Where Hannah Writes

Zacchaeus was a tax collector, he was very wealthy, and he was short. In  Luke 19:1-10 , we read about his encounter with Jesus Christ and his decision to make amends for the wrong that he had done. He promises to pay back the people that he had cheated and to give away half of his possessions in order to fix the harm that he had caus ed to his community by amassing wealth at their expense. Essentially, Zacchaeus chose to pay reparations. He chose to repair the wrong that he had done by paying money to the wronged parties. That is reparations. Though repentance, transformation, and love for our neighbor are all important aspects of the Christian faith and one could argue that reparations are closely tied to all three of those, reparations remain a controversial - and highly avoided - topic in many churches. But I think we need to talk about it, and I think that as white Christians, we should consider paying reparations. A (very) brief review of history and an invitation Human being...

This list of resources for learning about and fighting against racism, injustice, and white supremacy is not exhaustive and will be continually updated, so check back later to see what else has been added. Books to read: The Color of Compromise , by Jemar Tisby I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness , by Austin Channing Brown Divided by Faith , by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith Just Mercy , by Bryan Stevenson White Awake , by Daniel Hill From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century , by William A. Darity and A. Kirsten Mullen Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America , by Ibram X. Kendi Podcasts and video web series to listen to: Pass the Mic We Talk Different Truth's Table Footnotes with Jemar Jude 3 Project Seeing White The Next Question Reclaiming my Theology YouTube videos to watch: Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo Race, Trauma, and th...

Over the past few days, I have seen a variety of responses regarding the riots and lootings that have been taking place in cities across our country. This post is directed to all of my white friends and neighbors who may feel angry or upset about these riots and lootings. When black and other marginalized people in our country have been oppressed, abused, and murdered for over 400 years, we don't get to tell anyone what to do with their pain and anger. We don't get to dictate how people respond to the pain and injustice that we have caused by our silence, by our church's silence, by our colorblindness, by our eurocentric curriculums, by our denial of white privilege, by our culutral appropriation, by all of the ways that we subtly embody white supremacy day after day that contribute to a national climate that empowers murderers and permits them to sleep in their own bed in their own home after taking a black person's life on camera. We don't get to complain when w...

Ahmaud Arbery died, and there is blood on our hands. It is his blood and Botham Jean's blood and Atatiana Jefferson's blood and Tamir Rice's blood and Philando Castile's blood and Trayvon Martin's blood and Eric Garner's blood and the blood of dozens of other black men and women who have become hashtags and the uncounted others whose stories died with them. I know, you are not the one who pulled the trigger. Neither did I. I believe murder is wrong. I'm sure you would agree. How is it, then, that I can say that this man's blood is on our hands? And whose hands am I even referring to? The hands in question are my own. I am writing about my hands. As a citizen of the United States of America, as a Christian, as a human of European ancestry with white skin, there is blood on my hands. It might be on yours, too. Ahmaud Arbery's blood is on our hands because white supremacy is present in our hearts and our homes and our churches. We would never say ...

This past week, Christians have been invited to sign a statement crafted by 14 men that addresses the gospel and social justice. Published on September 4, 2018, the statement has been signed by 6414 people to date. The statement, which includes an introduction and 14 affirmations and denials on a range of topics, greatly troubled me upon reading it. I feel compelled to respond upon considering (1) my students, my neighbors, my family members, my friends, my colleagues, and total strangers who are not believers who may encounter this statement and assume that it accurately represents the beliefs of all Christians and the God who reveals himself in scripture, and (2) my brothers and sisters in Christ who are racial, ethnic, or linguistic minorities in the United States and may feel unheard, unimportant, and unvalued by the contents of this statement. For the sake of my time, I am addressing only my five biggest concerns with the statement by asking the following quesitons. What is t...

After a great deal of anticipation,  Black Panther came out this week. This Marvel film that tells the story of the superhero, Black Panther, with a predominantly black cast has broken records as the highest grossing film with an African American director. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie recently, and I have a few suggestions for fellow white people. 1. Do not be outraged if black friends and neighbors celebrate this movie. Try to imagine how you would feel if it was hard for you to find a movie that represents your culture, features actors and actresses who share your ethnic heritage in important and heroic and genius roles as valued people, and does not portray people who look like you in a negative light. That's probably hard for you to imagine, considering that approximately 73% of characters with speaking roles in movies made from 2007 to 2015 are white according to a  study  done by the University of Southern California. We see our own lives and identiti...

The Washington Post has collected data on all people who have been killed by police officers since January 1, 2015. According to that data, in 134 of those police killings between January 1, 2015 and September 20, 2016 the victim was unarmed. The following commentary is based on the data related to those 134 unarmed victims. According to Census Bureau’s March 2016 Current Population Survey , 61% of the United States population is white, 12% is black, and 18% is hispanic. Therefore, would mathematically estimate that approximately 61% of those victims were white, 12% of those victims were black, and 18% of those victims were hispanic. This would result in 81 white victims, 16 black victims, and 24 hispanic victims. However, according to the data collected by The Washington Post, there have been 51 white victims, 53 black victims, and 23 hispanic victims. Here is a chart displaying the data: Race Census Bureau’s March 2016 Current Population Survey Mathematica...

I've been thinking about white privilege. It's kind of uncomfortable to think about. I don't like thinking about the sick system that I am a part of - the system that I have unknowing contributed to and benefited from at great cost. My understanding is incomplete (and will never be complete) and perhaps partially incorrect. Nevertheless, I invite you to join this conversation with me. Here are some things that I have identified as white privilege: When I learn about the history of my country, I see that people who look like me are the ones who fought for the land that I call home. The textbooks that I read all through school told the stories of people who look like me and their contributions to the world. Unless, of course, I took one of those elective courses, African American Literature or Asian Studies. The money that I use to buy things has pictures of people who look like me on it. A majority of my elected officials have the same skin color as me. My failure ha...