Photograph: Statue of Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney (1777 - 1864), who gave the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, declaring that black people, whether enslaved or free, could not become US citizens and could not sue in federal court. This statue of Taney was made in 1887 and placed in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a monument to white supremacy. No possible argument can be made to defend the statue on the grounds of Civil War memory, since it is not a monument to Confederate soldiers. The statue was removed by the City of Baltimore on August 18, 2017. Photo credit: Ron Cogswell | CC2.0, Flickr.

Introduction

This page examines white supremacy in the United States, beyond the other topics covered in the section Race and Politics. Under our own resources, we curate other resources, broken out by time period.

From Founding to Reconstruction (1877) involves the origins of “whiteness” at the expense of European ethnicities, and how African American and Native American people were marginalized.
Imperialism, the Progressive Period, and the Gilded Age (1877 - 1929) highlights foreign policy, the treatment of immigrants, corporations and labor, and the racial selectivity of some progressives.
The New Deal, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the New Deal Coalition (1930 - 1980) spotlights the white supremacy in the New Deal, the racial diversity that resulted from WWII, and the Civil Rights efforts of the 1950s - 60s.
The Rise of Neoliberalism and Globalism (1981 - present) focuses on Reagan’s policies and dismantling of the New Deal Coalition, and the racial impact and animus that resulted.

Messages and Resources on Race and Politics

See also the slides to this presentation. The introduction features John Winthrop vs. Roger Williams to highlight the debate over freedom of religious Conscience vs. Christendom. The presentation highlights Christian accomplishments in health and hospitals, education and schools, land ownership and economic justice, and criminal justice reform.

How do Christian heresies contribute to America’s racial and political climate? Could Christian history have gone differently? Could it still? Examine U.S. history from the standpoint of church history. See the whole course or just the blog posts.

This blog post series relates to both the topic of atonement and the topic of desire because, like fallen Adam in the garden, we desire to deflect blame, and therefore we scapegoat others. On the political level, this builds group cohesion and creates a social outsider, who is blamed for the group’s woes, who the group must exile or kill or marginalize in order to maintain a hopeful lie. This series explores what political scapegoating has looked like in the U.S.

White American Evangelical Political Attitudes and Behavior: Explanation and Correctives

White American evangelical political attitudes can be characterized by the debate between John Winthrop and Roger Williams, and their respective attitudes towards Native Americans, slavery, fairness, and faith in civic space. This is a presentation also explores Scripture and church history to argue that Roger Williams was correct. Given to the staff of Emmanuel Gospel Center, Apr 18, 2018, as a follow-up to how Christian restorative justice impacts ministry; audio file here.

The Role of Jesus in Revolution and the Pursuit of Justice

This is an evangelistic message that highlights the Christian-led and Christian-influenced non-violent resistance movements throughout the world in the 20th century. They show the connections and spiritual vitality of Christian faith under empire or empire-like oppression.