Urban Voices

Prophetic Resilience and the Work of Justice: Reflecting on Dr. King

(This piece was adapted from an earlier essay published by The Center for Social Concerns at The University of Notre Dame. https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/department-blogs/cst) “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.”1 These words of Dr. King are some of his most often quoted and elicit inspiration, both

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How Those Incarcerated Suffer Most in the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is affecting everybody. But like most catastrophes, the majority of us are inconvenienced, yet for the most vulnerable it becomes yet another life and death experience. There has been lots of lively debate recently about releasing nonviolent offenders from jails, prisons and juvenile detention facilities. But what has been missing for me in the

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Racism Alone? – Reflections on the Current National Divide

Some claim that Ferguson and Staten Island demonstrate the existence of racist structures that permeate our society. Others claim that these killings resulted from criminal behavior or “a lack of personal responsibility.” While both positions point to contributing factors, they both continue to ignore culture – a factor that dwarfs the previous two.

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“Step Out The Boat”: Following the Urban Disciple Maker

The national conversation in the wake of Ferguson cannot ignore the voice of a crucial subject matter expert, the urban disciple maker. What does the urban disciple maker see that simplistic analyses from outsider pundits can’t? How does she lead the way forward through the treacherous gauntlet of nihilistic culture, organized crime, pulpit pimps, sexual and familial confusion, prison industrial complex, race hustlers, destructive public policy, government-funded dependency, etc.?

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A Sense of Place

The hope of most urban missionaries is to see people living in urban poverty become leaders in their own community. Once equipped with education and opportunity, instead of moving out of town, we encourage them to stay and make a difference. However, these leaders are often considered a failure by their own community if they don’t relocate. Incarnational ministers receive accolades for their “sacrifice” of living in urban poverty, but community leaders do not.

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