Chauna Lawson, right, with RCRC colleagues at the Women’s March in Las Vegas in January 2018. Intersectionality is a concept that’s getting more and more attention in feminist circles, academia and journalism as our country struggles to face its many disparities. But for me, intersectionality is as much a way of life as it…
By Rev. Cari Jackson We’ve just celebrated the ninety-eighth anniversary of the 19th Constitutional Amendment. On August 26, 1920, this amendment extended voting rights to women. As a woman, I consider my right to vote vitally important. Yet, while I grew up in a black family with three brothers, our parents didn’t teach us much…
Guilt Deflates, but Responsibility Empowers Yesterday’s white nationalist rally in Washington, DC, showed these deplorable supremacists as far fewer and weaker than they’d promised. That’s a positive development, but only a small one on the much deeper and longer journey to confront racism and establish social justice in our country and our communities. Rev. Dr.…
By Rachel Dovek, RCRC Communications Intern In the past two weeks, I have marched in four separate political rallies in Washington, DC, each time representing communities of faith. On the day of each demonstration, I woke up with a purpose — to pray, to rally, to march and to fight injustice. Confronting Power Standing in…
By Rachel Dovek, RCRC Communications Intern The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the free speech of California crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) which exist to dissuade pregnant women from seeking abortions. The ruling sends the matter back to lower courts. The likely result: CPCs, rooted in conservative Christian values, will be allowed…
These are uncertain days for women. What if we lose Roe v. Wade? The question can be worrisome — until we remember how progressive faith leaders boldly responded to bans on abortion just before Roe. Starting 50 years ago, clergy acted on conscience to defy abortion bans through a network called the Clergy Consultation Service…
It’s state fair season, and the promise of music, ferris wheels, farm animals and food always draws big crowds to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. These crowds in turn draw Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to the fairgrounds. At our information table at the fair, we’ve found a fun and easy way to…
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not…
Mother’s Day should not so much be about buying cards and gifts for mothers, as about paying forward the wisdom (or mother wit) we receive from mothers. To fully understand that invites us to explore two questions: (1) How do we define who is a mother? And (2) How can we identify what is true mother wisdom? Mother’s Day, as…
Heroes, Villains and Complicated Figures “Stay with me, God. The night is dark. The night is cold; my little spark Of courage dies. The night is long; Be with me, God, and make me strong.” from A Soldier—His Prayer (Anonymous) As a nation, we tend to determine who is given permission to grieve and who…