our culture, or that we should blithely forget the history of racial injustice.
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Don’t Blame Black Voters: The Obama Non-Effect
It has become common to blame the black community for the passage of California’s same-sex marriage ban. A look at the statistics and logic put the lie to this seductive and simplistic narrative.
Read MoreResponse: What Black Prophetic Politics?
A colleague suggests, in response to Andre Wills’ recent RD article, that being evangelical is no more antithetical to the prophetic strand of the black church than R&B is to gospel music…
Read MoreSaddleback:The End of Black Prophetic Politics
Does Obama’s coded evangelical language signal a shift from black prophetic politics to the evangelical politics of personal salvation?
Read MoreAghast Responses to Obama’s Speech Betray Cynicism, Revisionism
This tempest in a teacup reminds me of some Shari’a controversies in contemporary Islamic societies…
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