May 08 2013
Over the past several years, the Right has spun the fantasy of colorblind, post-racial, post-feminist American exceptionalism. This Orwellian narrative anchors the most blistering conservative assault on secularism, civil rights, and public education in the post-Vietnam War era. It is no accident that this assault has occurred in an era in which whites have …
Apr 30 2013
by Frederick Sparks “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” In case you hadn’t heard, NBA journeyman center Jason Collins has declared to the world that he is a gay man. Collins entered the NBA twelve years ago, along with his twin Jarron, after the two played collegiate basketball at Stanford. He …
Nov 19 2012
By Sikivu Hutchinson The 24-hour prayer sessions are the true test of a warrior for Jesus. They require Herculean stamina, the patience of Job, the rigor of elite marathon runners hitting the wall in a fiery sweat pit at high altitude, primed for God’s finish line. In many small storefront Pentecostal churches these “pray-a-thons” are …
Jul 05 2012
By Frederick Sparks But oh no, it isn’t racist. The groups sponsoring the event, the Christian Identity Ministries, (whose website states: “Our true countenance is not one of hate, but one of love. Yes, we believe that the Europeans and their descendants are the chosen people of God. We believe this, not because we think that …
May 25 2012
By Sikivu Hutchinson The percentage of white feminists who are concerned about racism is still a minority of the movement, and even within this minority those who are personally sensitive and completely serious about formulating an activist challenge to racism are fewer still. Barbara Smith, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology In the American imagination, …
May 25 2012
By Frederick Sparks After President Obama expressed personal support for marriage equality, pundits wasted no time pondering the effects on the upcoming presidential election, including whether or not the president’s “evolved” position would alienate African-Americans, the President’s most loyal voting bloc. And indeed there has been negative reaction from the black clergy. Maryland based anti-gay preacher Harry Jackson …
Dec 10 2011
By Frederick Sparks OK, the title may be a tad hyperbolic, but in 2011, we have seen increased media coverage of black nonbelievers. Sikivu Hutchinson’s must-read Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Values War was published in February, garnering rave reviews and enhancing the demand for the author as a speaker on the …
Dec 07 2011
By Frederick Sparks An oft repeated story in the black church and gospel music community involves 50s and 60s era gospel singing legend Mahalia Jackson making a cross country automobile trek with four male companions who were members of her singing troupe. The car suffers a flat and Jackson gets out of the car to …
Sep 10 2011
By Norm R. Allen Jr. Certainly, Black skeptics are to be found among members of such groups as the Black Skeptics. However, when many people think of skeptics, they think of individuals such as Michael Shermer, organizations such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims …
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