reClaimed

In Part 5 of Redlining & White Noise, we talk with our friend, Jay Jenkins, Harris County Project Attorney with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. Our topic, Telling the Truth About History, builds on last week's conversation about the discovery of the skeletal remains of 95 African-Americans in Sugar Land, Tx. As an attorney and advocate for criminal justice reform, Jay shares how he got involved with Reggie Moore's efforts, how this discovery impacts our understanding of history, and how the convict-leasing system ungirds mass incarceration in America.

Information about Jay Jenkins is here:

https://www.texascjc.org/jay-jenkins-jd

In Part 4 of Redlining & White Noise, a conversation with Reginald Moore about 95 Bodies & Convict-Leasing. A former correctional officer with the Texas Department of Corrections, Reggie has spent years uncovering the dehumanizing policies and practices of convict-leasing, which began in the years of Reconstruction. He has discovered the remains of 95 bodies buried beneath the soil of the proposed site of a new school in Sugar Land, Texas. Reggie works tirelessly to represent their voices and seek accountability for what happened.

The 95 bodies are a small percentage of the more than 3500 black Texans who were exploited and died in the convict leasing system between 1866 and 1912.

For more, visit reclaimedpodcast.com/shownotes

In Part 3 of Redlining & White Noise, we go to the campus of Texas Southern University to speak with Dr. Merline Pitre about the tumultuous period in American history known as Reconstruction and its aftermath.

Merline Pitre is Professor of History and former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Science at Texas Southern University. A former President of the Texas State Historical Association, she is author of several books including "Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: The Black Leadership of Texas, 1868–1898, Revised Edition", and "In Struggle against Jim Crow: Lulu B. White and the NAACP, 1900–1957".

In Part 2 of Redlining & White Noise, we speak with Dr. Gerald Horne about America's history of enslaving human beings from Africa.

Gerald Horne is an African-American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. Dr. Horne is the author of more than thirty books and one hundred scholarly articles and reviews. His current research includes an examination of U.S.-Southern African relations since the so-called "Anglo-Boer War" at the end of the 19th century and an analysis of the Political Economy of the music called "Jazz" from the late 19th century to the present.

Gerald Horne's latest book, discussed in this episode, is "The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in 17th Century North America and the Carribean." It can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Settler-Colonialism-Supremacy-Capitalism-ebook/dp/B075XSKT86/ref=la_B001HCVSVK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532103999&sr=1-2

In Part 1 of our new series Redlining & White Noise: The Otherization of African Americans, we speak with Rudy Rasmus at his coffee shop in Houston, ThroughGood.

Rev. Rudy Rasmus is a pastor, author, and global humanitarian. Along with his wife, Juanita, he leads the nine-thousand-member St. John's United Methodist Church in Houston, one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country. Pastor Rudy coordinates domestic and global anti-hunger initiatives in conjunction with concert tours by longtime friend and church member Beyoncé Knowles. A former columnist for O Magazine, Rudy and his wife Juanita have two daughters.

View and purchase Rudy's book Love Period. When All Else Fails

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Gabriel Lopez and George Nunez, to discuss Homeboy Industries, how it helped them change their lives, and how they experience kinship. Gabriel Lopez is a Senior Navigator at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, the largest gang intervention program in the world and founded by Father Greg Boyle. George Nunez is a member of the Security staff at Homeboy Industries. Both are former clients. The Homeboy Industries website is here: http://www.homeboyindustries.org/

In this encore episode, Charles and Matt examine forgiveness and its challenges, its relationship to the criminal justice system and kinship, and the importance of seeking it.

Miroslav Volf's book "The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World" is discussed in this episode. It can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/End-Memory-Remembering-Rightly-Violent/dp/0802829899

In this encore episode, Charles, Matt and, Gregg discuss the powerful meaning of Good Friday, the road to the cross, the suffering of God, and the emergence of light.

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined for another encore episode by Mustafa Tameez, Managing Director of Outreach Strategists, for an illuminating discussion about ISIL, ways to combat terrorism in the US, and how our faith communities provide the key to combating it.

Mustafa has had a distinguished career in public affairs and communications and has also advised successful candidates for mayor of Houston, state legislature, and Congress, as well as nonprofits. He has consulted on national security with the Department of Homeland Security. Mustafa is a regular contributor to Fox News, the Houston Chronicle, nd the Texas Tribune. More information about Mustafa is available here: http://www.outreachstrategists.com/who-we-are/leadership/

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Mustafa Tameez, Managing Director of Outreach Strategists, to discuss the American criminal justice system, how we got to the present era of mass incarceration, and where we go from here. Mustafa has had a distinguished career in public affairs and communications and has also advised successful candidates for mayor of Houston, state legislature, and Congress, as well as nonprofits. He has consulted on national security with the Department of Homeland Security. Mustafa is a regular contributor to Fox News, the Houston Chronicle, nd the Texas Tribune. More information about Mustafa is available here: http://www.outreachstrategists.com/who-we-are/leadership/