What other outlets connect Supreme Court rulings with faith, history, and justice? Not many. Support independent truth-telling. Become a paid subscriber today.
Conservatives on the Supreme Court dealt what amounts to a “death blow” to the Voting Rights Act.
They said that race cannot be a factor in creating gerrymandered districts, but if the districts are divided up to favor one political party over another, that’s just fine.
But you don’t have to be a legal scholar to understand what really matters here.
The effect is to dilute the voting power of Black people and other people of color who tend to vote Democratic.
But the entire decision rests on a faulty understanding of racism and how to address it.
This assumption has a name: colorblindness.
We must push back against the idea of colorblindness as a virtue. It is not.
If race caused the inequality, then race must be named in order to create equity.
Trampling on the Memory of Those Who Marched
In addition to the erosion of voting rights and equal representation, what disturbs me is the way this decision tramples on the legacy of civil rights activists.
It too the March from Selma and “Bloody Sunday” for politicians to muster the will to pass the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
The decision by conservative justices on the Supreme Court dismisses their labor and sacrifice.
It’s an affront to all Black people and to anyone who desires a multiracial, participatory democracy.
Now Is Not the Time for Numbness
We are daily deluged with gloom and doom.
We can easily become numb to the constant stream of bad news. We can succumb to learned helpless and think that all our efforts to resist won’t do any good, so why even try.
Do not look away. Do not let this crime against democracy pass as soon as the headlines move on.
Now is the time to mobilize, not for short-term, reactive action, but for the long journey of justice.
We cannot do everything, but we all must do something.
Listen to the episode for practical ways to engage.
In this episode you’ll hear about…
What the Supreme Court just did to the Voting Rights Act and why some are calling it a “death blow”
How shifting from discriminatory impact to intent makes voting rights cases nearly impossible to win
Why this decision could dilute Black voting power while appearing race-neutral
The long history of voting rights—from Dred Scott v. Sandford to the Fifteenth Amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965
How racism adapts over time and why “race-neutral” laws can still produce unequal outcomes
The flawed logic of colorblindness and why ignoring race doesn’t solve racial inequality
Why many churches are ill-equipped to respond to this moment—and how that happened
Practical ways to mobilize, dissent, and take action—from local engagement to national advocacy
Where have you seen colorblindness being taught or celebrated? Are there times when it can be helpful, or is it mostly misguided?
Host a Screening of Jesus Was a Migrant
Bring the conversation to your church, campus, or community. If we want a different story to spread, we have to carry it ourselves.
Start here: Screening Interest Form
Share the Trailer
Share the trailer below with friends, colleagues, individuals, and groups.
Copy & Paste:
Hey! Check out the trailer to this new short documentary, “Jesus Was a Migrant.” Let me know what you think!
