We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
An Uneasy History
Although Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as a tireless champion for the equal rights of African Americans, there are many indications that he held views that we would find shocking today. It’s important to understand the reality of our history to truly appreciate the challenges we face in the area of racial reconciliation today. In her New York Times article entitled A Separate Peace, Kate Masur delves into parts of our history that are sometimes hard to comprehend.
From the article:
Those interested in the history of abolition and racial equality would find few incidents in Lincoln’s presidency as dispiriting as the president’s Aug. 14, 1862, meeting with a delegation of five black men from Washington. It was dispiriting then as well: to the dismay of those hoping the Civil War would lead to full citizenship for African-Americans, Lincoln informed the delegation that “you and we are different races” and proposed that the five men be progenitors of a black colony the government would establish in Chiriquí, a region of what is now Panama.
Image by rodolfo. Used in accordance with Creative Commons. Sourced via Flickr.
Category: General
Tags: Racial Reconciliation
Related Reading
Part 9 (of 15): Peterson on White Privilege
Assessing Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life by Greg Boyd “The degree to which the terrible part of the world manifests itself in your life is proportionate to how insufficient you are….If you got your act together completely, maybe all the suffering would disappear from your life, or at least all the unbearable suffering.” Jordan…
Confessions of a Christian Nation (Racism)
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Greg Boyd, Brian McLaren and Brian Zahnd apologize to the African American community for the church’s complicity in the oppression of African Americans throughout American history. Video by Rex Harsin
Podcast: How Much Hope Should We Have that We Can Find Unity Amid So Much Diversity?
Greg looks at Galatians 3:26-29. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0370.mp3
Ferguson, Racism, & the Kingdom
In light of the issues that have arisen in Ferguson, Mo this last week (for more on this click here), we thought we would offer some reflections on this topic from Greg that he wrote several years ago. A version of this piece eventually ended up in Greg’s book Myth of a Christian Religion. ___________________________________ Many…
The Coming Kingdom & Racial Conflict
In the book of Revelation, we see a glimpse into the future. John says he saw, …a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And…
Kingdom Reconciliation is Not About Politics (But it is Political)
In the broader culture, the social and political discussions about racial reconciliation are usually focused on people’s rights and privileges as a means of making the world a fairer place. The criteria such efforts at reconciliation appeal to are common decency, fairness and reason. The enterprise is certainly necessary, and all decent, fair minded, rational…