RECENT POSTS
Five Next Steps Toward Racial Healing
I resisted offering “action items” for white people (like me) who wanted to DO something about injustice and inequity in our nation for a long
S3 E2 | Living into the Really Real with Micha Boyett
How can we talk about race and disability without conflating the two? How can white, able-bodied, neurotypical people enter into this conversation? What is the
The Difference Between White Fragility and Vulnerability
Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility has soared to the top of the non-fiction bestseller list. If you haven’t heard of it before, here’s a podcast
Penny Heads to High School
This week we celebrated the end of Penny’s years in middle school with a car parade through campus, a dinner out—for the first time in
I Didn’t Know About Juneteenth…
I started hearing and learning about Juneteenth a few years ago as a holiday where African Americans celebrated emancipation from slavery. I was a white
Privilege, Monuments, and Healing
Twenty-one years ago, I moved to Monument Avenue, in Richmond, Virginia. The monuments that line the center of this thoroughfare that connects downtown Richmond to
S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege with David Bailey
Race, class, and the kingdom of God all come up in this conversation between Amy Julia and David Bailey, Director of Arrabon, a ministry to
Using My Head, My Heart, and My Hands to Consider Defunding the Police
Defunding the police? Support and thank the police? Criticize the police? Commend the police? There’s a long list of names of Black men and women
Season 3 Trailer: White Picket Fences
Are you looking for a safe place to talk about race, class, and social divisions? Do you want to learn more about these topics? Do
Recommended Books, Podcasts, and Films about Race and Privilege
Post contains affiliate links. As I’ve written before, one part of a meaningful, transformational, humble, and holistic response to the history and current reality of
Christianity Today: Enough to Share in the Land of Plenty
I write about love, peace, hope, and possibilities a lot. In the midst of a global conversation about disease, death, and despair, I worry about
Some Stories of Hope in a Week of Hardship
Hope and racism. Ta-Nehisi Coates is feeling hopeful. I didn’t think I would ever type those words. Coates is famous for his 2015 memoir, Between
Injustice: Reflect, Relate, Respond
My various news feeds are swirling with people responding to injustice. Peaceful protests all across the nation. Violence and looting. Police brutality. Police support. Theological
A Week of Protests: Learn, Listen, Lament, and Love
As everyone paying any attention to the news knows, social unrest and protests have broken out across our nation. A black man named George Floyd
Chapter 4: Prayer
When I was deciding what chapters to record for this Reading Small Talk podcast, I skimmed through the whole book. But when I got to
Five First Steps toward Participating in Racial Healing
How can white people respond to racial tensions and violence in a meaningful way? How can white people contribute to a collective work of racial
George Floyd and Breonna Taylor: Why These Particular Deaths Deserve Our Attention
I woke up to reports of violence in multiple cities around the country. In the wake of George Floyd’s death earlier this week and the
Choosing to Be Present in Suffering
For people like me—for people who are white and live in affluence and stability—stories like that of George Floyd are easy to ignore. In the
The Ordinary Goodness of a Life with Down Syndrome, Even Now
Our daughter Penny is 14. She loves Taylor Swift and Fuller House and the Yankees. She betrays many signs of becoming a typical teenager: she
Hope and the Spiritual Imagination
“I suspect every pregnant woman imagines a hypothetical life for her child. And every pregnant woman knows that child’s life won’t work out exactly as
AJB Recommends: Resources for Hope
I talked about hope on my podcast last week (and tomorrow’s episode will be a bonus episode, also about hope), so I wanted to offer
