Injustice is bigger than wrongs done from one person to another. Unjust structures, laws, and worldviews have been embedded in our history, our culture, and even in the ways we think about ourselves and others; these are obvious as much as they are hidden.
The resources below focus on restoring justice in the structures, institutions, and worldviews that keep each of us in bondage instead of living in freedom.
By: Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert
"Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good.
But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself.
Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out"
< By Sojourner Trurh
Performed by Nkechi at TEDxFiDiWomen >
"Sojourner Truth was the self-given name of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill,Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Her best-known extemporaneous speech on gender inequalities, "Ain't I a Woman?", was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secureland grants from the federal government for former slaves." - From TEDxFiDiWomen
Spoken word poetry by Daniel Beaty
"A child of an incarcerated parent himself, Daniel’s poem KNOCK KNOCK is an Internet sensation receiving millions of views and has been made into a children's book, also titled KNOCK KNOCK, published by Little Brown Books.
Raised in Dayton, Ohio, a child of a heroin addicted incarcerated father in and out prison 60 times and an older brother addicted to crack cocaine also in and out prison, Daniel Beaty is a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform as well as a voice for the impact of mass incarceration on children and families.
Daniel’s work [...] is deeply rooted in a desire to tell stories that illuminate our shared humanity by giving voice to the voiceless and often overlooked in our society. He believes story is at the heart of every challenge and every possibility, and we individually and collectively have the power to write a story that creates opportunity and access for all."
- Excerpts taken from Daniel Beaty's website, www.danielbeaty.com
By Howard Thurman
"In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower--it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.?
By Michelle Alexander
"As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them.
In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America."
By James H. Cone
"The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk."
Written and performed By Andra Day; Cowritten with Jenn Decilveo
After its release in 2015, Andra Day's "Rise Up" became the battle cry of the Black Lives Matter movement. Day explains to Time magazine, " ...Black Lives Matter represents standing up to oppression and persecution [...] I want to tell the truth about the racial terror that’s happened and that’s still happening today in this country. Too often we change the narrative to make things more digestible, but the reality is, if we don’t address injustice honestly and openly, we’ll never heal." For more, read the whole interview here.
By Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith
Through a nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 people and an additional 200 face-to-face interviews, Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith probed the grassroots of white evangelical America. They found that despite recent efforts by the movement's leaders to address the problem of racial discrimination, evangelicals themselves seem to be preserving America's racial chasm. In fact, most white evangelicals see no systematic discrimination against blacks. But the authors contend that it is not active racism that prevents evangelicals from recognizing ongoing problems in American society. Instead, it is the evangelical movement's emphasis on individualism, free will, and personal relationships that makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates racial inequality. Most racial problems, the subjects told the authors, can be solved by the repentance and conversion of the sinful individuals at fault.
Combining a substantial body of evidence with sophisticated analysis and interpretation, the authors throw sharp light on the oldest American dilemma. In the end, they conclude that despite the best intentions of evangelical leaders and some positive trends, real racial reconciliation remains far over the horizon.
By Gary Haugen
"Collective compassion has meant an overall decrease in global poverty since the 1980s, says civil rights lawyer Gary Haugen. Yet for all the world's aid money, there's a pervasive hidden problem keeping poverty alive. Haugen reveals the dark underlying cause we must recognize and act on now.
Human rights attorney As founder of International Justice Mission, Gary Haugen fights the chronically neglected global epidemic of violence against the poor." - From TED2015
By M. Daniel Carroll R.
"Immigration is one of the most pressing issues on the national agenda. This accessible book provides biblical and ethical guidance for readers who are looking for a Christian perspective on the immigration issue. As both a Guatemalan and an American, the author has immersed himself in this issue and is uniquely qualified to write about it. Drawing on key biblical ideas, he speaks to both the immigrant culture and the host culture, arguing that both sides have much to learn about the debate. This timely, clear, and compassionate resource will benefit all Christians who are thinking through the immigration issue."
If we imagine residents of a neighborhood resourced and empowered to engage in communal life, we must also imagine the physical, political and economic structures that allow them to do so.