The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance

Resistance is defined as any action taken for spiritual, emotional, and physical survival and in pursuit of joy and thriving.

Do not claim the historical legacy of antiracists if you are not also willing to claim and contend with the legacy of racists in your own tradition.

Historical appropriation occurs when you celebrate John Newton’s redemption arc of moving from slave-ship captain to abolitionist and yet refuse to emulate his public support of racially progressive policies.

Advocacy is an intentional action taken in support of a specific justice cause.

white Christian nationalism—an ethnocultural ideology that uses Christian symbolism to create a permission structure for the acquisition of political power and social control—proudly displayed its willingness to destroy democracy on January 6, 2021.

the backlash—some would call it “whitelash”—that occurs every time a movement for racial justice takes place.

“As one of the few totally black controlled and independent institutions, black churches played a major role in resistance.”3 The Black church itself is, in many ways, a direct response to the racism embedded in many sectors of predominantly white Christian traditions that arose in the United States.

“I see something today that I had hoped I would never see again. That is prejudice, hatred, negativism that comes from the highest points across America,” she told us. Then, with the candor that comes with old age, she said, “And I found myself asking Medgar in the conversations that I have with him: Is this really what’s happening again in this co

says, “I will not endure indignity. I will make you see my worth, and you will treat me accordingly.”