Seeing the writing on the wall for the “legal institution” of Slavery well before the Civil War, Southern Elites were scrambling to reconfigure their business models in order to secure access to that precious commodity, their niggers. The mythical & infamous Willie Lynch was called in to help the Planter class plan for emancipation. How can they ke…

We act like whiteness doesn’t hurt or change us. Perhaps, whiteness, white blindness, white supremacy hurts “others” but we like to believe that it doesn’t damage our faith. We’re wrong, of course. We are blinded to so much by the socialization of whiteness, by the heavy curtain of culturally required assumptions to peacefully in white-dominated so…

So, I wasn’t going to record an episode…I mean, I wanted to. But I didn’t want to… The reality that police are now shooting us in the back of the head and folk are finding ways to rationalize and justify that. Even those who are supposedly supporting the mattering of Black life, want to see the tape of Andrew Brown Jr’s execution as if they believe…

We’ve been White Too Long for way too long. Our white church, our white faith, and our white identities are way too Fragile. What will it take to change the church? Robin DiAngelo, PhD, returns and joins Robert P. Jones, PhD, and the Racial Heresy Team to explore what it will take to move the needle and get white Christians to work against systemic…

We have heard the quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over-and-over again, while expecting different results.” But we seem to be stuck on this trajectory… How do we make it stop?! This conundrum has become a reality for Fr. Jabriel and me. Communally, we see this conundrum of insanity illustrated in how we view ourselves. The…

Racial Heresy engages with Dr. Robert P. Jones, author of “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity,” to explore beyond the damning statistics to the future of our faith, trying to find a way to extricate white supremacy from our faith. Beyond Hope White Christian America can, to paraphrase Jones, pass onto our childre…

The oldest and the most BELOVED institution in the Black community is the Black Church. Tuesday, February 16, 2021, PBS aired a documentary called “The Black Church.” One personal take-away of this documentary is that “white acceptance is something that Black people long for.” These words are from my personal tweet, @WWJimmieDo. Fr. Jabriel, @Jah_B…

What is Black History Month? What is its purpose? What should be its purpose? What is the best use of Black History, in these times? What are we remembering? What does it mean to “re-member?” As we enter Black History Month, in the wake of White Insurrection, it is time to reconsider our approach to our story and its usage. It might not be the best…

With all the talk of unity and unifying America in the Post-Trump Era, the real question is this: What do you mean by unity? What definition of self are you using to determine what is meant by unity? What version of self are you presenting for unification with White America? As a new Administration takes over and most folk prepare to go back to sle…

Last week…as we were recording last week’s episode of Blacks with Power, vitriolic elements of White Power took the Capital by storm, resulting in five death, including a member of Law Enforcement. They violated and betrayed the Rule of Law, with the support of the President, Members of Congress and other Federal and State elected officials. Now, w…

It’s wild… We recorded this hours BEFORE the mayhem that unfolded in DC on January 6, 2021. It wasn’t developed with this in mind. However, this was clearly in the Spirit that came upon us as we start this New Years journey as Blacks with Power. The Ancients would say: “A charge to keep I have…A God to glorify. A never-dying soul to save and fit it…

We recorded this episode on the MORNING of Jan 6th, 2021, before an armed mob of angry white folks stormed the United States Capital. So now what? Repentance & Reclaiming our Authority Does the white Church have a role in these violent times beyond comforting white people? Can the white Church exercise any authority when we’ve remained unrepentant,…

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Yeah, us neither. But we hope you enjoy this Christmas mini-album! Working toward Beloved Community. There is so much more to say and much more to discuss – come to the Racial Heresy group to be a part of the conversation. If you’re not already a member of our Racial Heresy Facebook group, click the banner bel…

We didn’t plan on doing this episode, so I don’t have a plan for a post. Yet, the Spirit spoke and we listened. So, we hope that you will too! It’s rare that you’ll see a white face on Blacks with Power. But, in this episode we’re joined by my brother Fr. Cayce – with whom I host Racial Heresy (my podcast on Racial Reconciliation). Pr. Jimmie knows…

I never meant to do this episode, so I don’t have a prepared post or a well-worded blurb. Yes, the Spirt spoke (mostly to Fr. Jabriel and Pr. Jimmie), so I tried to catch up. I hope you’ll do better than me and listen. It’s rare we let our white selves be in places where we are on the same footing as our Black and Brown siblings, sisters, and broth…

Black identity is under attack, once again, in the Georgia runoff. White allies are tired from the “hard work” of getting Trump out of office. We’re ready to return to normal. Will the white church find the courage to advocate for the right of Black leaders like the Rev. Raphael Warnock to retain their faith? Or will we join the calls to white wash…

Prophets, politicians…prophets, politicians… We better know my difference! Cause like Push T, all I see is victims. Victims of politicians pretending to be leaders. Victims of prophets compromising alone the Way like politicians… Both pulling one over on We the People because we fail to understand the difference in their roles. We misunderstand who…

What do we do when people are determined to continue banging their heads against the wall? Like, imagine walking up to someone who is repeatedly head-butting concrete… If you didn’t find him completely strange and just walk away…if you felt compassion for that man, and wanted him to not hurt himself… What would you do? He can’t hear you gently call…

St. Paul admonishes us to be on our guard and warns us about savage wolves that will come to pull away the faithful. The book of Jude (yup, it’s in the Bible, keep looking…) warns us of the dangers of false teachers, but what do we do with heresy? Are we listening? Really, “heresy”? Hasn’t the white church surrendered ANY and ALL legitimacy around …

We don’t talk about castration enough… But castration is a big part of the Black American identity. It’s why Rev. Jesse Jackson fantasized about cutting off Obama’s nuts. (His words…not mine… #NeverForget) Don’t believe me? The scholars in our midst can read Prof. Dianne Miller Somerville’s work on “Rape, Race, and Castration in Slave Law in the Co…

Why do we tend to take the opinions of non-theologians – over that of theologians, on matters of faith? Recently, there’s been much discussion about the swipes that Barack Obama took at Jeremiah Wright in his new book. Some of you might be saying: “what swipes?” You might not have heard because mainstream news isn’t speaking on it yet. Here’s a ver…

What do we do about heresy? Heresy?!?!? Who talks about heresy… Two lines in, I’m sure many have already stopped reading. Heresy is such a bad word… We don’t talk about it. So we damn sure don’t know what to do about it. We don’t consider how it impacts the Mattering of Black Life. But how can the essential and foundational mattering of a people – …

The experience of Black people in America is exhibit A in the case of white society’s wickedness… We are often afraid to say that. We are more likely to feign being “happy darkies,” thankful for the genteel goodness of white people. And we are counting on that genteel goodness now more than ever. After four years of Trumpian rampant white supremaci…

The Black Church got on board with ushering the Black Vote to elect Joe Biden. All over traditional and social media the refrain is that Black voters saved America. But, the deeper truth of that statement is this: Black people saved an America that didn’t want to be saved… You see, the 2020 Presidential Election was supposed to be a blowout for Bid…

On the morning of November 4th, 2020, Racial Heresy went LIVE! For the first time ever, events were so pressing, the pressure so great, and the Spirit was moving so that we finally took to Facebook Live to process the results of the election (such as they were in that moment). Listen as we explore lament, courage, history, lethargy, guilt, shame, f…

It’s like we – Black poeple – are stranded in the wilderness and don’t know it… It’s like we are stranded in the wilderness and have reconciled ourselves to that position… Has the Black Church kept us stranded in the wilderness? Why is it that the Church hasn’t been able to guide us through the wilderness by now? Dr. John Kinney, Professor of Theol…

It’s a long way to go when you don’t know where you’re going…You don’t know where you’re going when you’re lost. That’s what the late great Guru of Gang Starr said on Hard to Earn Do we Negroes know where we are going? Don’t just get upset at the seeming audacity of my question. But think about it…dare to answer it: Do we know where we are going? W…

We could recreate the Garden of Eden from whence we were out-cast… We could indeed become the Beloved Community and forge A More Perfect Union, on earth as it is in Heaven… There really could exist a reality in tangible form where “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one…

When will we start listening to God and when will we start listening to Black experience? If white people are serious about reconciliation, then we should one day find ourselves reconciling with white supremacists. If white people really listen to Black leaders, thinkers, friends, family members, clergy, organizers, writers, poets, musicians, theol…

The people were in exile in the wilderness. They had been in bondage for over 400 years, but now they were free. They hadn’t yet arrived at the Promised Land, but at least they were free. Or so you’d think… Because the people craved the land of their oppression. They longed for the days when they were close to their earthly masters. Massa might hav…

Even before the Grand Jury decided not to indict the murderers of Breonna Taylor, I already had to get my mind right… The Governor of Florida had just floated a bill to legalize the use of cars as an assault weapon for vitriolic White Supremacists who dislike protesters. I mean… The reality that people can even consider such inhumane actions… And w…

The ancestors ain’t wait for death like this… They knew no help was coming. Living in a Society that condoned their bondage… A Society that agreed with Black Inferiority, and the proper place of Negro Servitude… They could run… But running was extremely risky, especially from the Deep South. Seeing those who didn’t make it, mutilated and beaten to …

In the Black Church, we often speak of Social Justice. It is the component of the Gospel to which we most appeal. It is the thing we choose to use in order to distinguish ourselves from the White Church… Social Justice… But, is that the right distinction to choose? Yes, the Black Church is far more concerned with social justice than the White Churc…

We speak of the Civil Rights Movement… Of the legacy of the struggle. Of how far we’ve come – by faith…leaning on the Lord. But have we really? Have we come this far because we’ve been leaning on the Lord? Or have we been leaning on another lord? Do we remember the God of our fathers and mothers? Do we remember the promises God made to them? Do we …

If you understand this truth, you will also understand the ridiculous absurdity of Black people learning Church from Whiteness… The ridiculous absurdity of Black Church being subordinate to White Church…relegated to a sub-category of “Church,” where we have to say BLACK Church, and simply saying “Church” becomes confused with being White. The very …

Man-oh-Man! It’s been a journey getting back into the swing of things… The last episode of Blacks with Power came out in May of 2018. It’s been OVER TWO years… I’ve forgotten a lot…how to set up all my equipment. How to record properly. How to post episodes… If podcasting is like riding a bike, I’ve fallen all over myself and skinned my knees! But,…

When it all comes down to it, the end came is dismantling White supremacy… There is no justice in this world… There is no Beloved Community, so long as White supremacy has breadth. Right? But how do we put White supremacy to an end? Can we just wait on White folk to end it? In this last episode for the Spring 2018 season, we’ll explore why Black Po…

All the talk about racial reconciliation ignores the role of Black redemption. And, without Black redemption there is no way to achieve racial reconciliation that is anything more than further conditioning Black people to become reconciled to their own oppression. I’m sold that racial reconciliation can only happen as a result of Black redemption. …

Wakanda forever was the cry… But forever is such a very long time. And our attention spans are so short. Yet, there’s such hope in Wakanda-mania. It shows us the great potential of when a myth becomes reality… I enjoyed Black Panther… And by box office numbers, it seems most of us did… Beyond the movie, what was very powerful was the countless Blac…

Black Christianity is different from White Christianity… Shouldn’t be…but it is. It’s the reality created by the sin of White supremacy. But more than simple conjecture…beyond simply throwing out some charged statement, what is the basis of this claim? What makes this claim undeniable? The way #BlackChristianity was cultivated makes it the authenti…

Ancient Egypt, the Sphinx, the Pyramids… They are incredibly fascinating and draw us back to the greatest civilization. All “great civilizations” of the West have modeled themselves after Egypt. Ancient Egypt serves as the foundation for the idea of greatness. And it’s greatest lesson for Black Identity might also be the most disturbing… But what e…

In publishing my book, Black Power: Our God-Given Call to Make America Great, I ended up taking a hiatus from producing this podcast. And that hiatus has helped reframe the show in transformative ways! And in this episode, I share how those changes will be transformative for you! We’ve got to be more intentional about everything, if we’re going to …

Afro-Latinos…how many times do you consider the in the equation of #BlackLivesMatter? When Hispanic groups ask for Black American assistance in their fight for equality, do you take stock of the issues from the perspective of Afro-Latinos? It’s a conversation we definitely need to have… When I worked on Capitol Hill, I focused heavily on the issues…

Public Health concerns are a critical piece to understanding the complexities of the Black experience. It’s part of the issue that keeps us from creating a cohesive socio-economic political agenda to advance the Black community. Consider it like this: who can think straight when they are sick? And like Malcolm said, Black people in America are “sic…

Black identity has always been threatening to American Society. It’s long been debated and suppressed. Black folk ourselves are the worst purveyors of this fear of a Black identity, because at several checkpoints in our American sojourn we have – en masse – encouraged each other to deny our Blackness in favor of the “American melting pot.” And this…

Some Doitall to be the Chief Rocka, and that’s certainly cool. But once you’ve established your position as one of the illest to rock a mic, what’s next? Once you prove you can move the crowd to uncontrollably nod their heads and shake their bodies, what’s the next challenge for a true Emcee? Back before hiphop had the club going up on a Tuesday to…

Pledging is the answer for everyone, when that is the choice. No one wants hazing, right? But surely skating isn’t the answer either. Both skating and hazing have produced lackluster brothers and sisters incapable of living up to the high moral standards of our various Fraternities and Sororities. In these days of racial turmoil, we need strong lea…

The Black Star line needs to be reborn. Many of you won’t know what that is…and that’s cool: that’s why you have me! LOL In the 1920’s, the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey had amassed a global membership of more than 12 million members in the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. It scared a lot of people…a lot of W…

Redemption: thanks be to God, it’s a possibility. I mean, if we’re stuck being the people we once were…if we’re stuck with the reputations we foolishly established, who of us could be good? Right? But, the reality of redemption isn’t license for foolishness. Redemption isn’t some sort of magic potion, given to those who learn to say “Jesus.” It’s a…

Confederate monuments have become a major topic of discussion lately. Some people want to see them come down. Others want to see them stay up. What is the best way forward? I’ve always thought the Confederacy was treasonous. I’ve always found it strange that somehow Americans were able to justify treason and graft it in as a celebrated part of hist…