Category: Race Matters

Nathan Phillips and Catholic boys have Much to Teach Us

I have been delayed in sharing this piece, and am doing so now because we tend to move on too quickly in our culture without learning our life lessons.

A couple weeks ago, a short video clip of a white male Catholic student named Nick Sandmann from Covington Catholic School in Kentucky, along with a group of his predominately white classmates seemingly disrespecting an indigenous elder, Nathan Phillips, went viral on the internet. People were appalled at the student’s disrespect. Within days, the school issued an apology, the families of the students were given a platform to defend their children and tell the world of the death threats they had received.

Then a longer video was released revealing a more complicated situation. The Atlantic article, “I Failed the Covington Catholic Test,” cautioned the viewers who rushed to judgment, encouraged readers to wait for more facts to emerge, and implied that the white students were the victims. The credibility of Nathan Phillips was in doubt.

It was a clashing of three people groups in a polarized society. A situation like that can become dangerous very quickly.

Continue reading at Missio Alliance.

The Formation of Our Stories with Jo Saxton (A Sojourner’s Truth podcast)

Here is a summary of our first podcast interview with Jo Saxton! Subscribe today:

Blog Announcement

We will be publishing new podcasts on Thursdays, and they’re going to syndicate on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

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Welcome to A Sojourner’s Truth podcast: Conversations for a Changing Culture! I’m your host Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, and I’m glad you’re joining us for Season One where the theme is: Our Stories:

 

Natasha: Hello Beautiful People!

 

I am thrilled to welcome my first guest to A Sojourner’s Truth Podcast. Leader, pastor, and author Jo Saxton. How are you my dear friend? Thank you so much for joining us.

S1E2_Jo Saxton

JO SAXTON: Thank you so much for having me. That’s such a gracious introduction.

 

Natasha: It’s wonderful to have you. What I love, especially about the people I’m inviting to the table up throughout this season, is our willingness to share our stories, and I have invited people  that have directly or indirectly impacted my life. Jo stands out as a leader, influencer, and mobilizer of women.

 

Jo’s short biography: Jo Saxton is an author, speaker, leadership coach, and visionary. Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London, England, Jo brings a multi-cultural and international perspective to leadership. She has served on staff in multiple churches in the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, Jo co-hosts the popular podcast Lead Stories: Tales of Leadership and Life with Steph O’Brien. She is also the founder of the Ezer Collective, an initiative that creates intensives and experiences to invest in women who lead. Jo’s most recent book is called, The Dream of You: Let Go of Broken Identities and Live the Life You Were Made For.

Jo and her husband, Chris, live in Minneapolis with their two daughters. She loves Starbucks, running, her people, and the everyday stuff, like good music, good food, and good books, and Target. She really, really loves Target!

 

This season of the podcast, we are talking about our stories, and to guide our conversation, I’m using the outline of my upcoming book, A Sojourner’s Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World. We will talk about the FORMATION of Our Stories, the HISTORY of Our Stories, Our Stories in the WILDERNESS, and Our REDEMPTION Stories.

 

Jo is here to talk today about the formation of our stories because what happens in our formative years really has an impact on who we become, how we grow into adulthood, what we do, how we see ourselves and how others view us. As a matter of setting the stage for our conversation, I want to read an excerpt from the book.

 

The Negro is the child of two cultures—Africa and America. The problem is that in the search for wholeness all too many Negros seek to embrace only one side of their natures.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Continue reading “The Formation of Our Stories with Jo Saxton (A Sojourner’s Truth podcast)” →

My Summer with Black Women

I love reading, but I don’t always get to read as much as I would like because life happens! I always have more books available than I have time to consume. This summer was no exception. I didn’t get to read all of the books on my desired reading list, but I did get to read a few great ones. I read each of them for different reasons and enjoyed them all.

 

Today, I’m sharing a few reflections on three books I read this summer that were authored by black Christian women.

Continue reading “My Summer with Black Women” →