Jesus, Justice and the University
Five Years After the Murder of George Floyd with Dr. Reggie Williams and Dr. Jonathan Tran
A mural of George Floyd at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue S. in Minneapolis, United States, on January 18, 2021. CREDIT: Tim Evans/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Yesterday, 75 people gathered to remember what happened to George Floyd, the promises made by so many and the dark reality that very little has changed. What has not changed is police brutality, racism and persistence of prejudice. In fact, it has become more pronounced and public. Simultaneously, the Church’s call to be lights in the darkness has not been edited. So, the question becomes in light of that reality how do we as followers of Jesus respond?
And more pointedly, since the church often preaches and practices a gospel that reinforces White Supremacy, racial prejudice and makes theological justifications for violence in marginalized communities — should we just stay out of it?
Thanks to InterVarsity's National Director of Theological Formation, Dr. Jeff Liou, Associate Director of Black Campus Ministry, Thurston Benns and professors, Dr. Jonathan Tran and Dr. Reggie Williams we were reminded that the work of God in and through His people can still be a robust, truth-telling, justice-seeking force in the world. And in fact, collective worship of the God of love and justice, reflected in the life of Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit can do wondrous things if we are oriented around the Kingdom of God and not our racialized, political economy that is committed to hierarchies of domination and control.
I strongly encourage you to the check out the video, supplementary materials and JOIN THE CHAT!
VIDEO: This link will lead you to the the video and from our time together.
Chat: Here is the chat log with all the links mentioned throughout the conversation.
Community Temperature Reading to debrief: If you are looking for a tool to help you process the content shared, I highly recommend the Community Temperature Reading which will give sentence stems and recommendations for working your thoughts and feelings.
Let me know what you think! I look forward to the conversation and comments because our screens make us into lonely consumers but God made us to be a vibrant community.
– jonathan
