I’m not a particularly big sports fan unless my kids are in the game, but back in the day I really did want to be like Mike. Fast forward a few decades and one of our writers, Jelani Greenidge, had me absolutely convinced that LeBron James and his big heart for education made him the true GOAT of any sport. But now I’m seeing God’s hand in an athlete of a different brand — Colin Kaepernick. A man of faith who reportedly believes “God guides me through every day and helps me take the right steps and has helped me to get to where I’m at,” Kaepernick and his new Nike deal as the new face of the ‘Just Do It’ campaign shows a shrewdness that feels like God’s hand at work. Okay, some may say I’m overreaching a tad with this Nike/God connection, but I truly believe Kaepernick has ascended from being a fighting symbol of social justice who maybe would have earned a paragraph in a history book for drawing the ire of King Trump to someone you’ll be telling your grandkids about.
East Texas Review Churches Recall Aretha…With Love
“First Lady of Soul Music, Aretha Franklin, breathed her last as she fought to the end against cancer. Her passing is felt deeply as the Christian community takes note and grieves.” Read more.
The Christian Century Starting a Conversation About Anti-Blackness “Anti-Blackness and Christian Ethics shows how American religion and Christianity have been creators, shapers, and legitimizers of anti-blackness.” Read more.
Jonathan Banks, author of Raise Your GPA: God’s Way to Win @ School & Life, gives families practical strategies for raising academically strong and spiritually grounded kids.
As I watched a diverse group of activists, beyond frustrated with gun violence in Chicago, shut down the Dan Ryan, one of the busiest expressways in the Chicago area, I felt a solidarity with their cause. Led by Father Pfleger of St. Sabina Church and Rev. Jesse Jackson on Saturday, July 7, thousands of activists from all areas of the city and the suburbs screamed “shut it down” right before they took over all four lanes of the expressway on the northbound lanes from 79th Street to 67th Street.
When I texted a friend of mine, who is very active in her South Side Chicago community, she was a lot less enthused about the event.
“What I don’t get is we’re primarily killing each other. How does marching on the highway reduce crime in our own community?”
I countered that it’s hard to ignore the problem when people practice civil disobedience. Then she responded, “Agreed, but it doesn’t influence or shape policy.”
She has a point about us killing each other, but I’m not sure I agree that civil disobedience and non-violent protests won’t change policy. This past spring, there were organized national marches in Chicago and across the nation against gun violence in schools and in the streets — nothing much has changed…yet. As of the first week in July, more than 1300 people have been shot in Chicago this year, according to The Chicago Tribune. And new school shootings seem to happen on the regular. But we’ve seen how peaceful protests have turned a bad situation around in the past.
President Trump has argued that Chicago has some of the toughest gun control laws, but some suggest the laws are actually too lenient. Whatever your political bent, that doesn’t take away from the fact that we need to continue the tradition of putting our faith in action to make change happen and our communities safer. Next week, I’m not sure anyone will remember this march. But the pressure does let politicians know that although we join them in their thoughts and prayers, we also demand more effective solutions. Gov. Rauner, we heard you, but are you listening?
FATHER PFLEGER TO THE GOVERNOR: After demonstrators shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway, Father Pfleger had this harsh criticism of Governor Rauner. @GovRauner@ABC7Chicagopic.twitter.com/fJx6Fp6pGY
Thousands descended on the Dan Ryan expressway in an anti-violence march organized by Father @MichaelPfleger of @stsabinachurch. After lengthy negotiations, police opened all inbound lanes to the mass demonstration calling for more public resources to be devoted to the S&W sides. pic.twitter.com/BBfAFMAhPx
— The Chicago Reporter (@ChicagoReporter) July 7, 2018
