Curated content for the church
Change a few numbers here, insert a current event there, and pastor Tom Skinner's sermon from the 1970 Urbana conference could easily be about today. His impassioned, direct speech touches on the history of racism, the silence of the church and evangelicals, law and order, politics, Americanism, evangelism, and much more. Powerful and highly recommended.
Hope in Jesus. Trust in Jesus. Most Christians would unequivocally agree that those two statements are an important part of being a Christ follower. Therefore it is sobering that a large part of Scandalous Witness takes aim at patriotism being conflated as a Christian orthodox principle.
A powerful personal narrative from Winfred Rembert who survived a lynching as a teenager. A must watch.
Former gang member Victor Rios grew up in the ghetto of Oakland, California so he knows the realities of Black and Latino males in the ghetto, but this is not his story. Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys is based off of Rios Ph.D. thesis at Berkeley that he penned after spending three years following 40 Black and Latino males in Oakland.
The founder and curator of the New Jim Crow museum, Dr. David Pilgrim, gives short history lessons as he walks viewers through his museum. One of the points that the museum attempts to get across (and does well) is the pervasive nature of the racist laws, caricatures, and violence against Black people across the United States. Well worth 23 minutes of your time. This is an excellent video for a history class or small group discussion.
Although on the long side this article has it all. It is a fantastic starting point to learn about policing history, what police reforms to advocate for along with a personal story that ties it all together. Ultimately it is up to us citizens to decide whether we want a police force that "enforce(s) every law on the books by identifying and punishing any infraction" or one that "help(s) to maintain community standards of public safety and order."
On average police officers in academies across the United States spend 60 hours learning how to shoot a gun while spending just eight hours on mental health and communication - Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro want to change that. Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops provides an intimate look at the partners and best friends as they respond to mental health calls for the San Antonio Police Department's Mental Health Unit, provide training to their fellow policemen, and navigate every day life.
From the report issued by President Harry Truman in 1947 to the Kerner Commission ordered by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 Americans have known for decades that racism has been embedded in police departments across the 50 states. Police brutality along with a culture of racial bias has put us in the current situation in the 2020's. Relevant Magazine's Tyler Huckabee says enough is enough. We don't need anymore commissions or studies, what we need is meaningful police reform.
For over a decade police officers Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro have been part of the San Antonio Police Department's Mental Health Unit. In thousands of interactions with people in various states of mental health crisis they have used force only one time.
Every forty hours a Black man is killed in America by police. The seemingly endless onslaught of violence against Black bodies makes it readily apparent that there must be changes to the policing culture. Author Rashawn Ray says there are two reforms we should make to change police accountability. One, officers fired for police misconduct should not be allowed to work in law enforcement again and two, we should restructure civilian payouts by moving them from taxpayer money to police department insurance policies.
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