From our colleague at InterVarsity Press

My head is still a bit foggy from the weekend, with news, tweets and headlines ranging from peaceful protests and constructive dialogue to others of rioting, violence and deep misunderstanding. Even our little city in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, ran the emotional gamut yesterday with a beautiful, peaceful protest march for understanding during the day and then a complete city lockdown overnight as angry protesters smashed store windows and threw rocks at police officers.

Although I know it’s not true, I often feel helpless. But then I wake up this morning to this job I get to do with IVP, and I see that I can help. I can be a megaphone for parents, teachers, pastors, writers who do have the words to articulate and guide us through these difficult times. I can point you to these wonderful people, their experiences and the words they labored over to put into books. I am humbled to work with them to share their messages of encouragement, understanding and much-needed change. Let me know if I can help connect you with any of these authors for interviews. I am also happy to send digital or hard copies of books to help you and those you interact with make sense of the world around us. And, since this is not an exhaustive list of all the titles that speak to this time, you will also find here a list of books from Bryon Borger. He knows books better than anyone so be sure to also peruse this list of excellent titles from a number of publishers.

From IVP…

Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? How the Bible Is Good News for People of Color by Antipas L. Harris

Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity by David W. Swanson

Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience by Sheila Wise Rowe

Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age by Mae Elise Cannon

Soul Care in African American Practice by Barbara L. Peacock

Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope by Jasmine L. Holmes

The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power by D. L. Mayfield

The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best by Irwyn L. Ince Jr. (August)

The Colors of Culture: The Beauty of Diverse Friendships by MelindaJoy Mingo (September)

Grace and peace,

Krista

Krista Clayton

Associate Director, Publicity

ivpress.com

I Can’t Breathe

Posted by Gail Dudley on May 26, 2020

I Can’t Breathe

The news cycle over the last 24 hours has been too much to bear.

My God, somebody make it stop. Please!

My breath has been slipping away for a while now, but at least I am able to grasp for air and keep on fighting for justice.

Ahmaud Arbery and the video of him being lynched still plays in my head. It was Mother’s Day when I did my jog in honor of his birthday and decided to spend the day praying for his mother. Just when I thought I could come up for air…

I be damned if now I have to lament my way through the video of George Floyd, who was murdered while having a knee lodged against his neck by a white man cutting off his oxygen. Mr. Floyd told him, “I can’t breathe.”

I. Watched. The. Entire. Video. #iCantBreathe

What the…. (yeah, you get the picture. I really want to drop that word right here.)

Many nights I am unable to sleep thinking about my Black husband, son, father, brother, brothers-in-law, nephews, and the Black male friends in my life. When my cellphone rings late night or early morning during the time my Do Not Disturb is activated, I grab my chest, hoping that the call is not news that one of the Black males in my life has died in the hands of someone white.

There, I said it. No, I do not feel any better saying those words, but I have danced around my white friends for a long time. I was trying to comfort them amid the horrific atmosphere I have had to live with for many years. I find myself assuring them that I do not see them as a part of the problem and do not fault them for the blatant racism and injustices of Black people. As I am comforting them, I am becoming angrier and angrier because they should be consoling me and standing up for me, and my Blackness using #BlackLivesMatter without having to hear all lives matters. What the hell!

I want to scream. Today was not a good day. All of my emotions have surfaced. Who’s going to do something? This post is not about likes or follows. I’m asking you if you will take a stand with Black folks in America who are losing their lives because of the color of our skin.

This is a problem with the system. Will you come from behind what’s deemed as politically correct and write legislation to help fix the system? Will you help expose those who are racist, waiting for the opportunity to call the cops on someone Black?

I am over talking about racism, yet I have to keep the conversation going.

Today’s blog post is for my white friends and family. What are you going to do? Will you stand with us for justice beyond making a social media post telling us that your thoughts and prayers are with us? Will you have a face to face conversation with your white friends who continues the narrative that “racism is dead” or throw out “what about blacks who kill other blacks” or whatever saying out there to help soothe them and allow them to go on about their day?

Yes, I want you to feel what I am feeling as a woman, wife, and mother of Black males. I desire you to pray while calling out to the Lord with tears streaming down your face as I do as a Christian woman. I implore you to step inside my shoes and look through my lenses and see what I see. I want you to feel your heart racing when the phone rings at night. I want you to witness what it is like without having white privilege. Yes, I want you to be just as tired as we are, and just as exhausted as we are on a daily basis.

You can no longer decide when you will speak out. Either you are with us, or you are against us.

Friends, remember… MLK1

…and let us not forget the latest Karen. #AmyCooper who lost her job and her dog, but George Floyd lost his life. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd

Finally, no. I will not apology for how I am feeling right now.

Please, use the comment section and tell me how you will stand up and become an authentic ally for Black people.

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Comments

Malva Birch June 10, 2020 21:07

Born again by the power of Jesus: Dozens of people saved, healed at intersection where Floyd was killed.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020/june/born-again-by-the-power-o...
Reimagine Curator June 6, 2020 12:47

I Can’t Breathe

Posted by Gail Dudley on May 26, 2020

I Can’t Breathe

The news cycle over the last 24 hours has been too much to bear.

My God, somebody make it stop. Please!

My breath has been slipping away for a while now, but at least I am able to grasp for air and keep on fighting for justice.

Ahmaud Arbery and the video of him being lynched still plays in my head. It was Mother’s Day when I did my jog in honor of his birthday and decided to spend the day praying for his mother. Just when I thought I could come up for air…

I be damned if now I have to lament my way through the video of George Floyd, who was murdered while having a knee lodged against his neck by a white man cutting off his oxygen. Mr. Floyd told him, “I can’t breathe.”

I. Watched. The. Entire. Video. #iCantBreathe

What the…. (yeah, you get the picture. I really want to drop that word right here.)

Many nights I am unable to sleep thinking about my Black husband, son, father, brother, brothers-in-law, nephews, and the Black male friends in my life. When my cellphone rings late night or early morning during the time my Do Not Disturb is activated, I grab my chest, hoping that the call is not news that one of the Black males in my life has died in the hands of someone white.

There, I said it. No, I do not feel any better saying those words, but I have danced around my white friends for a long time. I was trying to comfort them amid the horrific atmosphere I have had to live with for many years. I find myself assuring them that I do not see them as a part of the problem and do not fault them for the blatant racism and injustices of Black people. As I am comforting them, I am becoming angrier and angrier because they should be consoling me and standing up for me, and my Blackness using #BlackLivesMatter without having to hear all lives matters. What the hell!

I want to scream. Today was not a good day. All of my emotions have surfaced. Who’s going to do something? This post is not about likes or follows. I’m asking you if you will take a stand with Black folks in America who are losing their lives because of the color of our skin.

This is a problem with the system. Will you come from behind what’s deemed as politically correct and write legislation to help fix the system? Will you help expose those who are racist, waiting for the opportunity to call the cops on someone Black?

I am over talking about racism, yet I have to keep the conversation going.

Today’s blog post is for my white friends and family. What are you going to do? Will you stand with us for justice beyond making a social media post telling us that your thoughts and prayers are with us? Will you have a face to face conversation with your white friends who continues the narrative that “racism is dead” or throw out “what about blacks who kill other blacks” or whatever saying out there to help soothe them and allow them to go on about their day?

Yes, I want you to feel what I am feeling as a woman, wife, and mother of Black males. I desire you to pray while calling out to the Lord with tears streaming down your face as I do as a Christian woman. I implore you to step inside my shoes and look through my lenses and see what I see. I want you to feel your heart racing when the phone rings at night. I want you to witness what it is like without having white privilege. Yes, I want you to be just as tired as we are, and just as exhausted as we are on a daily basis.

You can no longer decide when you will speak out. Either you are with us, or you are against us.

Friends, remember…

…and let us not forget the latest Karen. #AmyCooper who lost her job and her dog, but George Floyd lost his life. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd

Finally, no. I will not apology for how I am feeling right now.

Please, use the comment section and tell me how you will stand up and become an authentic ally for Black people.
Reimagine Curator June 4, 2020 17:15

Richard is a wonderful man of God; a First Nations leader...
Malva Birch June 4, 2020 11:49

1. A book that meant a lot to me, is One Church, Many Tribes, by Richard Twiss

Publishers: Chosen Books. Available on amazon.

2. The music ministry of reconciliation by the First Nations band Broken Walls blessed me and many others in abundance over the years.

http://brokenwalls.com/

This reply was deleted.

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"I Can't Breathe!"

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I Can’t Breathe