From “Know Your Place: Helping White, Southern Evangelicals Cope with the End of The(ir) World” by Justin R. Phillips Whiteness connects itself to patriotism and its symbols, because American values are held to be universal. The flag and the anthem represent the life provided for all Americans, but because America is not experienced equally, these […]
From “Know Your Place: Helping White, Southern Evangelicals Cope with the End of The(ir) World” by Justin R. Phillips If we whites experience the world where white is actually a synonym for normal or universal, it means anything that interrupts our daily existence, or makes us uncomfortable, is abnormal and is cause for swift defensive
Theories of white supremacy infiltrated every sector of life Read More »
From “Know Your Place: Helping White, Southern Evangelicals Cope with the End of The(ir) World” by Justin R. Phillips Rightly or wrongly, we categorize people who enter our orbit. The majority of people who I have attended school or church with, and established friendships with, have been white. I only say this as a matter
Theories of organizing peoples have existed since the beginning of recorded human history, but the systematic implementation of these theories has wreaked havoc upon the earth in ways that localized squabbles never could. A few examples, by no means comprehensive, include: Aristotle’s climate theory justified Greek slaveholding practices, where “extreme hot or cold climates produced
Justifiable reasons to enslave some and not others Read More »
My academic mentor, ethicist Glen Stassen, once told a story that sums up why people, even moral people, do terrible things. Glen said that he and Dot, his wife, were having a minor disagreement over some mundane thing. Glen stated his desired resolution, likely through an exhaustive ethical explanation. Dot, after considering his argument, laid
To rationalize what you already want to do Read More »
One such example of choosing who I would dialogue with came from joining a student group devoted to racial reconciliation at Duke Divinity School. That group helped me consider this tension – between my privileges and my interaction with the world – within a trusted community. Each week we gathered to hear one another’s stories.
Sit, listen, and share Read More »
I hated coming to the realization of what people of color potentially faced every day: I was a body; I experienced the world as a body now. In turn, others experienced me, first, as a body – a failing body – not as a soul, an intellect, or a conscience. My illness thrust me into
Whites tend to live as if we are unmarked racially Read More »
