Results containing Ferguson

March 13, 2015

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Essays

Shooting in Ferguson

by Donald Roth

…helpful to highlight some of the material we have previously published on Ferguson, to help remind us all of some of the issues at stake. We gathered a variety of people’s Thoughts on #Ferguson in the days after the non-indictment that try to think through some of the complex issues of race that are behind what happened in Ferguson. Howard Schaap used Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” as a way into the issues. Liz Moss gave a heartfelt and honest Pr…

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December 1, 2014

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Spotlights

Thoughts on #Ferguson

by Liz Moss

…vism intersect. What articles have caught your eye in the past week? What has helped you process and make sense of what has happened in Ferguson? What are your thoughts on Ferguson?…

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November 25, 2014

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Essays

No Indictment: Making Sense of Monday’s Decision in Ferguson

by Donald Roth

…all agree to start. Dig Deeper Want to read other perspectives and thoughts on Ferguson, Missouri? Read Howard Schaap’s article called “Or does it explode?” on how Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” gives perspective on Ferguson. Chuck De Groat’s article “#Ferguson: A Gospel Issue” shares important insights on privilege and our gospel response. And, Liz Moss reflects on the church’s response through a “Prayer of Confession.“…

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November 22, 2016

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Essays

Race and Policing on the Second Anniversary of Ferguson

by Donald Roth

…ased damning evidence of a pervasive problem with the racial impact of the Ferguson Police Department’s tactics and approaches to policing. The narrative was not simple. Officer Wilson was not the villain, but the police were hardly spotless. The protestors’ fury appears misplaced as to the specifics of Brown’s case, but those angered by the exchange were amply justified by the broader context. This is not the way that most of our Facebook feeds c…

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September 29, 2014

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Essays

Or does it explode?

by Howard Schaap

…e one out of thirty students is Black, we can feel pretty far removed from Ferguson, even though the issues of Ferguson seem endemic to the American experience: Trayvon Martin is none too far in our rearview mirror; Rodney King and the LA riots are like a mirror image from the early 90s; and Civil Rights is planted deep in the American psyche. In short, this explosive pattern seems part of our collective identity, which is why Ferguson was such a…

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December 4, 2014

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Essays

Do Cameras Make a Difference? The Death of Eric Garner and another “No Indictment”

by Donald Roth

…fficer-involved deaths, let’s come up with useful ways to fix it. Although Ferguson raised some of these questions, the facts were muddled. Eric Garner’s case lacks many of those same ambiguities precisely because it was caught on camera. Perhaps this second “no bill” decision will stir enough sustained sentiment to lead to true reform, and that will lead to greater justice for all than one conviction alone could bring. Some may fear that the incr…

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November 25, 2014

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Devotions

Prayer of Confession

by Liz Moss

…tives? Read Howard Schaap’s article “Or does it explode?,” a reflection on Ferguson from the perspective of Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem.” Or read Christena Cleveland’s post “The Cross and the Molotov Cocktail”, Sarah Bessey’s thoughts “In which I have a few things to tell you about #Ferguson,” or Ebony Adebayo’s article “When Black Victims Become Trending Hashtags.” Peggy, McIntosh. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (Wellesley…

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September 29, 2022

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Books

Space for Questions: A Review of A Curious Faith

by Hannah Landman

…“Knowing you are loved is better than knowing all the right answers.” Lore Ferguson Wilbert The last section explores questions we wish someone would ask us; the questions around ourselves and being honest with ourselves when facing our own healing, wellbeing, and wants. Here, a God who is personal, warm, and loving takes shape. These questions of healing and exploring our own hurt lead us to rest in his safety. In fact, Wilbert claims, “Knowing y…

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April 30, 2015

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Essays

Baltimore’s Problem

by Neal DeRoo

…at work in the world today if one lives in certain parts of Baltimore. Or Ferguson. Or Chicago. Or whatever city is on the wrong side of the tracks from where you live. But it should also be hard to think that God is alive and at work in the world today if you live in Beverly Hills or Chestnut Hill or Charm City. Sin and its problems are not confined to the wrong side of the tracks. It certainly manifests itself in different ways, and its effects…

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April 20, 2015

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Essays

The Diversity Question

by Howard Schaap

…d expands. There’s a simple test case for Dr. Cleveland’s answer, I think: Ferguson. If our churches were at least twenty percent African-American, how might our perception of Ferguson change? How might our perception of immigration reform change if our churches were thirty percent Latino? How would our perception of reservations change if we worshiped alongside Native American Christians? I am not suggesting that all our positions on these topics…

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February 26, 2019

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Books

The Birth and Progression of the Black Lives Matter Movement: A Review of On the Other Side of Freedom

by Chelsea Maxwell

…ently” (27). Mckesson became an activist and organizer when he traveled to Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. “On TV, it looked like the protesters were angry and unruly. On Twitter, it looked like the police were out of control and reckless. I wanted to see what was happening with my own eyes” (35). So, on a bit of whim, he took off a couple of days from his job in education and drove to Ferguson. What was supposed to be a long weekend turned in…

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February 6, 2017

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Devotions

Forgotten Treasure

by Emily Scatterday Holehan

…des old newspapers, and it’s revealed to be a priceless treasure. Take Rue Ferguson for example. An old painting of a lone man holding a shovel hung on the wall behind a door. “If the door was open,” Ferguson told an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow, “you couldn’t even see the painting.” Well, apparently it was an early 20th century piece of artwork by the famous Diego Rivera when the artist was only 18 years old. It is appraised at $800,000 to 1 mi…

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November 16, 2016

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Essays

Colorblindness and the Problem of White Supremacy

by Gustavo Maya

…-fifths compromise, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Johnson v. McIntosh, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Chinese Exclusion Case, Korematsu v. US, Jim Crow, redlining and restrictive covenants, school segregation, and more. These are only a few of the most obviously discriminatory cases and policies. To these we might add laws and policies which, though racially-neutral at face value, had a disparate impact on communities of color: the exclusion of agricultural an…

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August 28, 2018

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Essays

Public Worship and the Shape of Discipleship

by John D. Witvliet

…prayer in his home church about racism—or about racially charged trauma in Ferguson, Charleston, or Charlottesville. Another recalls vivid prayers in her own church for the flooding experienced in Houston, but no prayers for the simultaneous devastation experienced in Puerto Rico. Together, they conclude “people in my church like to think that racism isn’t a problem, but our silence suggests otherwise.” One student thinks back and is puzzled by hi…

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August 16, 2017

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Essays

The Many Reactions to Charlottesville

by Jonny Craig

…ith a full throated renouncement. What happened in Charlottesville was not caused by many sides, it was caused by the ignorant and evil views of white people who believe they are better because they are white. Our response shouldn’t be to wonder if this is the same as what happened in Ferguson (it isn’t), it should be to loudly and boldly declare that what happened is wrong and the ideology of white supremacists is evil. Christians must stop our h…

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