It’s a simple game that almost everybody who’s ever been on a playground or backyard basketball court understands.  Known variously as ‘HORSE’, ‘PIG’ or ‘HANGMAN’ – you and an opponent shoot baskets in varying degrees of difficulty.  When you miss – you get a letter – keep missing, get all the letters (that spell horse, pig or hangman) – you loose.  Last week, during the Final Four half time show – Barack Obama played the game with Clark Kellogg (CBS Sports Analyst).  In more ways than one, the name of the game was changed.

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You hear it so much from those who package God and country – “America needs to return,” they say, “to the Judeo-Christian ethic that our founding fathers understood.”  Quoting Thomas Jefferson from the Declaration of Independence in reverential awe, they speak of a uniquely American, faith based ideal – “All men are created equal.”  Did Jefferson REALLY understand it like that?  Is he a part of a faith heritage making the United States a “Christian nation?” (continue reading…)

In the midst of the unconscionable devastation and deep personal tragedy that is the Haitian earthquake experience, Pat Robertson’s words came crashing through the air.  “Something happened a long time ago in Haiti,” he said.  “They swore a pact with the devil.  The Haitians revolted and got themselves free (from the French) but ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other.”  Outrageous, insensitive, unverifiable, offensive – yes -  and pure Pat Robertson.  But there is a much deeper level within a statement like this, resting squarely within the context of racism and religion.

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Katrina Browne

If a discussion about diversity is difficult, a conversation about slavery is almost  impossible.  “Slavery is America’s original sin,” former senator Bill Bradley once said, “and current national dilemma.”  What to do about that dilemma is still an open question – this week in Grand Rapids, someone will be here to speak from very personal experience about what we need to do. (continue reading…)

As my friend Skot Welch and I prepare for our weekly radio show (Radio in Black and White) we pour over dozens of articles – more than 60 every week.  It is rare that one of them strikes me as deeply as the story I read about Michelle Obama’s ancestors.  Slavery – “America’s original sin and ongoing national dilemma” (Bill Bradley) – is a legacy no one wants to talk about but it is an essential conversation.  This is an American story – complex, familiar, deeply painful.

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