The Prophetic Resistance Podcast

In this extended episode, we sit down with Rev. Alvin Herring, who is the executive director of Faith in Action. This conversation was recorded just days after the police-killing of George Floyd, just as our beloved kinfolk were beginning to organize uprisings across the country and around the globe. You may feel the weight of the moment in our voices. You may also feel the beauty of a poetic faith.

This contemplative conversation explores how and why Alvin, as a young person, fell in love with organizing; how the Ferguson Uprising changed him and his faith, and how - in moments like these - art and poetry can help us to face trauma and the feelings of loss and disappointment.

Show Notes: Visit livefreeusa.org to learn more about our LIVE FREE Humanitarian campaign Masks for The People. The campaign is ensuring that the most vulnerable in our communities of color have access to masks.

Visit bit.ly/equityforallforum to register for the Equity Forum. On Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, nine leading national racial equity organizations will come together to demand that our elected officials prioritize racial equity in the HEROES Act and immediately pass federal police brutality legislation. These organizations include Faith in Action, NAACP, The National Urban League, Demos, UnidosUS, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Race Forward, Advancement Project National Office and the National Congress of American Indians. RSVP at bit.ly/equityforallforum and join the conversation with #EquityForAll.

The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted our lives, amplified the disparities in our communities, and pushed folks who were already on the margins, closer to the edge. This crisis may have shifted how we organize, but it didn’t change who we are fighting for. We now organize to protect immigrants and communities of color online, using more technology than ever before. One way to get through times like this is by anchoring ourselves in the stories and witness those who came before us and leaning into their love and wisdom. In February, Phyllis Hill, Faith in Action director of organizing and Rev. Deth Im, Faith in Action director of training reminded us of that when they opened our first national Faith Forum by calling in their ancestors and inviting those of us in the room to do the same. The audio in this episode was recorded over a span of nearly three months and in three settings: before the pandemic on a hotel stage in Las Vegas, just before shelter in place orders at a street market east of downtown Atlanta, and amid the lockdown in Kansas City, MO (but on Zoom). You will hear excerpts from the opening ceremony of the Faith Forum as well as follow up interviews with Phyllis and Deth. We spoke with them about the ancestors whose wisdom shows up in their organizing work, and about solidarity in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Show notes: Visit www.faithinaction.org to learn more about Faith in Action.

Catalina Morales Bahena, Nicole Barnes and Koach Baruch Frazier are theologians in training and innovative community organizers of color, who are deeply rooted in the communities they serve. At the 2020 Faith Forum in February, they shared the stage with Megan Black clergy organizer for Faith in Action.

With the upcoming election in view, Catalina, Nicole and Koach offer wisdom drawn from their respective Catholic, Baptist and Jewish traditions, as well as their lived experiences as faith organizers. In this engaging panel discussion, they teach us to trust our instincts, to value human connections and to remember that freedom does not require assimilation.

Rev. Billy Michael Honor is the director of faith organizing for Faith in Action’s partner in the state of Georgia, the New Georgia Project. In this episode, we spoke with Rev. Honor at his office in Atlanta. We recorded in March 2020, before the global call to flatten the curve of the Coronavirus pandemic required us to suspend travel and practice physical distancing.

Rev. Honor is a public scholar, faith leader, and civic organizer whose progressive and compelling insights have made him a sought-after preacher, lecturer, and social commentator. In this conversation, we talked about building a digital faith community, respectability politics, cultural imperialism and the ideology behind his upcoming book, The Miseducation of the Church Negro. Show notes: Learn more about Rev. Honor's work with the New Georgia Project here.

*A Production Note: The sound varies throughout the recording. Listeners may need to adjust their volume. In this episode, we talk with three powerful faith leaders about the stories, traditions, and practices that they turn to in times of crisis. We recorded the panel in February 2020, before the Coronavirus pandemic forced all of us to redesign the ways that we worship, organize and interact with one another. But this conversation with Imam Asad Zaman, Rev. Billy Michael Honor, and Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones still sparks our imagination about faith that can live outside our gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, and houses of worship and reminds us that by engaging the best of our traditions, we can build true human solidarity together.

Show Notes: Visit isaiahmn.org to learn more about Isaiah, a federation of Faith in Action. Visit newgeorgiaproject.org to learn more about The New Georgia Project, a partner of Faith in Action. Visit pactsj.org to learn more about PACT, a federation of Faith in Action.