This Friday and Saturday, anti-Muslim rallies were organized all across the country, including rallies that encouraged people to show up armed. The campaign is, in a word, sickening, and in a hyphenated word, un-American. OK. Two last words, one of which is hyphenated: unequivocally un-Christian. It is so important for us to learn about one anotherContinue reading “In response to anti-Muslim rallies this weekend: an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America”
Author Archives: sandhyarjha
A litany on resurrection and Demouria Hogg
At the Wild Goose Festival in Charlotte, NC two weeks ago, I presented a workshop called “Who Killed Demouria Hogg: On race, faith and not seeking the ‘perfect victim.’” I talked about the respectability politics of the church that stops the church from publicly mourning losses that are complicated. I only know Demouria Hogg throughContinue reading “A litany on resurrection and Demouria Hogg”
Nonviolence, privilege and grief. Thoughts on South Carolina and a child I love.
This morning I sat down to write a letter to a beloved recent teen in my life, a newly minted thirteen-year-old. We go to protests a lot, and museums where we learn about farm workers and the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement. This beloved recent teen has been to hell and back, andContinue reading “Nonviolence, privilege and grief. Thoughts on South Carolina and a child I love.”
A call to action for the church(es) after #AMEshooting
I sat with a lump in my throat as the people around me stood and waved their hands, singing “How Great Is Our God,” because while I believed it to be true, I was not ready to sing it and was both inspired and puzzled by the dozens around me who could not just singContinue reading “A call to action for the church(es) after #AMEshooting”
Race traitors, Rachel Dolezal and Allyship
“So I never really fit in anywhere as a… as a…” “..as a race traitor?” I asked, immediately worrying I had stepped over the line. “THAT’S IT!!!!” she exclaimed with a mixture of enthusiasm and relief. “That’s what I’ve always been; a race traitor!” I had just heard my blonde White friend sharing the storiesContinue reading “Race traitors, Rachel Dolezal and Allyship”
On D’Angelo, Warriors fans, race and culture
The intersection of pop culture and race is some complicated stuff. There came point at the D’Angelo concert last night and when the joy went out of the show for me. That’s saying something, because I spent a whole lot more money than I have to be there and have been looking forward to itContinue reading “On D’Angelo, Warriors fans, race and culture”
Black lives, windows, and good governance
There is a debate over the first amendment and preservation of property in Oakland right now, and the camps are fairly clear: “I’m tired of seeing my city trashed.” “Broken windows do not matter more than broken Black bodies.” The mayor of Oakland recently enforced a sundown restriction on protests (possibly although not necessarily influencedContinue reading “Black lives, windows, and good governance”
“I enjoy being a girl”
or “How Patriarchy unintentionally saved me” (feel free to listen to this song in the background for inspiration.) There are a few guys in my circles of radical clergy with a certain public following. I love their tweets and facebook posts because they’re sometimes funny and sometimes biting, and they’re almost always so certain. Which,Continue reading ““I enjoy being a girl””
That guy from Duke and the model minority myth
In Ohio, there’s a phrase we’d use to talk about Professor Jerry Hough: “God love him.” It’s different than the Southern “Bless his heart,” which has a little bit of syrup and a little bit of venom, and is sometimes used to a person’s face. In Ohio, as my friend Tami pointed out, we sayContinue reading “That guy from Duke and the model minority myth”
In honor of May Day, an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America
Today is a day that historically acknowledges workers and the struggle for basic human dignity for low-wage workers. Since around 2006, it has particularly lifted up the ways in which immigrant workers deserve greater dignity than our society affords them. In honor of workers, here is an excerpt from chapter two of Pre-Post-Racial America: SpiritualContinue reading “In honor of May Day, an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America”
Sandhya Rani Jha 