With Love And Justice For All

Ep.29 - Roe v Wade IS Love and Justice For All

It is worth reflecting on the racist origins of the anti-abortion movement in the United States, which date back to the ideologies of slavery. Just like slavery, anti-abortion efforts are rooted in white supremacy, the exploitation of Black women, and placing women’s bodies in service to men. Just like slavery, maximizing wealth and consolidating power motivated the anti-abortion enterprise.

Ep.28 - Decolonizing Education

Decolonization is the process of undoing colonizing practices. It is a process, not a one-time event. It is essential to keep reflecting throughout, and not to be discouraged that it’s not always straightforward. Decolonization involves reflecting on the structure of educational institutions, and their role within the larger society. It is also important to confront the power relations within these institutions. Within a diverse population of students, part of decolonization is learning how to be an ally, and to work in solidarity with each other—not just among students, but staff as well.

Ep.27 - I Am From...

In response to the rhetoric of racism, xenophobia and isolationism that is rampant in our country, Kelly and Ogun take a look at “identity.” We each hold a personal identity, a sense of self that develops as we age, and a social identity, which is our collective understanding of who we are, and of who other people are. 

BONUS - Walking Each Other Home: An Embodied Antiracism Mindfulness Practice [04/14/22]

Join us for WALKING EACH OTHER HOME: AN EMBODIED ANTIRACISM MINDFULNESS PRACTICE Thursdays 10am ET.
 
Through mindfulness practices, focusing on antiracism, we increase our emotional resilience, recognize our biases, and make real our common humanity.
 
Join us on Zoom or watch the livestream on FB Live. There will be space for discussion after the practice on Zoom only.

Ep.26 - Mindfulness: An Anti-Racism Practice

Mindfulness practices hold the key to grappling with interpersonal racism because they help people tolerate the discomfort that comes with deeper discussions about race. These practices build the resilience we need to stay in those conversations and to deepen community when the going gets tough. We can’t just think our way out of racism or other biases; we need to go deeper than intellectual understanding.

Ep.25 - Womanist Theology with Special Guest Bishop Yvette Flunder

Emerging in the mid-1980s, womanist theology is the work of African-American women theologians, church historians, ethicists, sociologists of religion, and biblical scholars. The term draws on poet, novelist, and activist Alice Walker’s four-part definition of womanism, which calls for “radical subjectivity, traditional communalism, redemptive self-love, and critical engagement.” Womanist thought helps to describe oppression and empower the oppressed in order to create change. Bishop Yvette Flunder has served her call through prophetic action and ministry for justice for more than 30 years. This call to blend proclamation, worship, service, and advocacy on behalf of those most marginalized in church and in society led to the founding of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in 1991, uniting a gospel ministry with a social justice ministry.

Ep.14 - National Day of Racial Healing

The National Day of Racial Healing is an opportunity for people, organizations, and communities to call for racial healing, bring people together in their shared humanity, and take action together to create a more just and equitable world. Racial healing is a process that restores individuals and communities to wholeness, repairs the damage caused by racism, and transforms societal structures into ones that affirm the inherent value of all people. It makes it possible to acknowledge and speak the truth about past wrongs created by individual and systemic racism and to address present-day consequences for people, communities, and institutions. Rev. Ogun and Rev. Kelly talk about what racial healing might look like, how to bring it about, and if it’s even really possible.
 

Ep.24 - Headlines … Still Processing

It's easy to read a headline about events that are emotionally charged and put yourself on "one side or the other." But do you find yourself flip-flopping as you process these events and media stories? Join Kelly and Ogun as they unpack some recent big headlines to help understand the collective stories behind the stories reported.

Ep.23 - Slightly More Savvy Racism

The work of anti-racism takes courage, accountability, and discomfort—even sacrifice. Audre Lorde, a self-described Black lesbian, mother, warrior, and poet said, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” In this episode, Kelly and Ogun take a look at the pitfalls of many tools of anti-racism: book studies, DEI programs, and workshops and trainings that are actually more effective in reproducing racial inequality.

Ep.22 - The Psychic Weight of Race

White people don’t bear the weight of racialization. They move through the world without the sense of existing as a racial being. Often people assume that if they are attending a class or workshop on race, then they’ll be talking about Michelle Obama’s race. Because of this, in our society, it becomes a psychic weight or burden that people of color are always holding. They’re seen as the holders of the answers.

Ep.21 - Sacred Eco-Nomics

Our current economic model, built on the economics of slavery, materialism, and limitless growth, is wreaking havoc on nature and keeping millions trapped in poverty. The New Economy Movement is gaining momentum as more and more people, entrepreneurs, and businesses say enough is enough and get busy creating healthier ways of doing business—all of which is part of creating an anti-racist culture. In this episode our guest, Cylvia Hayes—teacher, speaker, author, and strategist in economic evolution—will explore some of the current norms in our economic system that need a changeup, and we’ll learn about some exciting alternatives.

Ep.20 - Answering the Question of Race’s Impact

For most white bodies, an understanding of the impact of race is largely nonexistent. Ask yourself this: What are some of the ways in which your race(s) has shaped your life? What patterns emerge and what do those patterns illustrate about whiteness? In this episode, Kelly and Ogun will tackle some of the patterns that emerge from these questions.

Ep.19 - Reconstruction—Pivotal Moments in Black History

Between 1863 and 1877, the U.S. government undertook the task of integrating nearly four million formerly enslaved people into society after the Civil War. The white slaveholding South was forced to change its economic, political, and social relations with African Americans. While the war may have destroyed the institution of slavery and pushed for economic and political changes for an egalitarian society, Reconstruction was short-lived, and from the moment the Civil War ended, whites who had enslaved Blacks searched for any and all means to dismantle it—and they eventually did. Reconstruction can be called “America’s Unfinished Revolution.”

Ep.18 - Black (aka American) History Is Still Being Written

Black history is American history. Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America—our faults, struggles, progress, and aspirations. This is why it is imperative that we take time to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans, honor the legacies and achievements of generations past, reckon with centuries of injustice, and confront those still alive and well today. The long shadows of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and so much more all point to the systemic racism that still underpins America, essentially holding back all of us from reaching our full promise and potential, individually and collectively.

Ep.17 - We Are Not a Monolith

Black is not a monolith. To consider those words is to consider the full breadth of the human experience. Black people don’t move, think, or speak as one. Yet often Black people are crammed into a box built by society, by white-body cultural norms, despite their vast array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and lived experiences. Black people are not a monolith, and neither is the way they navigate or deal with whiteness.

Ep.16 - The Problem with Black History Month

Sometimes much of who we say we are (spiritual seeker, ally, anti-racist) is less practice and more performative. As we begin to observe and celebrate another Black History Month, how much does our support extend beyond February? This week on With Love and Justice for All, we talk about the origins and importance of Black History Month, as well as the performative problem of the occasion.

Ep.15 - Voter Suppression Is Dead! Long Live Voter Suppression!

Think voting conversations have no place in spiritual communities? Guess again. Faith leaders have a moral imperative to encourage love and justice for all, which includes having everyone’s voice be heard. Voting should be as easy and accessible as possible. The door slammed shut again this past week on federal legislation to create new protections for access to voting. Suppression efforts disproportionately impact people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities. When an unjust rule stands in the way of justice, it is a moral imperative to break that rule.

Ep.13 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the entire nation pauses in remembrance of a civil rights hero. At least that’s the point of the federal holiday, a day off for many, that takes place on the third Monday of each January. MLK Day was designed to honor the activist and minister, who was assassinated in 1968 and whose accomplishments have continued to inspire generations of Americans. Listen as Rev. Kelly and Rev. Ogun share a little history about MLK Day, which is now Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service, some unknown facts about the man, and ways this day can be a day on rather than a day off.

Ep.12 - Finding the Dark: Decolonizing Darkness, Decolonizing Ourselves

The anti-racism work of decolonizing ourselves is about reclaiming our imaginaries, our hopes, and our collective playgrounds of life. Think about the territories we inhabit, specifically unceded, never-surrendered, and occupied land. In ironic ways, decolonizing ourselves is about recognizing the wounds of the conquerer, identifying what we have known as the unbridgeable categories of violence, distrust, and fear placed on humanity and nature. Decolonization is not about trying to erase those lasting marks of colonization; instead, it is about finding the ties that bind us all together, restoring our faith that we can know a world of equanimity, justice, and love for all.

Ep.11- Feedback from Friends and Frenemies

We receive a lot of feedback from classes, conferences, workshops, articles, and pretty much any of our anti-racism work out in the world. Some of it inspiring and some of it … well, not so much. We’d love to hear from anyone and everyone because your thoughts, perspectives, and feedback help us in clarifying, educating, and dismantling racism and creating a culture of caretaking.