Social Justice
Lawsuit: Teacher shamed student over pledge protest
A Connecticut teenager who says she was mocked and shamed for not standing up during the Pledge of Allegiance filed a federal lawsuit this week against her teacher and the school board.
Dallas church intent on seeking justice in Botham Jean’s death
A group of Dallas religious leaders wrote a letter expressing grief over Botham’s death and calling for “fair, consistent application of the law” in the investigation.
Moms Fight Back Against Violence In Their Communities
Mothers at a rally in Sacramento protested and prayed with other moms — and brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles — who have lost their loved ones to violence.
Black student activists face penalty in college admissions
Black students who express an interest in racial justice are less likely to get a response from predominantly white, private liberal arts colleges, new research shows.
“Why did I come to America?” Black asylum-seekers face unique challenges
African immigrants are finding a litany of unique racial, cultural and practical challenges to becoming legal residents.
When Christians sell out Christians for political power
There’s a story in the Old Testament about the king of Babylon, Belshazzar, who hosted a dinner for his religious leaders and royal elites. The blindingly arrogant king, surrounded by adoring sycophants, hauled out the holy articles stolen from the temple in Jerusalem...
Inmate labor is common, but is it legal?
Video Courtesy of RT America Prisoners in 17 U.S. states went on strike on Aug. 21 by refusing to eat or work to call attention to a number of troubling issues, including dilapidated facilities, harsh sentences and other aspects of mass incarceration in America. As we...
Modern Social Justice Organizations & Christianity
Hundreds of faith-based social justice organizations across the country are working for the betterment of all people, battling systemic racism, sexism, classism, or an intersection of the three.
When race triggers a call to campus police
College campuses are often thought of as safe spaces. However, merely being a student or even a faculty member does not always equate to acceptance and inclusion.
Obama delivers veiled rebuke to Trump in Mandela address
Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday denounced the policies of President Donald Trump without mentioning his name, taking aim at the “politics of fear, resentment, retrenchment,” and decrying leaders who are caught lying and “just double down and lie some more.”
Jahi McMath and the role of race for black patients
A photo of Jahi McMath shown at her funeral service at Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland, Calif. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu California teenager Jahi McMath, who suffered catastrophic brain injury as a result of a routine tonsil surgery, died on June 22, 2018. Her death came...
If Ruth Came to America
In the Bible, this widow’s faithfulness was rewarded. In our day, would she be greeted with mercy or rejection?
How to heal African-Americans’ traumatic history
How do memorials of dehumanizing violence help the African-American descendants of such treatment heal from their history?
Black clergy call for churches to foster healing in the aftermath of Charlottesville
(RNS) A coalition of African-American clergy is calling on churches to serve as sacred spaces for healing in the aftermath of violence in Charlottesville, Va., and as the nation grapples with racism and other bigotry. “We urge churches across the country to create...
Rev. Al Sharpton’s thousand-minister march gains steam after Charlottesville
(RNS) — The Rev. Al Sharpton says his thousand-minister march is all the more urgent now than when he began planning it months ago. The Pentecostal-turned-Baptist minister says the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., has sparked more interest and a greater need...
50 Years Later: Remembering the Detroit Riots of 1967
On July 23, 1967, Detroit, Michigan, became the scene of a five-day riot that remains one of the deadliest civil disturbances in the United States. The intensity and relentlessness of the riot forced President Lyndon B. Johnson to call on the 82nd and 101st Airborne...
I’M A DAD, NOT A DEAD-BEAT
It’s time to raise our fists and build our momentum to fight against the stereotypical, dead-beat dad. Not the selfish, under-loving, narcissistic, self-proclaimed kings that are fathers at tax season and ghost during the year. The fathers who actually want to be...
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE FAMILIES OF MASS INCARCERATION: PART 2
In the second installment of a two-part series, Urban Faith Writer Katelin Hansen gives our readers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the family and friends of those who are incarcerated. Be sure to check out Part 1 of this compelling story, in...