A Black Pastor and a White Agnostic Walk Into a Bookstore...

This should be pretty dope.

I am who I am. Proudly so. Who I am shapes the way that I experience the world.

All of my memories, relationships, and influences create a harmony that results in my voice.

But my voice is one of many in a noisy world. And sometimes my voice combines with completely different voices—shaped by wildly different memories, relationships, and influences—and makes a wonderful sound.

I’ve grown up in the Black Church tradition. I am equally familiar with both parts of what Rev. Dr. Sen. (…or is it Sen. Rev. Dr.? I don’t know. I just know the Rev. goes before the Dr.) Rafael Warnock calls The Divided Mind of the Black Church. I am intimately familiar with the tension that exists between a faith that has been used to preach both piety and prophetic witness—even at the expense of one another, according to some people

It is the pietistic aspect that is most recognizable to and lauded by many conservative white evangelicals. It is the prophetic part that receives more celebration from the more progressive and secular aspects of our society. Being a child of this tradition—shaped by the same double consciousness that Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois described—has set the stage for some pretty interesting interactions with all sorts of people.

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In getting to know

Marla Taviano

(and reading her latest works, jaded and unbelieve), I found that two people from pretty divergent backgrounds can share a lot of the same grievances.

It is in sharing and holding space for the stories of one another that worlds begin to collide and merge.

So I’m excited that Marla and I get to share space in this online webinar about the books, authors, and reading habits that have helped us better understand community.

I’d like to invite you all to participate, but we’re asking that you let us know if you plan on joining us, as space is limited.

Hope to see y’all there!