Description: This episode brings together Be the Bridge founder Latasha Morrison with two scholars, Dr. Christina Edmondson Ph.D., and Doctoral candidate Jemar Tisby. Both are thought leaders in the push for racial equity in ecclesiastical spaces. In this episode, the conversations will center around the topic of CRT which is short for Critical Race Theory. We strive, as a podcast, to give you, our listeners and supporters, foundational tools to help you develop a clear historical and biblical perspective as it relates to race. LaTasha’s discussions with Christina and Jemar guides us through critiques of inequities and misrepresentations found anywhere, even in academia, that creates racial disharmony.

Host & Executive Producer - Latasha Morrison

Senior Producer - Lauren C. Brown

Producer, Editor & Music By - Travon Potts

Transcriber - Brittany Prescott

Quotes: “We need to be critically discerning everything that comes before us and submitting it to the Word of God...” - Dr. Christina Edmondson

“Folks always have tried to label people as a way to disempower them and that’s especially true when it comes to black people.” - Jemar Tisby

“Whereas there are other church traditions that would say like, well, of course, this church racism is baked in, in this country…” - Dr. Christina Edmondson

“There’s a popular phrase that says history repeats itself...more accurately history doesn’t repeat itself, history rhymes.” - Jemar Tisby

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Podcast link: https://podlink.to/BeTheBridgeSocial handles/links: Instagram: @LatashaMorrisonTwitter: @LatashaMorrisonFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LatashaMMorrison/Official Hashtag: #bethebridge

At numerous points throughout American history, Christians had a choice to confront the evils of racism or quietly ignore them. In a challenging conversation Jemar Tisby, author of “The Color of Compromise” and host of the “Pass the Mic” podcast, explores key moments from the arrival of the first African slaves in 1619 to the rise of the Religious Right in the 1970s when the white church in America chose silence or complicity rather than faithfulness. He also explains how Christian arguments to justify slavery are still being used by some today in the wake of police violence and Black Lives Matters. Also this week, Skye and Phil discuss why neighborhoods are becoming more segregated than ever. Tim Keller’s definition of “righteous” challenges our American and economic belief in self-interest. IBM is using A.I. to create fake crowds for televised sports during the pandemic. Plus, Amsterdam has an innovative solution for a scourge of “wild peeing.”

“The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” by Jemar Tisby: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Compromise-American-Churchs-Complicity-ebook/dp/B07BB6R827

“IBM’s Watson to help tennis fans argue with each other:” https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/tech/ibm-artificial-intelligence-us-open/index.html

“These planter-like urinals are Amsterdam’s answer to the problem of ‘wild peeing’”:  https://www.cnn.com/style/article/amsterdam-sustainable-urinal-scli-intl/index.html

This is not a comfortable conversation. It is, however, an important one.

Today we’re taking a break from our focus on mental/emotional wellness to have an incredibly honest conversation with Jemar Tisby, the author of the book The Color of Compromise. We’re diving back into the subject of racism, hoping to better understand its history, its current affect on our world, and how we can be a part of the solution.  

We discuss things like…

-Is racism actually a systemic issue?

-What is the church’s involvement in the history of racism?

-Is supporting “Black Lives Matter” supporting an anti-Christian organization?

-Practical steps we all can take toward racial reconciliation

Here at First15, we believe that God is for racial reconciliation, but we also know that it will take a continued willingness to have uncomfortable, yet grace-filled conversations if we’re going to see true change. We hope that this can be one of those conversations.

First15 is a daily devotional written and recorded by Craig Denison. If you would like to learn more about the First15 app, books, blogs, videos and our other resources, please visit first15.org. You can always reach out to us on our contact page on the website. 

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

Today, we continue our ongoing conversation about racism in America by examining the church and its role in perpetuating this tragedy. To guide us in this conversation is the incredible, wise, Jemar Tisby.

Jemar is president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, where he writes about race, religion, politics, and culture. He is also a co-host of the Pass The Mic podcast and his first book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism is required reading.

Links from the Interview

- Head here for more of Jemar's speaking, podcasting, and writing.

- The New Activist is Presented by International Justice Mission

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Jemar Tisby, author of the NYT bestseller The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, joins Ryan McAnnally-Linz for a conversation on how American Christian history has failed us. In this episode, Jemar explains the complicity and compromise of American Christians; the narrative war that confederate monuments wage (and how they were erected much later than you might think); the ugly theological justifications of racism and the shameful history of Christian white supremacy; the fraught project of selectively naming heroes and villains and then memorializing them; and the practical problem of how to go forward rightly from this moment of increased attention to racial injustice.

Show Notes

• Jemar Tisby, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
• Pre-Order Jemar Tisby's next book: How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice
• Min Jin Lee's comment about "History has failed us, but no matter."
• Miroslav Volf & Ryan McAnnally-Linz, Public Faith in Action: How to Engage with Commitment, Conviction, and Courage
• Listen to Pass the Mic and Footnotes w/ Jemar Tisby

We are so lucky to have three episodes this week, all hosted, created, and curated by good friend of the pod, Pastor Mike Kelsey.

Today, along with Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise, Mike will help us understand why American history matters as we think about racial justice and why current events like the murder of George Floyd aren’t just isolated incidents.

(**All books mentioned and linked this week will be using Mike's affiliate link on Amazon. So buy up! Doesn't cost you anything additional- just gives a small portion of Amazon's commission straight to Mike!**)

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#thatsoundsfunpodcast

Resources:

• The Color of Compromise book
• The Color of Compromise Video Study
• White Awake book
• Divided by Faith book
• Local People book
• When Affirmative Action Was White book
• At the Dark End of the Street book
• I’ve Got the Light of Freedom book
• God's Long Summer book

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Thank you to our sponsor of today's show!

• Ritual: Try it out- satisfaction guaranteed! Go to ritual.com/thatsoundsfun for 10% off your first 3 months! 

Our friend Jemar Tisby returns to the podcast . His book "The Color of Compromise," came out last year, but has found new legs in the current anti-racism movement, along with a new companion documentary of the same name.

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