Beyond #Canada150: A Statement from Primate Fred Hilz on National Aboriginal Day, June 21, 2017
WN: Below is a wonderful statement by Primate Fred Hilz of the Anglican Church of Canada. Would that all Christians take it to heart and action! Would that all Canadians do the same! Would that all humanity grow into this kind of hopeful reconciliation! Amen. Like many other Canadians, I am mindful that within just […]
Ajamu Baraka, “Uncle Tom,” and the Pathology of White Liberal Racism
AUGUST 24, 2016 by ERIC DRAITSER WN: White Supremacy has many disguised faces. One is “white liberal”, worn by those who supported a Black President because it is the “liberal thing” to be anti-racist, and who smugly know they do the right thing: end of all discourse. But the issue is far deeper – and […]
Comments On: Amazing Disgrace
By Sarah Posner Illustration above by Brian Reedy. Think of the illustration in conjunction with this hugely ironic quote, one that said far more about Christian Nationalist sentiment than the good reverend knew: “We put God right at the center of the White House.” —Paula White, speaking at an Evangelicals for Trump event at Solid […]
Book Review of: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Book Review of: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2020, 356 pages WN: This is one of the few times I also posted a book review to this Blog. This is a highly disturbing–and informative–book. In an interview with Religion […]
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Book Review of: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2020, 356 pages WN: This is one of the few times I also posted a book review to this Blog. This is a highly disturbing–and informative–book. In an interview with Religion […]
The Great Sumas Lake Heist: A Guilty Little Secret in Plain Sight
Sumas Lake until a century ago covered about 10% of the Fraser Valley’s fertile farmland. Then it was ‘disappeared.’ Whatever happened? And what to do about it? NOTE: There are several footnotes that add related material to the article, that for some may be of interest. NOTE 2:It was exactly a year ago that the […]
Why I Oppose the Death Penalty
WN: I was invited to dialogue with Dr. Richard Land of (later) “The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission” of the Southern Baptist Convention. The dialogue was organized by the Presbyterian Church in Alaska because debate was heating up in a state with no death penalty on the books. (Since the death penalty’s abolition in 1957, […]
Josh McDowell steps back from ministry after controversial remarks on black families
By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter September 23, 2021 photo above: Josh McDowell speaks at Talbot Chapel at Biola University in California on January 21, 2020. | YouTube/Biola University WN: Meanwhile, 82 years and 150 books in, Christian “intellectual” McDowell has finally learned something about Black History in America? Thank God we’re never too old […]
A Canadian Amazon Warehouse Could Soon Be the First to Unionize in North America
By Candice Bernd, Truthout Published September 17, 2021 photo above: Members of Teamsters Locals 987 and 362 protest outside an Amazon fulfillment center in Alberta, Canada, on July 14, 2021, after meeting with Amazon workers across the country to discuss working conditions and union organizing.COURTESY: TEAMSTERS CANADA WN: One wonders what the expense of Mr. […]
Screaming into silence
By Cindy Blackstock June 30, 2021 photo above: Memorial to residential school victims outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (Shelby Lisk) WN: Just what will it take? . . . See too my post, December 10, 2018: Black Toronto residents 20 times more likely to be shot dead by police, study says. Just what will it […]
The Catholic Church must come clean—completely—about what it did to Native Americans
The Editors June 30, 2021 photo above: A young woman takes part in a rally in Toronto June 6, 2021, after the remains of 215 children were on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in May. For years Indigenous people in Canada have wanted an apology from the pope for the church’s role […]
One priest’s message to the church: ‘Shut your mouth and just listen’
By Maclean’s June 8, 2021 photo above: Shoes are placed on the lawn outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on June 4, 2021 (Darryl Dyck/CP) WN: I think I’ll just shut my mouth and listen . . . You may wish to view the video first, then read some excerpts. excerpts: Last Sunday, Father […]
Driving While Black is still a death sentence
By BRAKKTON BOOKER 04/13/2021 WN: Words fail. . . . Please also see here and here: Black Toronto residents 20 times more likely to be shot dead by police, study says. Canada is also deeply racist: rampant in the criminal justice system. excerpts: [pullquote]There is still reform that could be done like with policing in […]
Vancouver Police Have Reduced Street Checks. They Should Stop Them Altogether, Say Advocates
Jen St. Denis Today | TheTyee.ca Jen St. Denis is The Tyee’s Downtown Eastside reporter. Find her on Twitter @JenStDen. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative. photo above: Vancouver police report they dramatically reduced the number of street checks in 2020. Photo by Jen St. Denis. WN: When every study conducted […]
Manmeet Singh Bhullar Left A Legacy Of Making Others Feel Like They Belong
Manmeet Singh Bhullar Left A Legacy Of Making Others Feel Like They Belong The grief and lessons, five years after I lost my brother. By Tarjinder Bhullar, Special To HuffPost photo: Courtesy of Tarjinder Bhullar WN: This testimonial is powerful and delightful, while tinged with acknowledging a tragic loss to his family–also to Canada and […]
RCMP Perpetuates Misogynistic, Homophobic And Racist Culture: Report
11/19/2020 By Samantha Beattie photo above: Jeff McIntosh/THE CANADIAN PRESS WN: My short response to the current Commissioner: She does not know (or admit knowing) and does not care to know (more); so there will be no external review–and no systemic change–unless imposed and done independently of police and prison personnel. Then who will implement […]
The TSN anchor is a proud voice for the Black community
Kayla Grey is using her platform to fight racism By Claire Sibonney October 5, 2020 WN: The article highlighted below is immensely hopeful! With all colours represented in our extended family, my greatest yearning is that the world over be inflicted with an enduring colour-blindness. Sadly it needs to start in that same extended family, […]
‘He’s Destroyed Conservatism’: The Republican Case Against Trump’s GOP
Stuart Stevens was a winning GOP operative. Now he feels terrible about what he’s done to the country. By MICHAEL GRUNWALD Michael Grunwald is a senior staff writer for Politico Magazine. 08/19/2020 photo above: AP/Patrick Semansky [NOTE: It took an article by Bob Ekblad (Blind and Deaf) in Clarion Journal, noted below, to occasion a revision […]
George Yancy: To Be Black in the US Is to Have a Knee Against Your Neck Each Day
By Woojin Lim,Truthout Published July 18, 2020 photo above: reddit.com WN: A close relative saw the post, The Case for Reparations, ((a long essay about the history of Black repression in the U.S.), and in response merely indicated that these things happen and moved on . . . Another close relative who did not read […]
The Case for Reparations
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole. Story by Ta-Nehisi Coates June 2014 Issue WN: NOTE: This piece appeared in The Atlantic 6 years ago. It […]
Cornel West Says ‘Neo-Fascist Gangster’ Trump and Neoliberal Democrats Expose America as ‘Failed Social Experiment’
WN: Please see in light of the title this outstanding article by Canadian Wade Davis: The Unraveling of America. [pullquote]One knows a “civilization” is dying when small men cast long shadows.–anonymous American pastor, 2020[/pullquote] 1. Introduction to the Post: This post, updated numerous times, has become a kind of dog’s breakfast. One could spend hours […]
Black Toronto residents 20 times more likely to be shot dead by police, study says
Black people made up 61% of cases where police used force that resulted in death, Ontario human rights commission report said Leyland Cecco in Toronto Mon 10 Dec 2018 photo above: rt.com WN: The article from a year and a half ago highlighted below was brought to mind by today’s “Trudeau: Canadians watching US unrest […]
Imperialist Made Crisis of Migrants and Refugees
For the last 18 years, since the new era of war and occupation began, there has been no end to the war, violence, and economic devastation imposed on people around the world by imperialist governments like the U.S., Canada, and the countries of the European Union Published on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 by Common Dreams […]
How Can We Celebrate “Freedom” While Kids Are in Concentration Camps?
How Can We Celebrate “Freedom” While Kids Are in Concentration Camps? By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout Published July 4, 2019 photo above: Pro tip, flag-waver: Your July Fourth “freedom” narrative is a bald-faced lie.Lauren Walker / Truthout WN: And damned if anyone out there for the most part cares!… I have a close relative who […]
Good Friday Sermon and Easter Sermon, 2017 by Randy Klassen
Good Friday Sermon and Easter Sermon, 2017 by Randy Klassen photo above: Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem WN: Randy Klassen is an esteemed member of the CoSA Canada Board, and past National Restorative Justice Coordinator for the Mennonite Central Committee Canada. That position and others were sadly eliminated due to financial restructuring at MCCC […]
Christchurch, the White Victim Complex and Savage Capitalism
Christchurch, the White Victim Complex and Savage Capitalism March 15, 2019 by Ben Debney drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair WN: There is much on “savage capitalism” on this website. This expression likely references Rudyard Kipling’s famous line “The savage wars of peace” from his classic pro-American Empire poem: “The White Man’s Burden: The United States […]
On the Record: Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Devastating Testimony on the SNC-Lavalin Scandal
On the Record: Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Devastating Testimony on the SNC-Lavalin Scandal Trudeau tried to pressure justice minister to cut deal to let corporation avoid bribery prosecution, she says. By Tyee Staff February 27, 2019 | TheTyee.ca photo above:Jody Wilson-Raybould: ‘I come from a long line of matriarchs and I am a truth teller in accordance with the […]
TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. COHEN COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2019
photo above: CNN Politics WN: I’ve spent a 40-year career working with prisoners and ex-prisoners. Many were clearly cons. Many were not. Some (I’m convinced) were entirely innocent. (See for instance Innocence Project Canada, and Innocence Project USA, reflect a moment, and weep.) The advance copy of Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen’s testimony before […]
Trump routinely says things that aren’t true. Few Americans believe him.
Trump routinely says things that aren’t true. Few Americans believe him. Polling A new Washington Post Fact Checker poll Take the quiz to see how your fact-checking skills stack up against others nationwide. Reporting by Glenn Kessler and Scott Clement Graphics by Kevin Schaul Analysis and fact-checking by Emily Guskin, Meg Kelly and Salvador Rizzo […]
Jesus Was Not White. Here Is Why Recognizing That Matters
Newsweek Newsweek Europe 2018-03-31 by: Robyn J. Whitaker photo above: © Provided by IBT Media (UK) Depictions of Jesus WN: Racial bias is overwhelmingly problematic in Western Christianity. Change must surely start with the “most radical of all” proposals according to the article highlighted, “if we were more mindful that the person Christians celebrate […]
The Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and American Exceptionalism
Posted on July 21, 2015 by christian hegemony Challenging Christian Hegemony Practical tools for recognizing and resisting Christian dominance WN: Every time I read an essay so well presented as that highlighted below (and so beyond tragic!), as a committed follower of Jesus, I know that I don’t have to wear the blame, but I […]
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, Vol 3 (3) (2011) pp 54-70 ©2011 International Journal of Critical Pedagogy Permission to quote from paper granted by the author, Dr. Robin diAngelo WN: In our immediate family, we have a non-white daughter and daughter-in-law, a non-white nephew and his non-white partner, and two non-white grandsons. As I reflect […]
CAMPAIGN NONVIOLENCE WEEK OF ACTIONS 2017
TAKE ACTION SEPTEMBER 16-24, 2017! Campaign Nonviolence is a long-term grassroots movement for a culture of peace and nonviolence free from war, poverty, racism, environmental destruction and the epidemic of violence. We invite people and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide to take action during CNV Action Week around the International Day of Peace, September […]
Don’t Just Protect Affirmative Action From Trump—Demand More
Racism’s economic effects are pernicious. August 24, 2017 By Bryce Covert WN: Similar realities obtain of course in Canada. Please see for instance a trilogy edited by Steve Heinrichs of Mennonite Church Canada. Affirmative action – railed against by a close family member – is a drop in the bucket for what is needed. As the […]
Doctrine of Discovery Task Force – Christian Reformed Church of North America
WN: There are so many in dominant North American culture who simply deny any relevance in the past treatment of indigenous peoples to North American realities of today. At least, if acknowledged, they say that nothing can be done about it, and that indigenous peoples should just “get over it, and move on”. They usually […]
The US and Israel Share a History of Ethnic Cleansing
Sunday, May 28, 2017 By Mark Karlin, Truthout | Interview an excerpt: Mark Karlin Historically, what are some examples of the US and Israel sharing a history of ethnic cleansing against Indians and Palestinians, respectively? TRUTHOUT PROGRESSIVE PICK ________________________________________ What will liberation look like for Indigenous America and Palestine? Click on how to order his new […]
‘Death row nun’ explains why she does it
Sister Prejean tells prisoners they’re worth more than their crimes By Agnieszka Krawczynski of The B.C. Catholic Wednesday, 10 May 2017 11:56p photo above: Sister Helen Prejean meets Joel Ivany, the director of the Vancouver Opera’s performance of Dead Man Walking, in Vancouver April 29. (Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic) WN: Canada abolished the death […]
It’s Time for our Prime Minister to Commemorate Nakba Day
May 15, 2017 in the Huffington Post Blog Tyler Levitan, Campaigns Coordinator for Independent Jewish Voices Canada WN: Sadly, Justin Trudeau is a repeated disgrace: regarding women; oil/climate change; Palestine/Israel – and the list gets longer… ********* Editor: Our readers will be interested in this [already happened] free webinar organized by Independent Jewish Voices Canada on May […]
“Pardon Me?!”
“Pardon Me?!” A one-time friend, Lloyd Billingsley, years ago confidently told me that “the left” by definition is ideological, “the right” by contrast normal/normative. Such in turn ideological blindness still gobsmacks me. Lloyd is an intelligent man but profoundly doctrinaire, and like a close acquaintance, Lloyd sadly is highly unloving – even hateful – towards […]
The Criminal Justice System and “Criminal” Justice
image above: hub.wsu.edu WN: This is a true story in which in 2000 we intervened on behalf of a friend, with names changed or removed. The first part was a letter sent to two police officers; the second part an attached reflection. They never responded. They were also never heard from again in relation to […]