Race, Ethnicity, Racism

[1] Robert Graetz’s memoir echoes through the years, from mid-1950’s Alabama, to the present. And we would do well to note the resonances in 2025, the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. [2] Graetz wrote his memoir in his early 60s, reflecting on the tumultuous events that had happened 35 years prior. He could’ve […]

[1] Maternal health, a vital component of public health, encompasses the physical, mental, and social well-being of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Effective maternal health services, which include access to prenatal care, nutritional support, mental health resources, and postpartum care, are essential for reducing maternal mortality and fostering healthy outcomes for mothers […]

[1] After years of activism and protests, the simple statement “Black Lives Matter” became more than a hashtag or a chant. It made the leap from the streets to homes, offices, and institutions. It became part of our personal conversations and our national conversation. Even those who react negatively cannot deny it or make it […]

[1] Wired For Racism opens with a helpful introduction that sets a foundation for the chapters to come. Readers learn about the dichotomy between the authors, with Woodall being “a millennial Black Baptist preacher” and Ellingsen “a baby boomer, a White minister” (Norwegian-American Lutheran.)[1] This contrast is important because it sheds light on the minds […]

[1] In this essay I want to ask how a person who identifies as white and Christian might live in the United States amidst the ongoing legacies of slavery.[i] There are countless other questions before us—questions about the shape of Black lives, not least!—and I do not want to pretend that the questions of this […]

[1] I want to begin with a difficult and inexplicable truth: white racism is alive and well in the institutional and cultural life of the United States of America. Since the death of George Floyd, there have been multiple calls for racial reckoning in the United States and around the globe. [1] These calls reveal […]

Topics of racism and justice are some of the most difficult to discuss for Americans.  One way to start a discussion is to use a dialogic method of discussion.  Such a method asks small groups to agree to speak and to listen on a topic following a certain order that encourages time for silence between […]

[1] On January 6, 2022, the Lutheran Ethicists gathered by Zoom before the virtual annual meeting of the Society for Christian Ethics.  The topic was about the nature and possibility of justice in America after nearly 250 years of slavery and not quite 160 years of post-slavery systemic racism.  This issue of JLE presents the […]

[1] As a white male middle-aged pastor with a beautiful family and photogenic dog, I couldn’t possibly be more of the image of white privilege in the church.  Which is why it was important for me to read White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. [2] The book White Too Long […]

[1] The February 2021 Issue of JLE was intended to create a place for diverse opinions and deeper deliberations about racism, justice, and equity in the ELCA at a time when the nation is reeling with both systemic racism and racist violence. The issue more than missed this mark.  It created a painful distraction for […]