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Adam Russell Taylor In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s verdict, I felt a visceral sense of relief. Though a single verdict is far short of justice — and cannot restore George Floyd to his family and community — my relief was real. I felt deep in my spirit that the promise of equal justice under the law would have seemed unobtainable had the jury acquitted Derek Chauvin for a brutal murder the whole world saw. But this relief was quickly overshadowed by righteous anger and dread: anger because I’d been so worried about a verdict that felt like a modern-day lynching, dread because we probably won’t see the same degree of accountability for the recent killings of Adam Toledo, Daunte Wright, and the 319 other people who have been killed by police in 2021. I wondered how soon the next case of police violence would capture our headlines, not knowing that just minutes before Chauvin’s conviction was announced, Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl, was killed by the police in Columbus, Ohio. Our nation needed this verdict to be guilty. Without a guilty verdict, we would likely have seen widespread rage that could have cost more lives. Without a guilty verdict, those of us who have been advocating for true transformation of our broken policing and unjust criminal justice systems might have slipped into a sense of futility. As a father of two Black sons, I needed this to be a guilty verdict; had there been a mistrial or a “not guilty” verdict, I would have lacked the words to explain — let alone to continue to share with them my real hope for change. So, yes, this verdict is an occasion for relief and even celebration, but it is not the end; this verdict must be a catalyst for the courageous work that needs to be done to imagine a new vision of public safety and build the beloved community.
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Our Latest Fighting for Identity: Stories from Sikh Americans (by Simrin Singh) As a Sikh, I’ve faced questions all my life regarding our faith and identity. ‘The Struggle Continues’: Faith Leaders on Chauvin's Conviction (by Mitchell Atencio) “George Floyd’s life mattered. It mattered to this jury. It mattered to God,” Joshua DuBois said. Love Thy Neighbors. Get Vaccinated. (by Kristen v.H. Middleton) White evangelicals should ditch their vaccine hesitancy in the name of loving communities of color. Despite Hate From Evangelicals, Katharine Hayhoe Sees Climate Hope (by Gina Ciliberto) Many people now recognize the climate crisis as a justice issue — not a niche concern. |
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From the Magazine One Irritating Thing About the Bible (by Bill McKibben) It keeps instructing us to do things we don’t want to. |
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Read more on sojo.net: Reclaiming Christianity in the Public Square “Despite using Christian language I recognized, those shouting ‘Jesus Saves’ on January 6 were at best confused about Christian faith and at worst intentionally abusive of it. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they represented a Christian past rooted in white supremacy... Can we prepare youth to embody Christianity in ways that lead to social change?” Parody and Subversion in Matthew's Gospel This podcast takes us on a journey through the Gospel of Matthew, unpacking its story of Jesus as a peasant leader of a nonviolent movement for a new society that he calls “The Kingdom of Heaven.” Each episode explores literary, cultural and historical context, passage by passage. |
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