The Justice Briefing with Dr. Jemar Tisby

A Black elf! A Black dwarven princess. Characters of Asian descent. And still, a mostly white cast. How is the new Lord of the Rings series doing on race? Why are so many trolls big mad that there’s diversity in Middle Earth? What opportunities and risks does the series face moving forward. Listen to two experts on race and appreciators of LOTR, Jemar Tisby and Nancy Wang Yuen, break it down.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every awards show has become a barometer of how much Hollywood has truly reckoned with race. This year’s Emmy Awards were no different. Jemar and Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist who studies race and pop culture, weigh in on the highs and lows of this year’s awards.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should the state put people to death? Does the death penalty deter crime? Does it bring healing to the victims?  I talk with Sam Heath, manager of the Evangelical Network at Equal Justice USA, about these questions and more. He describes his experiences growing up as an evangelical and what he learned about the criminal legal system. Heath also explains the reasons why we should repeal the death penalty and what kinds of systems and policies should guide our approach to harm and healing.  Links Website: evangelical.ejusa.org How to Get Involved: linktr.ee/samheathejusa What Is Justice: youtube.com/channel/UCWyTqBleaIBS4jmupr5cxSw Footnotes is a listener supported podcast. You can help by becoming a paid subscriber at my newsletter: JemarTisby.Substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If this is the civil rights movement of our day, then we have to utilize some of the tactics of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s. It's not enough simply to know about the anti-CRT crusade. We have to do something about it. We have to resist. But what can one person or a small group of people do in the face of such a widespread and coordinated movement? People concerned about racial justice have fought against steeper odds. They used the tactics of direct action, nonviolent protest to instigate change. Andre Henry, artist/activist and author of To All the White Friends I Couldn't Keep, offers practical ways to protest against racism. Follow him at andrehenry.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When people try to block racial justice efforts, we tend to respond intellectually. We come up with arguments and rebuttals. But what's happening with racism is not just a battle against lies and misinformation, it is a spiritual struggle that requires a spiritual response. How should we think about and respond to the anti-CRT crusade through the lens of Scripture and the life of Jesus Christ? How do we relate to people who want to deny the truth of our racial history and get in the way of efforts at racial justice? What can we learn from the teachings of Christianity about resisting racism? Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister of the historic Middle Collegiate Church, offers us her wisdom. Follow her at @RevJacquiLewis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite our best efforts, Black people and other people of color still experience racism. The cumulative effects of these encounters, over a lifetime and over generations, can accurately be described as trauma. How do we process the specific pain that comes with racial discrimination? How can we heal and develop healthy self-care practices to endure racism? Sheila Wise Rowe is a Christian counselor, spiritual director, educator, writer, and speaker. She is also the author of Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience. She offers her perspective and suggests healthy practices for healing from the distinct harm of racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The anti-CRT crusade tries to prevent students from learning accurate history about racism in our society. This session pushes back against those efforts and explains how students and administrators can work together to build an antiracist culture at their schools. Dr. Christina Edmondson, a clinical psychologist and specialist in organizational culture, guides us. She is co-host of the Truth’s Table podcast and co-author of Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change. Follow her at @DrCEdmondson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Far right Christians and their anti-CRT crusade tend to suck up all the attention. But there are different Christian approaches to racism. Christians concerned about racism can look to Black Christians and their long history of resisting discrimination in the name of their faith. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley is the Director of Black Church Studies at Truett Seminary and co-pastor of a multiethnic church. He explains what we need to learn from the Black church tradition. Follow him at @MalcolmBFoley. If you appreciate this content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber: JemarTisby.Substack.com Feel free to share this podcast! Use the hashtag: #ThoseMeddlingKids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An internecine controversy among historians spilled out into the broader public conversation. A term called "presentism" started trending on Twitter after the president of the American Historical Association, Dr. James Sweet, wrote an article asking if there was too much focus from historians on "contemporary social justice issues—race, gender, sexuality, nationalism, capitalism..."  I speak with Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley, who has his PhD in religious historical studies, to help explain what presentism is, why it is so controversial, and how Black studies takes a different approach.  Links:  "Is History History?" by Dr. James Sweet I Am a Historian: On Presentism by Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley Read more of Jemar's work at his newsletter: JemarTisby.Substack.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The anti-CRT crusade operates through a complex web of organizations, individuals, and money. It's like a machine, or what we can call the anti-CRT industrial complex. If we want to counteract the negative efforts of those who oppose what they call Critical Race Theory, then we have to understand how this industrial complex operates. Katherine Stewart is an investigative journalist who asks the questions some don’t want to hear and exposes the truth we all need to. She is the author of The Power Worshipers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. Follow her at @kathsstewart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices