Dr. Meghan McMahonJohnson rejoins Mark and Rex to further discuss issues of race and equality. The three look to identify ways forward to speak out against racism and inequality.

TRANSCRIPT

0:02

Welcome to Jessup think I'm your host Mark Moore. On today's episode, we are rejoined by Dr. Megan McMahon Johnson to further our conversation on race, the church and equality, we have so much to learn, and so far to go. But it's a journey we must take. Hope you enjoy the show. Hope it causes you to think more deeply about these issues.

0:31

All right, Megan, and Rex who want to continue our conversation and kind of continue this look at race in America injustice, inequality, and specifically in the church? And that Jessup you know, and I think framing today's conversation through the lens of what are ways that we can move forward in this conversation? You know, we've, we've kind of talked a lot about some different areas, we've we've looked back at Dr. King and his letter from Birmingham Jail, and which I think, for me is just again, been so helpful in framing how we can view it now particularly in the church. And I've just been doing a you know, kind of a deep dive into the 1960s, particularly kind of that 63 to 68. So, Rex, oh, you know, bring some history lessons, and then you can correct me today.

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Since I'm by far the oldest person I think. Actually, I actually remember some of that. Yeah, you have first hand knowledge. I remember being in elementary school and having to close the windows on our bus, because of the tear gas in the streets because of slam stations and stuff. Oh, wow. Yeah. Where were you at? And so I was in New Mexico. Yes. New Mexico. Yeah. And in Albuquerque, and yeah. I mean, we had our own, you know, race riots there. I mean, honestly, we did. And I remember going downtown after one of them, because everybody did just to see the damage. And honestly, it's, you know, sort of voyeurism, I guess, right? Yeah. But I remember going down Central Avenue in Albuquerque. This is when I'm in elementary school, actually. And seeing every window smashed out and having the National Guard on the street, you know, and as a kid, you know, seeing soldiers in their jeeps this would be for Humvees, this jeeps? I mean, we're surprising. They're not like riding donkeys are curious. Anyway, long ago. But I do remember just being, you know, with their 50 caliber machine, I don't know if they were loaded or not, but they were riding around, it was just, gosh, oh my god. Wow. And so, yeah, the 60s were something they really were,

2:45

as a truth. And, and I think we can, for me why I've been kind of diving into that, because it's like, Man, what are the lessons we didn't learn at that time, that we can hopefully 60 years later, Start to begin to learn, you know, and, and, and that way, you have the luxury of looking back and be like, wow, this is these are key areas where we missed the conversation? Because it seems to be I mean, there's been kind of these obviously, pivotal moments, right? I mean, you have emancipation in the late 60s of the 1800s. Right? And we know that that didn't solve the problem. Right? It's it solved one of the problems. But it didn't solve and that's, that's one of the things that's been interesting to me. I've been reading a book by Mark Noll. That is God and race in American politics. I actually have that book in my actually have an amazing shelf. There we go. And it's it has been very fascinating. He kind of goes all the way back to kind of the Civil War era and the Reconstruction Era and moving forward. And he made a connection for me and a distinction that I think were extremely helpful. There we go. If you were if you podcast listeners could see us right now. Hold up that but but he made, he made the connection, and a distinction that I think was pretty helpful. This. For one, it was a distinction between the slavery in the New Testament and the the transatlantic slave trade.