No matter what generation, being a teen girl is tough. And it’s not easy for girls to wrap their heads around the fact that the Bible can help them get through some of the more challenging times. Author Katara Washington Patton, in her new book Inspiration for Christian Teen Girls, helps serve girls with the Biblical guidance in what she calls “just-the-right-size portions.” Even her subject headers are girl-friendly with titles such as “I Am Beautiful,” “Girl Power,” “Attitude Check,” “Meet the Holy Spirit,” “The Power of Encouragement,” “I Won’t Let Anger Get the Best of Me,” and more. Urban Faith had a chat with Katara about her new book and the impact she hopes it has on young women.
What do you hope Christian girls take away from this book, and what inspired you to write it?
I hope Christian girls feel empowered to walk boldly as Christians; to learn more about God and look forward to a wonderful journey and know that even when it is hard, God provides help for them. I also hope this book helps girls think about their actions and think more about God as a friend and guide. I’ve always had a passion for helping teen girls navigate through this phase in life. I can still recall my teen years and the questions and concerns I had and sometimes feeling like I was all alone. That was not true. I prevailed, and I pray every girl will too without having to live with a life of consequences because of negative choices she made in her teens. Life can be sweet and meaningful when we are following God–even when we are young.
Many teens, girls, and boys alike are struggling to discern who they are as a Christian and what they believe. How will your book help guide teen girls in this faith journey?
This book covers many of the issues that will help girls grow as Christians and connect with God on a personal level; I see God as a friend, and I want girls also to spend a lot of time focusing on getting to know God just like we get to know our friends.
Katara Washington Patton
What are the most challenging issues Christian teen girls face, and how does your book address them?
I think some issues are old and some are new and specific to this generation. Self-esteem is always a big issue for teens especially girls and now with social media and videos with filters and photoshop things are enhanced; girls have to know that God loves each of us for who we are and what we see on social media (or in other places) is not always real. Competition and bullying are also real issues girls face these days; I address both in different entries. Of course, makeup, body image, dealing with parents and other family members are also all included.
Many teen girls see all the romance novels and movies about women finding their prince charming. But what the world values isn’t in lockstep with a Godly path. What should teen girls look for to know if they’ve found their soulmate?
In the entry Find True Love, I, of course, point back to God and God’s example of true love; from there, I ask girls to think of people who truly love them and what they do to show that love. I use 1 Corinthians 13 as a model here, and I try to help girls think through what love looks like, whether that’s in a relationship with a friend, family member, or bae. Romance is something we want to experience, but it really is so much more than we realize or get to see in the movies. I pray this entry, and this book will help girls see this and help them pursue healthy, positive relationships as they grow into young women.
What would you tell a teen girl who is struggling with whether to have sex with her boyfriend?
The entry “Let’s Talk About…,” on pages 38-39 not only shares the word of God from 1 Cor. 6:16-18 from two versions (for easier understanding), but it also offers practical things for girls to think about, such as: Do you want to be connected with someone so intimately when you might not even like this person in a month or so? The activities also encourage the reader to think about just how far she does want to go: holding hands, kissing, French kissing? These are things girls need to decide BEFORE it is too late, before it is dark and they are having all of those emotions. This entry provides a tool to help young girls think about their decision before it happens and to apply God’s word on the matter in their life.
What are three or more things every Christian teen girl needs to know about living a life with purpose?
Build your faith–it really will carry you through so much in life; love yourself–so many negative actions stem from just not loving yourself; God created each of us and wants us to live as the true God-created souls we are; love others– it’s just like the great commandment–we have to be connected to God, love ourselves and love others, which includes vowing to do no harm to ourselves or others.
What are three or more things every Christian parent needs to know about guiding their young woman into living a life with purpose?
I think parents need to listen to their teens–not only what they are saying but what they are doing–so they can keep the lines of communications open. Girls need to be able to come to their parents with what they are feeling and/or questioning in life; I also think parents need to remember when they were teens…things were confusing and complex and now they may be 10 times that; give your girls space and time to walk through this phase, keep them prayed up and keep your hearts and minds open to them; guide them well–hopefully this includes connecting them with faith groups and communities who can also serve as mentors and people they can communicate with. It can be lonely and isolating to be a teen; help girls find the resources and support they need during this time.
As a Christian mom with a daughter, what core principles do you hope to instill in your daughter?
Loving God and desiring to grow with God and turning to God for all of our needs; I think when you have that, you will succeed no matter what.
This article was originally published on Fair Observer.
Anti-black racism in the United States continues to be a problem over half a century since the abolition of Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced segregation between black and white Americans in public places.
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in employment and banned race-based segregation, as well as sporadic efforts by successive US governments to tackle racial inequalities, racism still looms large in 21st-century America.
Even if it is not a national trend, minorities in the US continue to receive discriminatory treatment from law enforcement officials and face major obstacles in securing housing, health care and quality education, as well as experiencing irregularities in the justice system. To make matters worse, things have escalated under President Donald Trump.
Some scholars talk about the existence of structural racism in the US, and there are statistics that corroborate this. In 2018, a poll by NBC News/SurveyMonkey found that a majority of Americans believe racism is a major issue in the United States. According to the poll, 64% said “racism remains a major problem” in society. This is while 45% of Americans believe race relations are getting worse.
In 2017, a poll by Quinnipiac University scholars found that more than six in 10 Americans say the “level of hatred and prejudice in the United States has increased since Trump was elected president.”
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Akil Houston, a filmmaker, social critic and an associate professor of cultural and media studies at Ohio University, about racial inequality, the politics of race and the portrayal of African-Americans in the media.
The transcript has been edited for clarity.
Kourosh Ziabari: The election of Barack Obama as the president of the United States in November 2008 was a turning point for the nation and for African-Americans. How do you evaluate his performance in terms of challenging and bridging the divide between black Americans and the rest of society?
Akil Houston: I don’t wholeheartedly agree with the premise of this question. Symbolically, sure. The election of Barack Obama did not change the material conditions for black America. Yes, his election was inspirational, for US citizens who longed for evidence to support their belief in meritocracy or for those who misguidedly felt his win signaled the dawning of a post-racial country.
The Obama presidency was not remarkably different than any other concerning key issues impacting African Americans. I would argue — as others have — it would be, and was in some instances, more damaging to have a black man speaking from the platform of the presidency reinforcing the myth that racial inequality in the United States is the burden of black America — the question also gestures toward this.
In a 2016 interview with The Atlantic, Barack Obama highlighted what would be a common theme in his approach to race when he said:
“[A]s a general matter, my view would be that if you want to get at African American poverty, the income gap, wealth gap, achievement gap, that the most important thing is to make sure that the society as a whole does right by people who are poor, are working class, are aspiring to a better life for their kids. Higher minimum wages, full-employment programs, early-childhood education: Those kinds of programs are, by design, universal, but by definition, because they are helping folks who are in the worst economic situations, are most likely to disproportionately impact and benefit African Americans.”
This perspective does not focus on racism as the key factor in the divide, nor does it offer any specific remedies for black America. In fact, as many historians, journalists and those from the “alternative” or “radical left” and progressive camps argued, conditions worsened during his presidency. While the obstructionist role Republicans took during his tenure cannot be undervalued, the administration took a position of non-position on racial matters.
Ziabari: President Donald Trump is openly called a racist by many of his detractors, including journalists and academics. His views on minorities and immigrants are well known to those who follow US politics. Has life become particularly difficult for African-Americans under President Trump in terms of opportunities and civil liberties?
Houston: While the current administration’s use of dog-whistle tactics may create the impression that these are recent trends, anti-black resentment has been rising since the Obama White House years. Acts of terror, from church shootings, instances of police brutality and the deaths of people like Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, Sandra Bland and far too many more, demonstrate that living while black continues to be challenging regardless of who sits in the White House.
Long before this administration, there has been a historical pattern of intense resistance to African-American enfranchisement. This racial resentment typically peaks after periods of significant inclusion efforts, for instance, in response to reconstruction in the 1860s, the human rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s and most recently as a response to the presidency of Barack Obama in 2009. This political moment is consistent with this historical pattern.
Ziabari: One of the major grievances of black Americans about how they are treated pertains to the law enforcement and the justice system in the United States. It’s said that African-American wrongdoers and felons receive harsher sentences than white Americans when they commit the same crimes. Is this assertion demonstrable by facts and figures?
Houston: Yes. The book Slavery By Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and perhaps more reader-friendly for a lay audience is the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. These books are a small sampling of the many books, peer-review scholarship that provides history, context and empirical data regarding incarceration, sentencing and the historic disparity within the US justice system.
Ziabari: How are black Americans depicted in mainstream media in the United States? Is the portrayal realistic, fair and objective?
Houston: This is a broad question and there are a number of variables to consider. For instance, things like overall representation, context of representation and in what forms, must be taken into account. While there are more images of African-Americans than in previous eras, African-Americans continue to be underrepresented as subject area experts — outside of sports and race — in broadcast news content and overrepresented in comedies, sports and reality-TV programming.
Ziabari: Some scholars argue that the decline in incomes and socioeconomic inequality that black and brown Americans experience today mean nothing has changed and improved significantly for African-Americans five decades after the abolition of Jim Crow laws. Do you agree?
Houston: Empirical data supports this statement. While I wouldn’t paint the African-American experience with a broad generalized brush, or state nothing has changed at all, there are still significant gaps between various groups based on race and gender. The National Urban League’s State of Black America annual report noted in 2017 that fewer black Americans are dropping out of high school and more are earning associate’s degrees. However, racial disparities still plague other areas of life.
Ziabari: An article in the American Journal of Public Health in 2004 noted that over 886,000 lives could have been saved if black Americans received the same care as whites. This is in reference to the number of African-Americans who died between 1991 to 2000 due to the lack of medical insurance, inadequate insurance, poor service and other factors. Is discrimination against African-Americans in the health sector so serious today?
Houston: I would preface my response by first saying: It is essential to be mindful that anti-discrimination laws do not operate exclusively on behalf of black people. While the adage that if white America has a cough, black America has the flu rings true, these disparities in health care impact the entire nation. Health care is as much a class issue as it is a race issue. The continuing debate on affordable health care and how the government will address treatment for pre-existing conditions and infant mortality rates in the African-American and Latino communities, coupled with the fact that people of color often complain that their physicians do not listen or misdiagnose them, provide ample evidence that these factors are present today.
Ziabari: How are African-American artists using arts and culture to reflect on the discrimination and inequalities they face today?
Houston: When I see this question, I wonder why it is posed as if it is the sole province of marginalized groups like African-Americans. Most often these same questions are not raised with white artists and their work and how it reflects on the discrimination and inequalities of society.
As the scholar bell hooks once pointed out, ironically, more than any other group, white artists are able to produce cultural products like film and music without being subjected to a constant demand that their work engage or challenge systems of domination based on race, class and gender. As a result, it is often these works that are the most problematic. Yes, there are some artists who engage these issues as there have always been. Artists continue to engage the complexities of life. Regardless if it is the work of playwright Suzan Lori Parks, conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, or singer and actress Janelle Monae, artists continue to push the boundaries of creativity by exploring these issues of the day.
Ziabari: How do you think African-Americans can debunk the myths about their community and enjoy greater social, economic and educational opportunities? Is it through political activism that they should overcome discrimination and difficulties?
Houston: This question assumes that some act or role by African-Americans is the salve to the nation’s centuries-old racial quagmire and doesn’t address the centrality of American racism in explaining sustained black-white disparity. Throughout US history, African-Americans have attempted all matters of redress, from enlisting in the armed services, the ballot, respectability politics, civil disobedience and other forms of dissent. From the nadir of the Civil War to the present, this has been consistent for African-American activists and their allies.
In 1968, the late writer James Baldwin was asked a similar question by Esquire magazine. His response was that, if “the American black man [and women too] is going to become a free person in this country, the people of this country have to give up something. If they don’t give it up, it will be taken from them.” I would argue that the “give up” portion has to do with the assumption that the promise of a just and truly democratic society is the responsibility of the marginalized. As Baldwin cautioned then, and I would echo now the responsibility is in large measure on white citizens who can influence the national conversation and the behavior of their families and friends in ways that marginalized groups cannot.
Ziabari: As a university professor, do you think black students feel unrestricted and also enthusiastic about engaging and interacting with students of other races, especially white students, or do racial gaps keep them apart and make their collaboration challenging?
Houston: Given the racial climate in the United States, one would be hard-pressed to find black students who didn’t feel some level of anxiety about interacting with other student populations. However, black students like other student populations are generally open to collaboration if the university is sincere in its commitment to foster an inclusive, welcoming learning environment.
Also, it is important, again, to note that black students are a diverse group. If there is a real interest in solutions, the first step is to stop thinking of black students as a monolith. These students have different worldviews, politics, goals and various identities that distinguish them from other generations of black students and each other. I would argue some faculty have these challenges around collaboration. The university campus is in many ways a microcosm of the larger US. Rather than expecting marginalized students to be the ones to shift, more progressive schools have found ways to institutionalize diversity efforts and change the way they engage these student populations.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
DARESSALAAM, TANZANIA – For 32-year-old Lilian James, the biggest challenge of her job as an engineer is not the complex designs she prepares to replace the aging waste-water and sanitation system of Tanzania’s largest city, but rather the increasing sexism she experiences in the workplace.
Yet James – who works with Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) as an environmental engineer specializing in wastewater – is seemingly unfazed by the chauvinism of her male counterparts.
“Some people look down upon me just because I am a woman. When it comes to expertise, they are usually surprised by my ability to solve complex engineering problems,” she says.
Perched on a swivel chair, her eyes glued to a laptop screen, James scrolls through multiple complex engineering graphics while briskly scribbling details on a piece of paper laid out on a table beside her.
She is one of the few women in the East African country to have ventured into the male-dominated engineering field. In Tanzania, very few women hold technical engineering positions like this – ostensibly, observers say, due to a lack of motivation and a common belief that engineering is a no-go area for women. “It’s a very challenging job, especially when you are the only woman working among men,” she says.
Addressing Waste-Water Health Issues
Dar es Salaam is one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities and the majority of people who migrate there end up living in squalid conditions. According to the World Bank, 70 percent of the city’s 4.4 million inhabitants live in informal dwellings prone to waste-water pollution and epidemic diseases.
In Dar es Salaam city center, the sewage networks are often wrecked by flooding during the rainy season. This forces stinking effluent up onto the streets and exposes city dwellers to pollutants, local residents say.
Lack of sanitation is one of the world’s leading development challenges. Globally, around two billion people lack access to appropriate sanitation, and around a billion have no toilet. While many city residents prefer flush toilets, the acute shortage of water in many areas makes this a distant dream.
Residents sometimes drain the sludge from their pit latrines into the Msimbazi River, contaminating both drinking and bathing water.
In the bustling Kigogo neighborhood, James dressed in a shiny orange high-visibility jacket and hard hat is supervising the construction of a new sewage system, local residents are constantly grappling with the wastewater that flows from toilets.
“We understand the problems that residents in this neighborhood go through. The installation of a new sewage system goes along with modernization of the area, which entails relocating some residents,” she says.
Changing the Narrative
James says she doesn’t always feel valued, especially by her male colleagues. “People admire looking at engineering work but don’t always appreciate the people behind that creativity,” she says.
But, she says, the engineering profession is a good fit for ambitious and visionary women who are committed to changing the world, making it more renewable and sustainable. At the moment, it is a role with few women takers in Tanzania, who view it as an “unfriendly” career choice.
However, a new breed of young female engineers are changing the male-dominated narrative in the profession thanks to a special capacity-building program supported by the Norwegian government. Under the women-only Structured Engineers Apprenticeship Programme, groups of female engineers in Tanzania are being empowered and equipped with transferable skills to fully master their chosen careers.
The initiative, which started in 2003, has already bolstered the number of female engineers in the field significantly. According to Benedict Mukama, the assistant registrar of Tanzania’s engineering registration board, the $2-million five-year initiative has helped consolidate the expertise of more than 291 female engineers.
“We aim to increase the number of women engineers and bridge the existing gender gap in the profession,” Mukama says.
Rubhera Mato, associate professor at Ardhi University’s School of Environmental Sciences and Technology in Dar es Salaam, says the university’s commitment to mentoring women in water engineering is vital. “Female students need to see their role models performing somewhere to see their path to growth,” he says. “Having women faculty serve as mentors is important to foster the next generation of women engineers.”
Angela Shayo, an electrical engineer working for TEMESA, a Tanzanian government agency, sums up the issue succinctly: “We have a serious problem in this country. Men always think they are on top of everything, even things they are not capable of doing.”
This article originally appeared on Women’s Advancement Deeply. You can find the original here.
Also, the 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported that, compared to non-Hispanic white boys, black high-school age boys are more likely to have made serious suicide attempts that require medical attention.
Suicide has become a leading cause of death in the U.S. among all age groups, but particularly in youth and young adults. It is the second leading cause of death among 10- to 34-year-olds. Parents, teachers and professionals must be able to both talk about it and understand the risks for vulnerable children of any race. But those of us who work with black youth may also need to address some myths about suicide in the African American community.
For example, one such myth has its start almost three decades ago, Kevin Early and Ronald Akers’ interviews with African American pastors concluded that suicide is a “white thing” and that black people are accustomed to struggling through life challenges without succumbing to suicide. those authors concluded that black people see suicide as a “white thing” but it is a myth that black people do not die by suicide.
Based on anecdotal conversations that many others and I have heard in day-to-day conversations and that sometimes emerge in popular media, this opinion about suicide in the black community has shifted relatively little.
More importantly, black youth at risk may even be more difficult to identify than non-black youth. One study referred to college age racial/ethnic minority people, including African Americans, as “hidden ideators” who are less likely than other youth to disclose thoughts of suicide. Because suicide is occurring and at shockingly young ages, comprehensive efforts are needed to address this public health problem.
Studies suggest that stigma about mental illness and the feeling that one will be outcast further or ignored may keep black youth from sharing their thoughts. Also, public health and mental health experts may be unaware that suicide risk factors could show up differently depending on ethnic group.
Simply put, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for identifying suicide risk. And little or no action has been taken to address the increasing crisis. As an African American psychologist, I find this frustrating when children’s lives are lost – lives that could be saved.
Most mental health services are not designed with cultural and social nuances in mind. My research team has found consistently that the challenges that black kids face in navigating dual cultural contexts may increase their risk of suicidal thoughts.
In research on adults, we found that black men and women who used more Eurocentric or individualist approaches that was more self-focused rather than managing stress via the belief in a Higher Power were more likely to consider suicide. This was not true for those who used more culturally meaningful, spiritual coping.
When there are cultural differences, therapists must be willing to “think outside of the box” to fully evaluate risk for suicide. As an example, the racism that black Americans encounter increases stress for many. Thus, their stressors and mental health issues will need different solutions and approaches than treatments that work for white people.
In another study published in Comprehensive Psychiatry, we observed different patterns of risk for black adults compared to white adults who were admitted for psychiatric care. We examined sleep-related problems, which are elevated among black Americans, and suicide because sleep issues are a serious but understudied risk factor for suicide crisis. It turns out that inadequate sleep can escalate an emotional crisis. Our research found that problems staying awake for activities such as driving or engaging in social activities, which reveal inadequate sleep, were associated with a four-fold greater risk for suicide crisis compared to non-suicide crisis in black adults who were admitted for psychiatric treatment.
A caring, loving adult in a child’s life is essential. It is also important not to downplay a child’s feelings, telling her to cheer up or get over it. fizkes/Shutterstock.com
How to find help
Caring adults are a child’s first line of defense. If a child discloses that he is thinking about dying, it is important to ask him to share more about his ideas and if he knows he might die. If a child has a suicide plan, it is time to get professional help.
The Crisis Text Line at 741741 could be an option for teens who need help to cool down in a crisis.
When it comes to finding a mental health professional, parents need an expansive list of referral options, including university-affiliated mental health clinics that offer evidence-based services on a sliding scale and federally qualified health centers for the uninsured. Regardless of the setting, a well-trained therapist may be of a different race.
Parents and caregivers must be willing to sit, listen and try to fully understand what is most upsetting for a child who is experiencing a difficult situation and a lot of emotions.
For those who believe that the alarming statistics will eventually reverse course without any action, this may be true. In the meantime, saving one life is worth the effort.
Thoughts of suicide do not mean that a child or teen needs to be hospitalized. It means they are in emotional pain and want the pain to end. Adults can investigate the problem and remove it or help the child deal with it. Online resources such as Stopbullying.gov include interactive videos that are useful to parents, educators and youth. Suggesting to a child that she “get over it” is less than helpful. A child who is already in a vulnerable state cannot problem-solve without meaningful support from the caring adults in charge.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). The website is National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at interfaith civil rights rally, San Francisco’s Cow Palace, June 30, 1964. George Conklin
Fifty-two years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the United States remains divided by issues of race and racism, economic inequality as well as unequal access to justice. These issues are stopping the country from developing into the kind of society that Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for during his years as a civil rights activist.
As a result King’s words and work are still relevant. I study the civil rights movement and the field of peace geographies. Peace geographies thinks about how different groups of people approach and work toward building the kind of peaceful society King worked to create. Americans faced similar crises related to the broader civil rights struggles in the 1960s.
So, what can the past tell us about healing the nation? Specifically, how can we address divisions along race, class and political lines?
Martin Luther King Jr.‘s understanding of the role of love in engaging individuals and communities in conflict is crucial today. For King, love was not sentimental. It demanded that individuals tell their oppressors what they were doing was wrong.
King’s vision
King spent his public career working toward ending segregation and fighting racial discrimination. For many people the pinnacle of this work occurred in Washington, D.C., when he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Less well-known and often ignored is his later work on behalf of poor people. In fact, when King was assassinated in Memphis he was in the midst of building toward a national march on Washington, D.C., that would have brought together tens of thousands of economically disenfranchised people to advocate for policies that would reduce poverty. This effort – known as the “Poor People’s Campaign” – aimed to dramatically shift national priorities to address the health and welfare of working people.
Scholars such as Derek Alderman, Paul Kingsbury and Owen Dwyer how King’s work can be applied in today’s context. They argue that calling attention to the civil rights movement, can “change the way students understand themselves in relation to the larger project of civil rights.” And in understanding the civil rights movement, students and the broader public can see its contemporary significance.
Idea of love
King focused on the role of love as key to building healthy communities and the ways in which love can and should be at the center of our social interactions.
King’s final book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” published in the year before his assassination, provides his most expansive vision of an inclusive, diverse and economically equitable U.S. nation. For King, love is a key part of creating communities that work for everyone and not just the few at the expense of the many.
Love was not a mushy or easily dismissed emotion, but was central to the kind of community he envisioned. King made distinctions between three forms of love which are key to the human experience: “eros,” “philia” and most importantly “agape.”
For King, eros is a form of love that is most closely associated with desire, while philia is often the love that is experienced between very good friends or family. These visions are different from agape.
Agape, which was at the center of the movement he was building, was the moral imperative to engage with one’s oppressor in a way that showed the oppressor the ways their actions dehumanize and detract from society. He said,
“In speaking of love we are not referring to some sentimental emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense[…] When we speak of loving those who oppose us […] we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word Agape. Agape means nothing sentimental or basically affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return.”
King further defined agape when he argued at the University of California at Berkeley that the concept of agape “stands at the center of the movement we are to carry on in the Southland.” It was a love that demanded that one stand up for oneself and tells those who oppress that what they were doing was wrong.
Why this matters now
In the face of violence directed at minority communities and of deepening political divisions in the country, King’s words and philosophy are perhaps more critical for us today than at any point in the recent past.
As King noted, all persons exist in an interrelated community and all are dependent on each other. By connecting love to community, King argued there were opportunities to build a more just and economically sustainable society which respected difference. As he said,
“Agape is a willingness to go to any length to restore community… Therefore if I respond to hate with a reciprocal hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavages of a broken community.”
King outlined a vision in which we are compelled to work toward making our communities inclusive. They reflect the broad values of equality and democracy. Through an engagement with one another as its foundation, agape provides opportunities to work toward common goals.
Building a community today
At a time when the nation feels so divided, there is a need to bring back King’s vision of agape-fueled community building and begin a difficult conversation about where we are as a nation and where we want to go. It would move us past simply seeing the other side as being wholly motivated by hate.
Engaging in a conversation through agape signals a willingness to restore broken communities and to approach differences with an open mind.
No matter what generation, being a teen girl is tough. And it’s not easy for girls to wrap their heads around the fact that the Bible can help them get through some of the more challenging times. Author Katara Washington Patton, in her new book Inspiration for Christian Teen Girls, helps serve girls with the Biblical guidance in what she calls “just-the-right-size portions.” Even her subject headers are girl-friendly with titles such as “I Am Beautiful,” “Girl Power,” “Attitude Check,” “Meet the Holy Spirit,” “The Power of Encouragement,” “I Won’t Let Anger Get the Best of Me,” and more. Urban Faith had a chat with Katara about her new book and the impact she hopes it has on young women.
