What does it mean to be Black? From the time of Columbus to the time before the American Revolution, people with ancestry from Africa were present through every era of American history. Yet, what this meant varied over time. During the colonial period before the American Revolution, while ideas of superiority and inferiority were a part of the ethos of Europeans at the time, the demographic characteristic that later were formalized into the concept of race were less so. So what did it mean to be a Black person during these centuries, and what did Christianity have to do with what it meant to have rights, freedom and agency as Black people during this early colonial period? Furthermore, is there something racist about Christianity, or is it that racists misuse scripture to weaponize Christianity as a means to maintaining power?

Our multiethnic team of Christian antiracism educators and friends talk about this today as part of our series discussing Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice: True Stores of Faith, Race and Resistance. A link to purchase this book is provided in the show notes for this episode.

Let’s go now and listen to this conversation.

CREDITS:

THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance

The Bisrat with Dr. Vince Bantu