ICE is what happens when Americans refuse to learn from Black history.

In this episode, I respond to the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

I draw on the Black history, specifically the example of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

Finally, I turn to Venezuela.

I connect domestic repression to international aggression and argue that the same ideology animating ICE and CBP also fuels an imperial “crusader mentality” is visible in rhetoric about the Western Hemisphere and Venezuela and the theological justifications of power.

In this episode:

* The human stakes: who Renee Good was—and how quickly propaganda rewrites a life

* The hypocrisy of “Christian persecution” narratives under a regime that kills a “devoted Christian” at home

* Why Black communities have long warned that policing protects power, not people

* The Black Panthers, the Mulford Bill, and what armed Black self-defense revealed about American “law and order”

* ICE as a “personal army”: law enforcement powers without meaningful restraint

* Why learning only from Europe’s fascism archives narrows our survival toolkit

* Venezuela, Project 2025’s worldview, and the imperial logic of the “Western Hemisphere”

* Closing with The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance

Mentioned / recommended

* Jemar Tisby’s Substack: Footnotes (subscribe free or paid)

* The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance

* The Justice Journey: cornerstone course (registration opening soon)

* Data + reporting sources: Brennan Center for Justice and The Marshall Project

Who are the Black historians, activists, thinkers, and historical figures you return to when things get dark, and who should others follow? Let us know in the comments.

We’re up to 33 subscribers and counting for the Founding 50!

You can take one of the remaining spots in the first circle of people who helped build this next era of Tisby Media.

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On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, but it did not “free the slaves.”

In truth, the Emancipation Proclamation was extremely limited, provisional, and conditional.

That does not mean it was not important, meaningful, or didn't matter.

Historical accuracy is important, and by the end of this episode you will be able to name precisely what the Emancipation Proclamation did and didn’t do as well as its connection to the Black Christian community.

• Compensated Emancipation Act (1862)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
• 13th Amendment (1865)
• Watch Night Service 

The White House is in all-out propaganda mode with its America 250 campaign. This Footnotes Substack won’t let them co-opt the truth. You can help. Become a paid subscriber today. JemarTisby.Substack.com

Cultural Artifacts is our version of a Top Ten list for the year.

My former podcast co-host G. Tyler Burns and I are back for part two.

This time we’ve got a few albums, some books, and a variety of movies and television shows you’ll want to check out right away!

As always, the rules remain the same: these artifacts don’t have to be new.

They just have to be consumed this year. The things that steadied us. Challenged us. Made us feel more human in a year that demanded a lot.

Listen to PART 1.

Follow TJB on YouTube.

You get an alert for every new episode when you subscribe to my Substack.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

No. I’m not talking about Christmas (that’s wonderful, too).

But if you know me and my former podcast, Pass The Mic, you already know what I mean.

Cultural Artifacts!!!

This is the first Cultural Artifacts episode since PTM ended, so it is only right and fitting that my very first official guest on The Justice Briefing is none other than Rev. G. Tyler Burns!

I honestly can’t imagine a better way to mark this moment.

For longtime PTM listeners, this will feel like slipping into a familiar groove.

As always, the rules remain the same: these artifacts don’t have to be new.

They just have to be consumed this year. The things that steadied us. Challenged us. Made us feel more human in a year that demanded a lot.

This is Part 1 of 2, so consider this your invitation to settle in—and start making your own list.

We’ll be back next Thursday (12/18) for part 2 of Cultural Artifacts.

Catch us right here on Substack Live or on my YouTube page.

What’s on your cultural artifacts list this year? Let us know in the comments.

------

Join the Founding 50—fifty new/upgraded subscribers who invest in scaling Tisby Media and building a legacy institution.

Simply go sign up to be a paid subscriber and select the “Founding Member” level.

JemarTisby.Substack.com

If you’re already a paid subscriber: How to upgrade your subscription.

After countless hours studying Klan documents, rituals, speeches, and theology—and comparing them with what we see today—I am prepared to make this claim clearly:

There is a direct ideological line from the Ku Klux Klan to modern white Christian nationalism.

This is not a clickbait claim. It is a historically grounded conclusion.

Join Me for What Comes Next

Join me this Sunday, December 7 at 4 p.m. ET online for a live Vision Casting Meeting

Register now.

Never Miss an Episode of The Justice Briefing podcast

There are moments in a democracy when the choice becomes stark, the stakes undeniable, and the moral line unmistakable.

Recent events in our nation have made a simple fact painfully clear:

There is no redeeming this presidency. And now it’s time to say what millions are thinking but too few are willing to say out loud.

Trump has to go. Legally. Immediately. Without equivocation.

🚨 I’m hosting a Vision Casting Meeting for something I’ve never publicly unveiled until now—TISBY MEDIA.

This is the multimedia ecosystem we’re building together: historically grounded, theologically rooted, and action oriented.

I want to invite you to be part of the founding moment.

The meeting will take place on Sunday, December 7th at 4 pm ET

If you want to help build something meaningful—something rooted in faith, history, justice, and joy—then join me online on December 7th at 4 pm ET.

Register HERE.

The truth is not valuable only when it produces political fallout. The truth matters because it is the truth.

If nothing else, we owe the survivors honesty.

Truth is liberation. Truth is light. Truth is how people wounded in the dark find their way back toward hope. 

The Justice Briefing

Today, I’m officially announcing that the podcast is becoming The Justice Briefing

Welcome to the first episode.

The Justice Briefing brings you the most important issues of the day, and interprets them at the intersection of faith, history, joy, and justice.

It’s designed as a constructive alternative to the far-right Christian media ecosystem, helping people interpret events through truth, not fear.

If we are going to resist culture war chatter and podcasts that play on fear and distortion, then we need clarity not just commentary.

We need a briefing for the brave. And that’s exactly what The Justice Briefing is.

Take Action

* Subscribe on iTunes

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* Share the trailer

Your investment fuels the growth of The Justice Briefing. Become a free or paid subscriber today. JemarTisby.Substack.com 

What can a Star Wars series teach us about authoritarianism, resistance, and the state of democracy in America? 

In this episode of Footnotes, Jemar Tisby sits down with his friend and producer, Beau York, a man steeped in Star Wars lore. Together they explore how Andor—a show set in a galaxy far, far away—becomes an urgent mirror for our political present. T

hey discuss the rise of empire, the courage of ordinary people, and the power of storytelling to stir the soul when facts fall flat. 

Whether you're a sci-fi fan, a student of history, or someone longing for hope in dark times, this episode is for you.

***NOTE: This episode has spoilers.

You can follow beau at instagram.com/incognitbeau and check out his new project at www.MidnightHTX.com

Check out Jemar's (spoiler free) Substack article: Why You Should Be Watching Andor Right Now

Dr. Beth Allison Barris the James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University. She earned her PhD in Medieval History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the bestselling author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.

In this episode we talk about her latest book, Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry.

We discuss:

• The role of the pastor's wife
• Complementarianism and how it bolsters gendered divisions in church leadership
• The "First Lady" in the Black church tradition and how it differs from white evangelical conceptions of the "pastor's wife"
• The aggressive sexism and patriarchy we're seeing in the political realm and how that connects to the church

1. Order Dr. Barr's book HERE.
2. Remember to leave a review of Footnotes
3. Subscribe to my newsletter: JemarTisby.Substack.com

In this episode of Footnotes, I sit down with investigative journalist Katherine Stewart to discuss her latest book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. 

Katherine’s work, including her previous book The Power Worshipers, which inspired the documentary God & Country, exposes the hidden networks of money, power, and religious extremism shaping our political landscape. 

We dive into the key players behind the antidemocratic movement—funders, thinkers, sergeants, infantry, and power brokers—exploring why financial influence is central to their success. 

Katherine unpacks the pervasive lies fueling these movements, the complex web of organizations behind them, and the racial and religious dynamics at play. 

This is a conversation about the urgent threats to democracy—and the resistance rising to meet them. If you care about the future of American democracy, you’ll want to listen to this one from start to finish.

Get the book: Money, Lies, and God

Support Jemar's Work: JemarTisby.Substack.com