Where Hannah Writes

The 2020 presidential elections are one month away. As a white, home owning, middle class, employed, English speaking citizen of the United States, it is possible that the outcome of this election may not have a huge impact on my personal life. However, I have neighbors that I know and that I do not know whose safety, security, and well-being is hanging on this election. Their future is on the ballot, and I am voting. As I read the Bible, I see a recurring theme of caring for the vulnerable and the marginalized. Repeatedly, God's word reminds us to care for the poor, for orphans, for widows, and for sojourners, or immigrants ( James 1:27 , Exodus 23:9 , Deuteronomy 24:19 , Deuteronomy 27:19 , Zechariah 7:9-10 , Jeremiah 7:5-7 , Malachi 3:5 ). One way to care for the marginalized in my current context is to vote for candidates and policies that will serve these people by protecting them and promoting their inherent human dignity. When I vote, I want to remember that everyone on eart...

You wrote a post for social media. You went to a protest. You made a sign. You posted your protest photos on social media. You shared. You retweeted. You liked. And now you want to know if that was enough. You want to know if there is anything else you should do. Signs and protests and social media posts are fine, but I believe the work that we as white people in the United States must do is deeper than attending a protest and retweeting a hashtag. Protests are very good for demanding legislation or specific change and spreading awareness, but protests cannot dismantle white supremacy in our hearts. In order to do this heart level work of dismantling white supremacy, I suggest starting here: We must recognize white supremacy in us. It is easy for us to point out white supremacy in profane language about people of color, in confederate flags, and in the KKK and other hate groups. It is easy to bring attention towards their racism, but it is much more difficult to recognize ...

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 ...

Not going to church on Easter may feel weird. But I would like to suggest that celebrating Easter at home this year may be the best way to align with the spirit and purpose of this celebration. We celebrate Easter as a day to remember that Christ displayed the most wondrous love that this world has ever known through his death and resurrection. He died in our place and rose victorious over death that we may live with him forever. On this celebration of life, we are invited to love our neighbors, as Christ instructed.  How is staying home a way to love our neighbors? By not gathering together physically, we are protecting one another and we are protecting our neighbors, the ones who we come into contact with at work and at the grocery store. By not gathering together physically, we are placing their safety above our desire to fellowship with one another. By not gathering together physically, we are limiting the chances of spreading the virus while being asymptomatic. By not gat...

Teachers across the world are teaching in virutal classrooms and connecting with their students via email, YouTube, Remind, Google Classroom, Zoom, and any other digital platform possible. Originally, I mistakenly thought that remote teaching would give me time to read a book or learn a language. Instead, I am finding that it takes just as much (maybe actually more) time to be a virutal teacher. It has been a juggle of emails and lesson plans and online platforms and grading and zooming and keeping students informed and answering their questions and checking on them and washing my hands. But during these weeks, I have been inspired by my colleagues who are reaching out to their students and creating normacly for them in so many creative ways. I see teachers connectingwith their students every single day on Zoom. I see teachers contacting their students via phone. I see teachers creating opportunities for students to use technology to have class discussions and meaningfully engage with ...