As a historian of American and African-American religion, I know that the Trayvon Martin moment is just one moment in a history of racism in America that, in large part, has its underpinnings in Christianity and its history. Those of us who teach American Religion have a responsibility to tell all of the story, not just the nice touchy-feely parts.
Interpretation
The quote advocates for a comprehensive understanding of history, particularly regarding racism and religion.
Anthea Butler emphasizes that the Trayvon Martin case is a significant yet singular instance in a broader context of racism in America, which is deeply intertwined with Christian history. She calls on educators to convey a complete narrative of American religion, acknowledging the uncomfortable truths alongside the more palatable aspects, to foster a genuine understanding of the social issues at play.
In practice
This quote can be used in a classroom discussion on the impact of religion on social justice.
In the racialized space of capitalist gentrification, police are not only arbiters of the peace, they are the muscle of retail racism: You can only be in this space if you transcend your blackness by showing us some green dollars. Even then, there is no guarantee that green will transcend your black skin.
If life were stable, I'd never need God's help.
I wonder now whether inner coldness and desolation may not be the pre-condition for making the world believe, by a kind of fraudulent showmanship, that one's own wretched heart is still aglow.
You can't have intentions without consequences. The question is, who pays for the consequences? Saving fish from drowning. Same thing. Who’s saved? Who’s not?
All of us have to deal with death at one time or another, but to have in one's heart a solid conviction concerning the reality of eternal life is to bring a sense of peace in an hour of tragedy that can come from no other source under the heavens
Needing to have reality confirmed and experience enhanced by photographs is an aesthetic consumerism to which everyone is now addicted. Industrial societies turn their citizens into image-junkies; it is the most irresistible form of mental pollution.
As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.