How does religion shape American politics? Historian and author @jemartisby.bsky.social joins #TheContext to explore the deep connections between Christianity, race, and political life in America—and how the past continues to shape the present. https://bit.ly/GetTheContext

MLK called for a “minister’s march” after Bloody Sunday in Selma, 1965. At the same time, Jerry Falwell said pastors should stay out of politics. A bit more than a decade later he founded the Moral Majority with the slogan, “Get ‘em saved. Get ‘em baptized. Get ‘em registered.”

Every vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general is a vote to continue the coverup of the Epstein Files.

The latest from @convocation.bsky.social. We unpack Steven Miller’s chilling speech, which trades in Nazi tropes about the deformed/abnormal physical characteristics of the “enemy within.” @kkdumez.bsky.social @jemartisby.bsky.social @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/convocat...

Why Steven Miller’s Chilling Speech Matters

Plus the latest from the Convocation Unscripted team.

open.substack.com

Copy edits submitted. 🙌🏾 Coming January 2027.

The way many right-wing Christians embraced the “Cyrus anointing” to explain why the president’s character didn’t matter reveals how they often use religion. It’s not to become more Christlike. They created a theological permission structure in service of their true goals…

I’ve been saying for years now, “This is not business as usual.” Last night’s speech was as clear a demonstration of that as any. Kristin, Robby, and I hopped on a live broadcast and recorded our reactions in real time. Let me know what you thought the speech signaled and how we should respond.

Trump Plots Midterm Chaos

An Impromptu TCU Live Watch Party

substack.com

The new class of over 100 new attorneys and staff for the Civil Rights Division of the DoJ. A nearly all-white cohort is now charged with determining what counts as discrimination in critical cases nationwide. Share this so people know what we're up against.

Excited to share our new study. Upshot: The more rightward White adults place Jesus on the ideological spectrum, the more solidarity they feel with other Whites. BUT it's the opposite for Black adults: the more conservative the Jesus, the less racial solidarity they feel. 1/6 doi.org/10.1093/socr...

Historians speak truth of the dead. Whether that truth is good or ill was up to them.

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Pundits: "Don't speak ill of the dead." Historians:

Black leaders across the South have expressed a visceral shock in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision gutting the Voting Rights Act. But as the surprise wears off, a sense of isolation has begun to set in among some. 🔗 politi.co/4vSW46T

Hundreds of words about a “second Reconstruction” and zero mention of Black Americans. Not even a nod to the ways race has and still creates dysfunction in the government. A massive underestimation of how race divides people and how that limits what is politically possible. Very disappointing.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 2mo ago

"Enacting a Second Reconstruction will require not only sustained commitment from Democrats at a moment when they will face powerful incentives to look away, but also the support of principled, non-MAGA Republicans."

"So here is my suggestion: Never cover Douglas Wilson in isolation. If you fly a crew to Moscow, talk to the people in town who left his church because of abuse."

This Is NOT Business As Usual@jemartisby.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In the latest splashy media treatment, Christian dominionist pastor, Doug Wilson said, “We’re getting a respectful hearing. Maybe not a friendly hearing, but we’re getting a respectful one. And that is progress.” But his views are shameful. And that’s why I have issues with the ways he’s covered.

In the latest splashy media treatment, Christian dominionist pastor, Doug Wilson said, “We’re getting a respectful hearing. Maybe not a friendly hearing, but we’re getting a respectful one. And that is progress.” But his views are shameful. And that’s why I have issues with the ways he’s covered.

What Mainstream Media Keep Getting Wrong about Douglas Wilson

Why the issue isn't whether to cover him but how to cover him.

open.substack.com

On the Fourth of July, a white nationalist group called Patriot Front took to the streets wearing white masks and sunglasses. On September 13, 1926, when thousands of Ku Klux Klan members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue. A century apart. Same energy.

Exactly 100 years apart. Same energy. #America #FourthofJuly

We know that one quote where Frederick Douglass says, “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." Now you can listen to me read the whole speech!

July 4th 2021: "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July"

Podcast Episode · Pass The Mic · July 4, 2021 · 1h 12m

podcasts.apple.com

When we learn about Juneteenth, few people ever read the actual announcement. This is General Order No. 3 with annotations about the significance. What stands out to you most in the actual order? #Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth! Here are some basic facts and history to revisit. Feel free to share!

The graphic below is a side-by-side comparison of what America 250 and Juneteenth each say about freedom, history, and what this anniversary truly represents. When you think about Juneteenth and the Fourth of July, do you celebrate one, both, or neither? What shapes that decision for you?

I had never heard of Josh Hokit before tonight and I’d be glad never to hear of or from him again. At UFC 250, he invoked Jesus’s name, immediately followed by a crude joke about someone’s mother and then proceeded to hurl a disgusting insult at Michelle Obama. 1/

“The cage fight along with the overall stance of administration officials conveys the most adolescent form of manhood. It’s an image taken from the testosterone fueled fever dreams of college frat boys posturing as Grade A prime beefcake men.”

They Built a Cage at the White House

What UFC Freedom 250 tells us about power, masculinity, and how leading the nation is all just a "gimmick"

open.substack.com

To kick off PRRI’s Day of Giving, Senior Democracy Fellow @jemartisby.bsky.social shares how PRRI makes public opinion data accessible to scholars and thought leaders. Help us keep the data behind the headlines free, rigorous, and independent. Support our work: prri.org/data-democra...

Trump was shown for 10 seconds during national anthem, and was booed worse than the Spurs are being booed now during their intros.

“Life is a gimmick, if you think about it, right? But it’s a good gimmick.” This is Trump talking about the UFC fight he ordered held on the South Lawn of the White House grounds. But it’s actually more revealing, isn’t it? That one sentence gives away his entire outlook...it’s all a gimmick.

They Built a Cage at the White House

What UFC Freedom 250 tells us about power, masculinity, and how leading the nation is all just a "gimmick"

open.substack.com

So, to sum it up, the president made a claim, and the reporter he made the claim to simply asked what his evidence was for that claim, and he proceeded to meltdown into a tantrum and stomped away pouting.

In the period immediately following the Civil War, Black men held office. Schools were built. Wealth was accumulated. It was called Reconstruction. White Americans dismantled it. They retaliated not because Reconstruction failed, but because it was working. That pattern is repeating today.

The U.S. church didn't just fail to oppose racism. In many cases, it organized to defend it. Pastors wrote the theology. Denominations drew the lines. And they called it faithful Christianity. We can see the pattern again today with white Christian nationalism.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled this week that Alabama can use a congressional map in the 2026 midterms previously found to have intentionally discriminated against Black voters. Some Democrats say the decision shows that major reforms to the Court are needed. https://bit.ly/4o47669

Voting rights are being actively dismantled and they're going after Black political power first. Yet it seems only the usual advocates and activists are talking about it. Now I see firsthand how so many people passively stood by for decades while Jim Crow ravaged the nation.