Category: justice
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Michael Brown and the Discipline of Seeing
Since first learning about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO I’ve been thinking about different things I’ve wanted to write. Parenting a newborn and some travel have kept me from blogging, which is probably not a bad thing: most of my initial thoughts have been articulated far better by others. If you’ve not…
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The Racist Scapegoat
Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angels Clippers, has said some despicable things. “In your lousy f**ing Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with — walking with black people.” There’s more and if you’ve somehow missed the story you can easily search for more of the man’s ugly opinions. It’s disgusting stuff, made more…
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Chicago-area Clergy Call on Sen. Mark Kirk to Help Illinois’ Unemployed
Thanks to my friend Zach Schmidt at Bread for the World I’ve had the chance to add my name to the following letter to one of my senators about supporting the extension of emergency unemployment compensation. March 7, 2014 Dear Senator Kirk, As religious leaders, we are tasked with ensuring the needs of our communities—both spiritual and…
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A Sermon: Justice for Jordan Davis
Here’s a lightly edited version of the sermon I preached at New Community Covenant Church on Sunday. Unlike most of my sermons this one was written quickly, after the news broke from the Michael Dunn trial on Saturday evening. In November 2012, 17-year-old African American Jordan Davis and his friends were parked outside a convenience…
David W. Swanson 