{"id":50608,"date":"2019-05-01T16:17:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/?p=50608"},"modified":"2020-06-30T18:35:35","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T18:35:35","slug":"the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On\nMay 4, 1969, James Forman disrupted\nworship at Manhattan\u2019s Riverside Church<\/a> with a list of demands known as the\nBlack Manifesto. In no uncertain terms, the manifesto called upon white\nchurches and synagogues to pay $500 million in reparations: $15 for each black\nAmerican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbold articulation, roundly endorsed by black faith leaders, of the basic terms\nnecessary for repair of America\u2019s original sin, fell on deaf ears. According to\nDr. Jennifer\nHarvey<\/a>,\nwhite leadership \u201cran from the demands being made by their fellow Christians\nwith more fervor than they had ever run toward<\/em>\ncivil rights.\u201d Dr. Harvey insists that today\u2019s white liberal Christians prefer\nthe softer notion of racial reconciliation to reparations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nyet, as our nation marks 400 years since people of African descent were first\nbrought to our shores in chains, some politicians, academic institutions, communities\nof faith, and individuals are beginning to wrestle with the atoning possibility\nof reparations. The institution of the church is uniquely positioned to shape\nthis movement of reckoning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the de-centering of white theology springs forth a potent re-centering of our God-talk around those who live under the heel of violence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Theologian\nElaine Robinson calls this possibility a \u201cnew reformation\u201d in which white\nChristians might \u201cawaken to the systemic sin of white supremacy,\u201d to enact what\nthe church has taught throughout the ages\u2014repentance, repair, and renewal.[1]<\/a> Robinson calls for theological reparations<\/em> that name \u201cthe\nhistory of white theology\u2019s complicity in the nation\u2019s racist discourse and\npractice,\u201d committing to thoroughly engage and learn from the theologies that\nemerge from communities of color\u2014liberation, black, womanist, mujerista, Native,\nAsian, and more.[2]<\/a>\nIndeed, once white Christians comprehend the connection between the cross and\nthe lynching tree, of which the late Dr.\nJames Cone spoke<\/a>, then we must also connect the crucified Christ with \u201cthe\ncrucified peoples of the world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the de-centering of white theology (which maintains the status quo by cloaking it in neutrality) springs forth a potent re-centering of our God-talk around those who live under the heel of violence. Real God-talk attends to the raw truth that economic violence plagues black communities as a result of an emancipation that failed to cede land or resources, Black Codes that sewed into law the alleged danger of black bodies, Jim Crow segregation, redlining, police brutality, and mass incarceration. Inequity persists in education, health care, criminal justice, housing, and wealth because it is embedded in our institutions and systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps\nit is here that the church can truly shine, because handing stories down\nthrough the generations is what we do together. We tell stories, interrogate\nhidden characters, search out God\u2019s movement in history and in the present\nmoment on the human stage. South Africa\u2019s Truth and Reconciliation Commission\ntestified to the world that reparative work of deep harm begins with excavating\nstories. Inviting those most affected by the violence of racism to tell their\nstories must inaugurate the American church\u2019s reckoning with our original sin\nof racism, because stories open the heart. They move the spirit. They shift\nthinking stubborn as mountains. Stories change everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will we live as an imperial church that protects the powerful, or will we forward a new reformation that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Poet\nMarilyn Nelson<\/a> was invited to\nexcavate the history of one community of faith in Old Lyme, Connecticut. As she\npeered into their past, she discovered this: two members, in good standing,\nparticipated in a business transaction in which one sold an enslaved three-year-old\ngirl to the other as property. And this: the founding pastor held enslaved\npersons in the attic of the parsonage rather than emancipate them. Nelson\u2019s\npoetry put words to what had never been named. It carved out silences for\nlament between the poignant phrases. Only a poet can tell a story like that,\nfaithfully guiding it toward the river of suffering that is the human\nexperience, then bringing it out once again, baptized into new life.\nReparations begin with telling the truth, hearing the harm, excavating and\nemancipating the stories themselves; trusting that they can hold a community\u2019s\nsorrows and shame like a chalice holds holy wine. We drink of it together and\u2014impossibly,\nmiraculously\u2014we are restored through God\u2019s grace alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fraught moment in human history, when white supremacy is on the march, poses a clear question to the church: will we live as an imperial church that protects the powerful, or will we forward a new reformation that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted? Churches and denominations of the new reformation must call forth the specific stories embedded in their own histories\u2014stories of the people who inhabited the lands upon which buildings now sit, those whose lives were intertwined with the places, people, and congregations seeking to repair the harm. The stories must be told in their historical context\u2014illuminating the connections between individual lives and the historical facts of redlining and segregation laws, elements of the structural edifice built to ensure white dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once these untold stories are spoken into the hearts and sanctuaries of the church, the faithful response is confession. Here, again, the church has taught us well. We confess not only our own missteps and mistakes, failings and frailties, but also connect our brokenness back to that of the wider, historical church, the broken body of Christ. This we claim: We fall short of God\u2019s intention for us. We stand in need of God\u2019s grace. We have crucified Christ, and with him all the peoples of the world who have struggled against empire, violence, and exclusion. We continue to perpetuate the very circumstances that made possible the assassination of Jesus. Our confession is not only to God, but also to our neighbors, ourselves and our children, and the very earth beneath our feet to which native people once belonged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reparations call us to confess our complicity\u2014how the privileges we hold, many of which are invisible to our untrained eyes\u2014are tied up in whiteness; how the institutions that have taught and nurtured us from the moment we were born did so with resources gained on the backs of enslaved laborers and land stolen from the indigenous. Protestant denominations trace our lineage from a church that worshiped Manifest Destiny as a false idol, justifying violence against people of Native and African descent with the deadly lie that they possessed no true soul. There is simply no way to separate ourselves from America\u2019s original sin, our only choice is to confess and struggle mightily against the internalized superiority (in the case of whites) or internalized oppression that both wither our humanity and primal identity as God\u2019s beloved children. We confess, not once, but again and again, for this original sin lives under our skin. We act it out, consciously or not. And so we must make a ritual of apology, acknowledging the sheer violence done. We stand in need of God\u2019s mercy and the forgiveness of those we have harmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only\nafter telling the stories and confessing is the church prepared to consider how\nit might direct resources to right the terrible wrong. There exists great\ndisagreement about how to direct resources in ways that truly close the yawning\ngaps of inequity. To be sure, vigorous disagreement over how to direct\nresources will be weaponized as an excuse to forgo reparations altogether, for the\neffort is too little, too late. It is ineffective or misdirected. Perhaps a\nmore faithful enactment of reparations for the church is to view financial\nreparations through the lens of experimentation, that by attempting to make\nfinancial repairs, we might set the stage for more targeted, effective reparations\nin the future. In short, we do this work imperfectly, and perfection ought not\nbe the enemy of action. We make the road by walking it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial\nreparations may be most effective when they are tied directly to the history of\nthe harm. For example, Georgetown University students recently\napproved a referendum<\/a> that seeks to charge each student $27.20 per semester\nas a form of reparations, acknowledging that Georgetown once cleared its debts\nthrough the sale of an enslaved family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How\neach denomination, congregation, or individual might choose to make reparations\nis a spiritual exercise in discernment, but we must not allow our ignorance of\nright action to hold us hostage to inaction. A church might allocate a portion\nof the budget to reparations; or ask individual members to match that amount;\nor invite other congregations to join them in the effort, or call on the\ndenomination to direct financial resources to churches of color and ministries\nled by people of color for people of color seeking to close the gaps in wealth,\nhealth, education, housing, and justice. Most importantly, congregations making\nreparations participate in building a collective will in denominations, other\ninstitutions, and the highest reaches of our government to reckon with our\nnation\u2019s history and repair the breach wrought by slavery, Jim Crow, and the\ninsidious forms of bias that continue to dole out death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps\nwhite Christians ought to commission, then, a new Black Manifesto. This time,\nwhen its scathing words\u2014like those of a fiery old prophet\u2014disrupt the soothing sounds\nof worship, I pray we will run toward reparations as if our souls depend on it.\nFor they do.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Race and Theology, <\/em>2012 (Nashville,\nAbingdon Press), p. 86.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Race and Theology, <\/em>p. 87-90.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 4, 1969, James Forman disrupted worship at Manhattan\u2019s Riverside Church with a list of demands known as the Black Manifesto. In no uncertain terms, the manifesto called upon white churches and synagogues to pay $500 million in reparations: $15 for each black American. The bold articulation, roundly endorsed by black faith leaders, of… <\/br>More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":538,"featured_media":50619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,78],"tags":[102,108],"region":[],"series":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-50608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racial-justice","category-religion","tag-reparations","tag-spirituality"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church - Fellowship Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a "new reformation" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a "new reformation" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fellowship Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wagingnonviolence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Hendler-Voss\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wagingnv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wagingnv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amanda Hendler-Voss\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amanda Hendler-Voss\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc6889f2f01619ef8ce239182a30d6af\"},\"headline\":\"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1585,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Reparations\",\"spirituality\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Racial Justice\",\"Religion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2019\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church - Fellowship Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a \\\"new reformation\\\" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"Photo by Karla Ann Kote, Flickr, Creative Commons.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/\",\"name\":\"Fellowship Magazine\",\"description\":\"Since 1918, the Fellowship of Reconciliation has published the award-winning print magazine Fellowship. It is also now online, offering original grassroots analysis, movement research, first-person commentary, poetry and more to help people of faith and conscience build a nonviolent, compassionate world.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Fellowship Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/Guns-issue-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/Guns-issue-icon.png\",\"width\":612,\"height\":792,\"caption\":\"Fellowship Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/wagingnonviolence\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/wagingnv\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/wagingnv\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc6889f2f01619ef8ce239182a30d6af\",\"name\":\"Amanda Hendler-Voss\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amanda Hendler-Voss\"},\"description\":\"The Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss serves as a Spiritual Director, religion writer, and co-leader of a multi-racial clergy community of practice in the United Church of Christ. Her work to dismantle racism took her to Charlottesville in August 2017, where she ministered as an on-call chaplain to those impacted by the violence of white supremacy. Amanda lives in northern Virginia with her spouse, two boys in constant motion, and their sweet rescue mutt.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wagingnonviolence.org\\\/forusa\\\/author\\\/amandahendlervoss\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church - Fellowship Magazine","description":"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a \"new reformation\" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church","og_description":"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a \"new reformation\" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?","og_url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/","og_site_name":"Fellowship Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wagingnonviolence","article_published_time":"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amanda Hendler-Voss","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@wagingnv","twitter_site":"@wagingnv","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amanda Hendler-Voss","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/"},"author":{"name":"Amanda Hendler-Voss","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#\/schema\/person\/cc6889f2f01619ef8ce239182a30d6af"},"headline":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church","datePublished":"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/"},"wordCount":1585,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg","keywords":["Reparations","spirituality"],"articleSection":["Racial Justice","Religion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2019","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/","name":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church - Fellowship Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-01T16:17:50+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-30T18:35:35+00:00","description":"With white supremacy rising, will Christianity protect the powerful or provide a \"new reformation\" that seeks to make whole what racism has distorted?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/idol-of-whiteness-karla-ann-cote.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"Photo by Karla Ann Kote, Flickr, Creative Commons."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2019\/05\/the-souls-of-white-folks-on-reparations-in-the-church\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Souls of White Folks: On Reparations in the Church"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/","name":"Fellowship Magazine","description":"Since 1918, the Fellowship of Reconciliation has published the award-winning print magazine Fellowship. It is also now online, offering original grassroots analysis, movement research, first-person commentary, poetry and more to help people of faith and conscience build a nonviolent, compassionate world.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#organization","name":"Fellowship Magazine","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/Guns-issue-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/Guns-issue-icon.png","width":612,"height":792,"caption":"Fellowship Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wagingnonviolence","https:\/\/x.com\/wagingnv","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wagingnv\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/#\/schema\/person\/cc6889f2f01619ef8ce239182a30d6af","name":"Amanda Hendler-Voss","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bea7c91c01f35d4ec13ced8a06f032ac3d479c017013d79b7f0e331138d037eb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amanda Hendler-Voss"},"description":"The Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss serves as a Spiritual Director, religion writer, and co-leader of a multi-racial clergy community of practice in the United Church of Christ. Her work to dismantle racism took her to Charlottesville in August 2017, where she ministered as an on-call chaplain to those impacted by the violence of white supremacy. Amanda lives in northern Virginia with her spouse, two boys in constant motion, and their sweet rescue mutt.","url":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/author\/amandahendlervoss\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50608"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51395,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50608\/revisions\/51395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50608"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=50608"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=50608"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=50608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}