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””
Tag Archives: Oakland
Christmas values – day 3: peace
I am sad about the Christmas tree in Jack London Square. I have taken my niece to see it newly lit. I have wandered the pop-up shops and wished I could afford to shop at them. I have basked in the joy of Christmas that I’m lucky enough to experience because my family is wholeContinue reading “Christmas values – day 3: peace”
This bridge called my back in this new civil rights movement moment
Navigating “not Black or White” and “Nonviolent but not non-violent” as an ally and activist I suspect every woman of color in America has at multiple points felt that Donna Kate Rushin wrote the Bridge poem for her. As I wonder whether the bonds of friendship with my radical anarchist friends of color will hold andContinue reading “This bridge called my back in this new civil rights movement moment”
“Things taken: Finding Healing on foreign soil this Thanksgiving”
18th annual Berkeley Multifaith Thanksgiving Service Northbrae Community Church, host Message by Sandhya Jha, Director of the Oakland Peace Center and Director of Interfaith Programs at East Bay Housing Organizations It is a real honor to be here this evening. I have worked with a number of you on affordable housing issues in Berkeley,Continue reading ““Things taken: Finding Healing on foreign soil this Thanksgiving””
A pastor’s lament: 60 years later, and we still don’t give a s*** about each other
Last night as we waited for the Darren Wilson verdict to return, I went to the right place: I went downtown, where faith leaders and anarchists and socialists and nonviolent youth movement leaders and queer activists of all races had convened because we needed to be a public witness but more than that, we neededContinue reading “A pastor’s lament: 60 years later, and we still don’t give a s*** about each other”
Oakland, you’re the hot chick now:
Stop letting your boyfriends treat you like you’re lucky to be with them! Please forgive the heteronormative nature of the following piece. If you read my blog posts regularly, you know a few things about me: I’ve been the fat chick and I’ve been the hot chick. I’ve been with guys who treat me wellContinue reading “Oakland, you’re the hot chick now:”
Faith, fast food and the paddy wagon
photographs by Brooke Anderson: http://www.movementphotographer.com/ My father worries that if I ever try to go into politics, my arrest will ruin my career. “Not in Oakland,” I told him consolingly. “Ah yes,” he said; “Jerry Brown is from Oakland.” Neither of us is sure Jerry Brown’s been arrested for anything, but he remembered that IContinue reading “Faith, fast food and the paddy wagon”
When focusing on the “racist” upholds a broken system
or: When are we going to get real about poor people of color wanting to be safe and the underpinnings of the police force undermining the efforts of good police? I just came across this article about an Oakland firefighter filing a discrimination case because he and his young sons were held at gunpointContinue reading “When focusing on the “racist” upholds a broken system”
Homelessness, the woman on my patio and the Woman at the Well
Sermon preached at First Christian Church of Palo Alto, August 10, 2014. Text: John 4:5-15 (with references to later verses), the story of the Woman at the Well Preamble to the sermon: I am known in some circles for preaching a really up-on-your-feet, clap and shout amen kind of sermon. I think that was whyContinue reading “Homelessness, the woman on my patio and the Woman at the Well”
Are we getting played? Workers and small business owners are not enemies
Reflections on the Lift Up Oakland campaign for a fair wage (and its alternative) It was hard not to be fired up at the rally last Tuesday for a $12.25 minimum wage in the city of Oakland. Courageous workers stood at the podium and shared their struggles to care for a family on a minimumContinue reading “Are we getting played? Workers and small business owners are not enemies”
Sandhya Rani Jha 