NOTE: I was asked to submit a piece to a powerful advent devotional called #F***ThisS*** and was assigned this title and passage from Matthew. The clergy who launched it feel a sense of urgency in this moment that I also feel, and they have incorporated strong language to convey that urgency much as the prophetsContinue reading “Shut the f*** up”
Category Archives: justice
Could your church help your community find hope in the wake of the election?
Last weekend, people started reaching out to me because they were afraid, and they didn’t want to stay that way. They didn’t want to rage or burn things down; they wanted to find a way to contribute to their community, to help others overcome fear. So with the help of a PHENOMENALLY gifted intern, theContinue reading “Could your church help your community find hope in the wake of the election?”
¡Ya basta! Fasting to end Rape on the Night Shift
I’m in my second day of a five day fast with night janitors for a cause most people don’t even realize is a cause: many immigrant women cleaning buildings across our country live in fear of sexual assault by predatory managers who know they are working alone and need to keep their jobs. It’s stuffContinue reading “¡Ya basta! Fasting to end Rape on the Night Shift”
Sureshbhai Patel, police brutality and us
An Alabama judge just declared a mistrial in the police assault case filed by Indian citizen Sureshbhai Patel. There are a few reasons this case matters to me. The court system has twice been unable to decide whether Mr. Patel’s constitutional rights were violated when he was paralyzed after a leg sweep by a policeContinue reading “Sureshbhai Patel, police brutality and us”
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”
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””
“An Obnoxious Peace”
Preached April 26, 2015 at Rockefeller Chapel, Chicago IL, dedicated to the people of Baltimore. In the days following the Michael Brown verdict, that cold Thanksgiving week, there emerged a debate among my friends regarding the uprisings happening in my hometown and around the country. I called it the debate of the Kings. That is,Continue reading ““An Obnoxious Peace””
Can we talk about “the talk?” – teaching children how to protect themselves from “Protect and Serve”
I remember an incredibly uncomfortable Thanksgiving during Occupy Oakland. Not the cliche uncomfortable of Republicans and Democrats getting into immigration policy over the mashed potatoes and gravy. A friend of mine who had been arrested during Occupy for carrying an umbrella (the citation indicated it was a temporary dwelling, which had been banned from theContinue reading “Can we talk about “the talk?” – teaching children how to protect themselves from “Protect and Serve””
Oklahoma Pastors give me hope when Oklahoma legislators don’t
My chaplain friend Vinson said it best: A picture is worth a thousand words. But if you haven’t heard the controversy, here’s the basic rundown: An Oklahoma legislator has decided that the current laws on the books about wearing hoods during crimes are not sufficient. (That law, by the way goes back to the 1920sContinue reading “Oklahoma Pastors give me hope when Oklahoma legislators don’t”
Sandhya Rani Jha 