Podcasts about There Will Be No Miracles Here

A live conversation in Pasadena, California at the LAist's Crawford Theatre. Wise One: Casey Gerald, author of There Will Be No Miracles Here. Following the discussion, all five guests from the live event return to the stage to answer questions from the audience.

Where to find the guests:  Akili Nzuri is @ablackmanreading on Instagram and he also has a linktree https://linktr.ee/ablackmanreading  Reggie is @reggiereads on Instagram and he has a linktree https://linktr.ee/reggiereads  Both can be found at @booksarepopculture on Instagram  Books mentioned:  The Street by Ann Petry, Cane by Jane Toomer, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, The Known World by Edward P. Jones, Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson III, Assata by Assata Shakur, Black Boy by Richard Wright, Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald, The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara, Gorilla My Love by Toni Cade Bambara, Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick A. Bell --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Sing a New Song A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli with Foundry UMC, April 4, 2021, Easter Sunday, “Learning to Sing the Blues” series.                 Text: Mark 16:1-8 Early yesterday morning, as I climbed the stair to my writing chair, the light of a waning moon shining brightly, a single, solitary bird’s voice sang: sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, will you? The melody is familiar, though one I’ve missed. It hibernates, or migrates—I don’t know birdsongs well enough to know which bird was belting out her bright song in the dark—but it appears this time of year, a herald of spring in its fullness, announcing a new moment, a passage from one season to another. This image reflects my experience through this year of pandemic, singing my song in a defiant, determined commitment to hope in a new moment, new life—all the while, surrounded by the night and shadows, within and without. It may come as a surprise to some, but my cynicism can be as sharp as any. I call my cynicism Shirley (not referencing anyone except the play on words: as in, “surely, you don’t believe that.”) And with each new reflection gone viral on the interwebs early in the pandemic about how we were going to come out of this thing renewed, changed, chastened, wiser and better, I found myself in a near-constant dialogue with Shirley. She really is a broken record of “don’t get your hopes up” ditties. On days when I’m caught between my hope-filled, prophetic self and my Shirley self, I simply flip on autopilot, put up buffers and compartmentalization systems for grief, uncertainty, and trauma, and try to just get through this thing unscathed and doing as little damage as possible. With each new challenge, each new loss, assault, tragic headline, new number of cases, deaths, shootings, each new instance of injustice over the past year…with each new revelation of how truly broken things are in our lives and relationships and churches and institutions and nations and world, whether I’m in “God’s up to something good,” “we’re doomed,” or “put your head down and get through it” mode I still root about trying to discover what Spirit wants to share. It’s kind of a habit. This past year, a consistent theme is summed up in John Wesley’s last words: “Best of all is, God is with us.” Some may roll their eyes at so simple a statement, because, after all, what difference does it make for God to be with us when things continue to be so jacked up? Shirley asks that question on the regular, joining the chorus of the Israelites in the desert who complained saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” (Numbers 21:5) Shirley sings alto in the chorus of the disciples who woke Jesus from his sleep on the boat in the storm yelling, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mk 4:38) And she would have wondered the same thing as the Marys and Salome that early morning in the cemetery—“Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (we’re probably on our own!) Of course, in each of those jacked up moments of wilderness, storm, and the heaviness of death, God was there, leading out of slavery, providing manna and wellspring waters from a rock, soothing the storm with a word, and rolling the stone away so that life might emerge. That’s the story we tell, anyway. Are you buying it?  Casey Gerald, in his beautiful, painful, artful memoir, There Will Be No Miracles Here (a book I read at some unidentifiable moment in the haze of the COVID pandemic) shares this: It’s hard enough to get used to a crappy life. But once you do, you see that even crap can be cozy and the coziness becomes important to you. And even the slightest change—in the name of progress or healing or uplift—feels like a threat to your existence, so you ignore it as long as you can…The story has to change, you see, and that’s not only a great deal of work to undertake, but also a real risk, as the new story might not be as marvelous as the old sad one. But the greatest risk [is] hope.”  It’s not just whether we will believe the stories of God in scripture, but whether we will believe God is anywhere at all. Gerald confesses that his journey led him not to hopelessness, but to “anti-hope.” He writes: This anti-hope seems to be in vogue, mind you, especially amongst those who consider themselves too brilliant or too secular to believe in silly things like unicorns and hope and God. They say that anti-hope is the natural order of things, that the most obvious stance for the man and woman of reason is the stance of Cool Customer, leaning against the wall of the world while the moral arc of the universe bends down to crush them, as it must. In any moment of life, we have choices to make about how we will receive and be in the moment, what we will believe about the moment. The oppressive powers of the world want us to believe that every moment is dog-eat-dog, want us to think that hope is for the weak, that crushing others or being crushed by life is inevitable. That the old story is all there is. That people will never learn and that we ourselves are forever stuck. These are the powers of death and control and fear. Choosing to acquiesce will have predictable consequences. The alternative is to choose even the tiniest bit of openness to the assertion of “God with us,” openness to Spirit’s movement deep down in all things, through all things, under and within our own skin—even when all things appear despairingly broken.  You may find it ironic that I would focus on “God with us” when, in the Easter story from Mark we received today, Jesus is nowhere to be found. No appearance, no comforting word from the risen Christ. And even the commissioning of the women by the mystery man in white doesn’t lead to the first announcement of Jesus’ resurrection. There is only alarm, terror, amazement, and fear. Most scholars agree that this is where the original text of Mark ended—fleeing in fear without any assurance that the message given the women was true. And, as much as I love getting to make an Easter quip about women being the first preachers, I also really appreciate this version of the story that leaves all of us standing together at the edge of life and death and new life with nothing but a promise of an unseen Christ beckoning us to follow into uncertainty, daring us to carry on without easy and quick comfort, calling us to grapple with our own fear of something that is truly new and unexpected, encouraging us to come to terms with whether or not we will believe that something so wonderful as resurrection is possible, and whether we will welcome it when it happens. Casey Gerald tells this story: [There’s] a village that I heard of not too long ago. The village, somewhere in France, sometime in the seventeenth century, became the site of frequent miracles, according to the peasants there, who were so struck by symptoms of the supernatural that they put down their plows. This, of course, [ticked] off the local officials. They tried to reason with the peasants, to quell the mass hysteria, to no avail. At last, the officials sought an intervention from the highest power in the land, who sent them back with a sign. An actual sign, which was erected in the village square for all to see. It read: THERE WILL BE NO MIRACLES HERE BY ORDER OF THE KING Isn’t this the way things go since forever? The proverbial “kings” of the world pass orders and laws, write books and reviews, create budgets, make rulings, and build structures, all the while thinking that they have the power and authority to control the people of God, the movement of God, the freedom of God: “NO MIRACLES HERE!” And, more often than most of us care to admit, they get away with it. Because, after all, human desire, overwhelmingly, is to leave things exactly the way they are.  We can all talk a big game about hope and new life, but as soon as something really new, a bona fide change gets underway, people race out to buy their yard signs in support of the king: “No miracles here!” The body isn’t where it’s supposed to be! Who voted on movement of the body? Who said that the mystery man could be in the empty tomb? Did Jesus sign off on that before he died? Who ordered a resurrection anyway? There’s no protocol for this and we don’t know what to do. This new situation is not the way we do things around here! So let’s bring the dead body back stat and restore things to the way they’re supposed to be. Oh, it is tempting to want to stay in the old, familiar ways… We love a new thing as long as it has a perceivable, measurable, reasonable explanation and doesn’t make us uncomfortable. We long for a new life as long as no sacrifice is required of us. We advocate for justice as long as it doesn’t mean that we have to foot the bill. Familiar death is so often more preferable to us than disruptive, costly newness. And yet that’s not all that is within and among us. If it was, Amanda Gorman’s words wouldn’t have emanated from the podium with such soul-stirring electricity: Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true, that even as we grieved, we grew, that even as we hurt, we hoped, that even as we tired, we tried, that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division. Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid. If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade. But in all the bridges we’ve made… In truth, these words are simply a powerful, of-the-now remix of the old vision, the dream of Rev. Dr. King assassinated this day 53 years ago, the dream of Micah and Isaiah, the dream of Mary and her son Jesus, our resurrected Lord.  Will we continue to defer the dream? My inner Shirley is only so sharp and persistent because she’s trying to help me keep from being hurt and disappointed, she knows that some people in the world have no interest in new things, they want to keep the old, broken, hurtful, hateful things—want to keep ALL the fig trees and vines for themselves and pay less than living wages for others to tend them. Shirley also knows the small and wishful thinking that I sometimes try to pass off as faith and hope to myself. But as much as I may falter and as much as the powers that be may try, no one gets to forbid miracles, no one gets to control new life, no one gets to kill the dream, no one gets to cancel Easter—not with a sign, not with a virus, not with a cynical eye-roll or self-satisfied smirk or fearful, hateful policy or a noose or a gun or a cross. Today we praise God because Jesus has been set free, let loose, is out in the world, risen, shiny, new—bearing the scars and having sung the laments of this life—but alive and with us—all day long and the whole night through. And where Christ is, miracles happen. Anything is possible…We will get through this. Things can be different and better. We can be different and better. The dream doesn’t have to be deferred forever. And we stand together at the edge of life, death, and new life and have to choose. Gerald says, “I have a radio. It picks up only two stations: Life and Death. I turn the death off, now that I know the sound.” What station will you play? What song will you sing even when it is still night and difficult to see? Why not sing together the new song already, eternally begun, the dream of poets and prophets from the beginning, recently sung in Amanda’s key?  …our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful. When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out! Will you? Alleluia! https://foundryumc.org/

Casey Gerald, author of "There Will Be No Miracles Here," joins host JP Reynolds for an exchange about ancestors, hope, and the nature of time. About Casey Gerald: Casey Gerald is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, a memoir that stands the American Dream narrative on its head, while straddling the complex intersection of race, class, religion and sexuality. TWBNMH was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR and The New York Times, among others. It received starred reviews from Kirkus, Shelf Awareness, and Booklist, and was the December 2018 pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times Book Club. Casey most recently published “The Black Art of Escape: A New Vision for Black Americans” in New York Magazine, which reflects on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans’ arrival in Virginia, in 1619. Prior to his writing career, Casey co-founded and served as CEO of MBAs Across America, a national movement of business students and entrepreneurs working together to revitalize communities. A native of Oak Cliff, Texas, Casey attended Dallas Public Schools before college at Yale, where he played varsity football and co-founded the Yale Black Men's Union. He later received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He serves on the board of Kickstarter, PBC. About JP Reynolds: Called “remarkably special” by AllHipHop, JP Reynolds is an innovative artist, rapper and songwriter with an eclectic sound. The creator of “rap gumbo,” his music is a powerful blend of jazz, funk, gospel and soul. In addition to music JP is an entrepreneur, coach, activist, and minister. In 2012, he created Peace and Power Media, an artistic hub that produces music and multimedia content. Since 2014, JP has supported young people in pursuing passion and purpose through various initiatives and partnerships with organizations and communities within the non-profit sector. JP holds a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and a Master of Divinity from Yale University. Conversation Topics: Why You Should Nap (4:02) • Rethinking the Hope of Our Ancestors (11:33) • Vehicles, Drivers, and The Great Beyond (23:19) • Casting Down Idols v. Calling Up Love (33:20) • Is Time Linear? (44:13) • Finding Inspiration (51:12) Reading Recommendations: "There Will Be No Miracles Here" by Casey Gerald "The Black Art of Escape" by Casey Gerald "Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson "The Mirror of Simple Soul" by Marguerite Porete Theme Songs: "Reset (Hold Your Horse)" - JP Reynolds + BACHTROY "Elevate" - JP Reynolds + BACHTROY --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stircrazypodcast/support

On episode 133 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by author Casey Gerald. Casey talks with Paul about his recent move from New York to Austin, Texas. He speaks frankly about his experience of writing about grief during the pandemic and digs into his experience of spirituality.Casey tells the strange story of the time he met George W. Bush and the unique experience of hearing his own story later retold by the former president. In expressing his hopes for the future, Casey emphasizes the need to let go of American myths and embrace the possibilities that come with the end of one world. Casey Gerald is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, a memoir that stands the American Dream narrative on its head, while straddling the complex intersection of race, class, religion and sexuality. TWBNMH was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR and the New York Times, and novelist Marlon James called Casey's book, "the most urgently political, most deeply personal, and most engagingly spiritual statement of our time.” Casey most recently published “The Black Art of Escape: A New Vision for Black Americans” in New York Magazine, which reflects on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans’ arrival in Virginia, in 1619. A native Texan, he is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College.

“For me, I believe that Black lives matter. That’s what I said. Anyone with a functioning brain understands that all lives matter. Anybody. But right now there is a portion of our community that is frustrated, and they are suffering, and they are hurting. So, as an empathetic Christian I’m gonna go and say I agree with the statement Black lives do matter. But I was glad some people disagreed with me, because I kept saying, do Black lives matter yes or no? yes but…I’m like there is no but. We disagree. Those are the same type of people that would have interrupted Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus would have been like, blessed are the poor…no Jesus blessed are all people. Since when does highlighting one issue disparage another? Are we not secure enough to be able to sit here and go issue by issue and talk about one without disparaging another? Of course all lives matter, but it’s okay to say Black lives matter. What’s wrong with you? This is not rocket science. All lives matter. No kidding. That’s why Black lives matter, because until all lives matter equally, we need to focus on this.” -Carl Lentz, 2016   This is the most important episode I will ever release. I hope you approach it with an open heart.   Just recently: George Floyd was murdered by a police officer while three other police officers stood by and did nothing. Breonna Taylor was in her home in the middle of the night when police broke in, unannounced, and shot her to death. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a run when two men chased him and shot him to death. Christian Cooper was bird watching in Central Park when a woman threatened to call the police and say that an African American man was threatening her life. He was not.   It doesn’t stop there. The following Black men and women have been murdered by police: Philando Castile Atatiana Jefferson Eric Reason Natasha McKenna Botham Jean Walter Scott Bettie Jones Tamir Rice Michael Brown Dominique Clayton Eric Garner Trayvon Martin  Tanisha Anderson Sandra Bland Freddie Gray   THESE ARE JUST THE NAMES WE KNOW. Do you know how hard it is to find a full list of Black people who have been murdered at the hands of police brutality?    Here’s a brief history of the Black lives lost in our country over the past few years along with the #Blacklivesmatter gaining momentum:   ·      2013: #Blacklivesmatter first appears on twitter ·      7/17/14: Eric Garner dies in NY after being arrested ·      8/9/14: Michael Brown is killed during an encounter with police officer in Ferguson, MO. ·      11/22/14: Tamir Rice is killed by police in Cleveland while playing with a toy gun ·      11/24/14: Announcement that there will be no indictment in Michael Brown case ·      4/19/15: Freddie Gray dies in Baltimore while in police custody ·      6/17/15: Charleston church shooting kills 9 people ·      7/13/15: Sandra Bland is found hung in Texas jail cell   STATS ·      99% of killings by police from 2013-2019 have not resulted in officers being charged with crime. ·      Unarmed Black people were killed by police at 5x the rate of unarmed white people in 2015. ·      Police killed at least 104 unarmed Black people in 2015— nearly 2x a week. ·      1 in 3 young Black men will be incarcerated in their life (compared to 1 in 17 white men). ·      13TH DOC: “The film’s premise is that while the 13th Amendment to the Constitution eliminated slavery and involuntary servitude, it in effect had an unintentional loophole that asserted “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”” ·      Black people make up 6.5% of the American population but make up 40.2% of the prison population. ·      Our prison population went from less than 200k in 1970 to 2.3m today. This is what we refer to when we talk about mass incarceration.   THERE ARE PROVEN STRATEGIES that significantly reduce police killings, but very few Police Departments have adopted them. These are: Requirements that officers use all means other than shooting (decreases death by 25%) Requires all use of force be reported (decreases death by 25%) Bans chokeholds + strangleholds (decreases death by 22%) Has use of force continuum (decreases death by 19%) Requires de-escalation (decreases death by 15%) Duty to intervene if another officer uses excessive force (decreases death by 9%) Restricts shooting at moving vehicles (decreases death by 8%) Requires warning before shooting (decreases death by 5%) *You can call your local representatives and demand these 8 things be instituted with your local law enforcement. Want to learn more? Click here: https://8cantwait.org   WHY DO BLACK LIVES MATTER? My Personal Reckoning: 2016 ·      I didn’t realize my own white privilege for a long time. I felt better than the other white people when it came to bias and racism because I grew up in a broken home filled with drugs, addiction, affairs, and even lived in a town where I was a minority. The reality is I have loved Black culture for most of my life, but I have done very little to be an advocate for justice for my Black brothers and sisters. I’m so sorry for this. ·      I received a DM from a Black woman who encouraged me to diversify who I was interviewing on The Refined Woman. Almost all of my collaborations and interviews for the first few years of The Refined Woman were with white women. I was a white girl blogger. ·      In 2016 I also wrote an All Lives Matter blog post that fortunately never went live. I didn’t understand what it meant that Black Lives Matter. As a Christian I assumed didn’t all lives matter? Thank God I have a team, and thank God I didn’t go live with that painful article. I was very, very wrong.    Black Lives Matter, and here’s why:   Jesus was a 1st Century Palestinian Jewish man. He had brown skin and was hated by the religious, and beaten and killed by law enforcement. If he was alive today in America, he’d be a minority immigrant who probably wouldn’t step foot inside white evangelical churches except to flip over tables. The Western Evangelical Church in America has become a religion for rich, advantaged, and privileged white people—which is the exact opposite of the roots of Christianity and the life of Jesus. Jesus hung out with the oppressed people of society, those ostracized, those who didn’t feel safe in the church—those who were judged and cast off. He fought for justice, restored dignity and humanity from the woman at the well, woman caught in adultery, to touching people with contagious diseases and engaging with people outside of the Jewish law which would have made him unclean in Jewish circles. But he didn’t care, because He was on a mission to do God’s work.   Friend, if you are a follower of Jesus and do not have a heart for justice, racial reconciliation and to see the systemic walls, pillars, and foundations of racism in our country to be dismantled, you are out of alignment with the heart of God.   Who does Jesus care about?   -       Prodigal Son returns: the jealous brother instead of the father rejoicing over the return + safety of his son. But don’t I matter—OF COURSE YOU MATTER, BUT YOUR BROTHER WAS LOST + NOW IS FOUND.    -       Luke 15: Jesus leaves the 99 to go after the one sheep. He cares about the individual.   It’s time to get back in touch with the heart of Jesus. Do all lives matter? YES. But until Black lives matter—we better go after that. Jesus went after the one.   What can you do?    #1: Acknowledge If we don’t heal our past, it will follow us. And ours is HAUNTING US. -Kat Harris   1.     Until we acknowledge the experience of what it means to be a Black person in America there is no chance at healing. 2.     When someone dies, you show up. 3.     “I don’t know the full story.” You don’t have to. 4.     “People are just reposting for attention…not for the right reasons.” You don’t know their hearts. And so what? Does that mean you get to stay silent? 5.     Here’s what’s true: in 1619 was when the first wave of Black people were kidnapped from Africa to become slaves in Jamestown. July 4th isn’t a celebration of independence for Black people. They weren’t free when those freedom bells rang. America was built on the backs of terrorism and genocide and slavery of Black people, people of color and indigenous people. 6.     If we don’t heal our past, it will follow us. And ours is HAUNTING US. 7.     We have to look back before we can move forward. 8.     One of the first things we can do is acknowledge our white privilege. What is white privilege and how do you know if you have it? Go through these statements.   #2: Get Curious I STARTED NOTICING + GETTING CURIOUS: ·      Why did I have so few Black friends? ·      Why were there some Black people and people of color at my church but none on staff or leadership or in the decision-making rooms? ·      I changed churches because I wanted to be a part of a community with women in leadership, then I noticed almost every week at church I could count on one hand the number of Black people at my church…why? ·      Why were influential Black Christian people like Lecrae + Andre Henry leaving the church? ·      How come at my favorite salad place every single person in line buying was white and all the people working in the buffet are Black? ·      How come the expensive gym I had a membership to had mostly white members, and yet almost every single one of the people working there from front desk to maintenance are Black? ·      This started making me very uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to do—so I’d talk with my friends about it…but really I didn’t do much about it. I deeply regret this. #3: PRAY + REPENT: ·      When have you been complicit, silent, and chosen ignorance out of comfort and convenience? Write it down, say it out loud, pray, and repent. ·      Psalm 13 is great to walk through lament. ·      Psalm 51 is great to walk through repentance. #4: ACTIVATE: ·      Sign petitions for racial justice. change.org is a great start for this! ·      Talk with friends and family. ·      When you see racism, call it out. ·      Post on your platforms. ·      Call your local representatives and demand justice. ·      Support Black-owned businesses. ·      Donate to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. ·      Go to https://www.grassrootslaw.org to find out how you can support policing and justice in America. ·      Read this: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack    #5: ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT: ·      Equal Justice Initiative (Bryan Stevenson) ·      Be the Bridge (Latasha Morrison) and her wonderful resource page, “Where Do I Start?” ·      WhereChangeStarted.com has a great anti-racism starter kit ·      The Innocence Project ·      To help pay bail for protestors in NYC, money can be Venmo’ed to @bailoutnycmay.  ·      City-specific bailouts. ·      ACLU ·      NAACP ·      UNCF   #6: READ: “Stop asking us to give you books. Stop asking us to do research. Listen y’all were able to do mathematic equations through some Black women and then your own stuff and to be able to go to the moon, and put a flag in it and dance around and do the west coast strut. How in the world can you go from the earth to the moon and you can’t do research on the racial history that we need to fight in this country. I don’t want to be traumatized by teaching you history. I want you to grow up in your spiritual maturity, and grow up in your faith, and go on the sanctifying journey of overriding the patriotic way that we’ve learned history in America.” - Pastor Eric Mason   1.     White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 2.     So You Want to Take About Race by Ijeoma Oluo 3.     The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh 4.     We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates 5.     How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 6.     I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown 7.     Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 8.     Woke Church by Eric Mason 9.     The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander 10.  Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman 11.  Great Speeches by Frederick Douglass 12.  Waking up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving 13.  Ghetto by Mitchell Duneier 14.  More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City by William Julius Wilson 15.  Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi 16.  A Testament of Hope by Martin Luther King Jr. 17.  Prejudice and Racism by James M. Jones 18.  Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji 19.  Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson 20.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 21.  All About Love by Bell Hooks 22.  Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim 23.  Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin 24.  Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon 25.  There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald 26.  Paradise by Toni Morrison 27.  Healing Racial Trauma by Sheila Wise Rowe 28.  Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 29.  The Lies that Bind: Rethinking Identity by Kwame Anthony Appiah 30.  The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper 31.  The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann 32.  Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Dr. Soong-Chan Rah 33.  Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith 34.  Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 35.  The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein 36.  Human(Kind) by Ashlee Eiland 37.  A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terry McMillan 38.  Kindred by Octavia E. Butler 39.  Beloved by Toni Morrison 40.  White Teeth by Zadie Smith 41.  Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer 42.  Detours: The Unpredictable Path to Your Destiny by Tony Evans 43.  Unashamed by Lecrae 44.  Believe Bigger by Marshawn Evans Daniels   ARTICLE + WEBSITES 1.     Code Switch: Race in Your Face 2.     White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh 3.     NYTimes An Antiracist Reading List compiled by Ibram X. Kendi 4.     Goodgooodgood.co Anti-racism resources compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein 5.     Buzzfeed’s An Essential Reading Guide for Fighting Racism by Arianna Rebolini 6.     1619 Project (NY Times) – an article series on the history and legacy of slavery in America (also a podcast below). There is a book project in the works to expand on what they’ve started. 7.     The America We Need (NY Times) – a NYT Opinion series that touches on justice in the midst of the pandemic. 8.     “Walking While Black” by Garnette Cadogan   WATCH: 1.     Pastor Eric Mason: Don’t Lose Heart: Why It’s Worth It to Fight for Racial Harmony Even When We Don’t See Progress 2.     Pastor Carl Lentz: I said, “Black Lives Matter” 3.     Dr. Robin DiAngelo’s talk on White Fragility at the University of Washington 4.     How to Deconstruct Racism One Headline at a Time, TEDtalk, Baratunde Thurston  5.     How Racism Makes Us Sick, TEDtalk, David R. Williams  6.     Racial Reconciliation, Latasha Morrison’s sermon, National Community Church  7.     The Privilege Walk   8.     Jon Tyson and David Bailey, class, race, reconciliation, and the Kingdom of God   9.     Becoming Brave: Reconciliation Rooted in Prayer – “why do we need the church?” by Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil     Movies to watch on Netflix: 1.     13th 2.     American Son 3.     Dear White People 4.     See You Yesterday 5.     When They See Us   Movies to watch on Hulu: 1.     If Beale Street Could Talk 2.     The Hate U Give   Movies to rent: 1.     Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 2.     Clemency 3.     Fruitvale Station 4.     I am Not Your Negro 5.     Just Mercy 6.     Selma 7.     The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution 8.     BlacKkKlansman 9.     Burden 10.  The Color of Fear   Listen to these podcasts: 1.     NPR’s Code Switch 2.     Season 2 of In the Dark 3.     Hope & Hard Pills with Andre Henry 4.     Her with Amena Brown 5.     Truth’s Table Podcast 6.     Fights and Feelings with Joseph Solomon 7.     Anti-Racism with Andre Henry on The Liturgists 8.     Pod Save the People 9.     1619 Project Podcast 10.  Scene on Radio’s “Seeing White” 11.  Why Tho   The Refined Collective episodes on race: 1.     Anxiety, Race, and Healing Community with Nikia Phoenix 2.     I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness with Austin Channing Brown 3.     Why Being a ‘Good Person’ Prevents You From Being Better with Jeana Marinelli   People to follow: 1.     @austinchanning 2.     @theconsciouskid 3.     @blackcoffeewithwhitefriends 4.     @theandrehenry 5.     @colorofchange 6.     @rachel.cargle 7.     @ibramxk 8.     @mspackyetti 9.     @blklivesmatter 10.  @osopepatrisse 11.  @reformlajails 12.  @akilahh 13.  @showingupforracialjustice 14.  @tyalexander 15.  @tiffanybluhm 16.  @natashaannmiller 17.  @thefaithfeast 18.  @louisa.wells 19.  @abigaileernisse 20.  @jessicamalatyrivera 21.  @thegreatunlearn 22.  @laylafsaad 23.  @luvvie 24.  @pastorgabbycwilkes 25.  @elevateny 26.  @pastoremase 27.  @lecrae 28.  @whatisjoedoing 29.  @sarahjakesroberts 30.  @bishopjakes 31.  @devonfranklin 32.  @iammiketodd 33.  @amenabee 34.  @shaunking   You don’t have to read all 44 books in one day. You don’t have to start a non-profit. BUT YOU DO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. I have not read every single one of these resources, but am making my way through them one by one. I am with you on the journey.   What are you committed to? How are you going to ensure that you are no longer silent? It’s time for white people to do something.   We are co-creators with God; it’s time to get to work.

Today on the pod, we have a now 3 time returning quest Kia Smith (@KiaSpeaks) to discuss Casey Gerald’s The Black Art of Escape and how it connects to the recently released film Queen & Slim. Apologies for the audio quality difficulties. This is a review of the film so if you haven’t seen it yet, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Facebook: Kia Speaks Twitter: @KiaSpeaks Instagram: @KiaSpeaks Remember to pick up @CaseyGerald’s There Will Be No Miracles Here for the December book of the month. Support your local bookstore. Before you start Casey’s book, I think it’s important to get to know the author so here are few things to check out: The Black Art of Escape The Gospel of Doubt Embrace your raw, strange music If you live in the Montgomery, AL area, you can pick it up at 1977 Books. 1977 Books is located at 39 Dexter Ave Suite #209, Montgomery, AL 36104. Facebook: 1977 Books Instagram: @1977Books Twitter: @1977Books Remember to check out the Reading While Black Merch Use promo code “RWBXMAS” for 35% off Remember to leave a review and 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Remember to leave a Voice Message

Hello readers, we’re back again this week. We’re in full swing of our Different Day = Different Conversation special and today we have the Michigan’s youngest State House Representative from District 11, Jewell Jones. State Rep Jones is serving his second term representing the 11th House District, which comprises all of Garden City and Inkster, and portions of Dearborn Heights, Livonia and Westland. Jones previously served on the Communications and Technology, Regulatory Reform, and Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. Before serving in the Michigan House of Representatives, Jones was a member of the Inkster City Council. He was also a member of the Inkster Task Force, the Inkster Youth Coalition, the Inkster Chamber of Commerce and more. Jones attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he is pursuing a dual major in Political Science and Business Studies. He is also a member of the National Guard, Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, the Black Student Union and the Student Veteran Association. Jones is a native and current resident of Inkster. He has been active in political campaigns for several years and also operated a small business. In the House, he is focused on improving public education, keeping young talent in Michigan and maintaining strong, vibrant communities. Instagram: @JewellJonesMI Twitter: @JewellJonesMI Remember to pick up @CaseyGerald’s There Will Be No Miracles Here for the December book of the month and support your local bookstore. Before you start Casey’s book, I think it’s important to get to know the author so here are few things to check out: The Black Art of Escape http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/the-black-art-of-escape.html The Gospel of Doubt - https://youtu.be/NI915VTjCHE Embrace your raw, strange music - https://youtu.be/DsrxbqFo41k Remember to check out the Reading While Black Merch Use promo code “RWBXMAS” for 35% off https://teespring.com/stores/reading-while-black-book-club?aid=marketplace Remember to leave a review and 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Follow Us: Twitter: @ReadingWhileBLK Instagram: @ReadingWhileBLK www.readingwhileblackbookclub.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ReadingWhileBLKPOD/message

Hello readers, we’re back again this week. We’re in full swing of our Different Day = Different Conversation special and today we have the only Black Woman serving as Campaign Manager for the current 2020 presidential cycle, Maya Rupert. Maya Rupert is the campaign manager for Julián Castro's (D) 2020 presidential campaign. She served as executive director of Castro's political action committee, Opportunity First, and worked as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) while Castro was secretary of the department. Rupert also worked as a policy director for the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Twitter: @MayaRupert Twitter: @JulianCastro Remember to pick up Casey Gerald’s There Will Be No Miracles Here for the December book of the month and support your local bookstore. Before you start Casey’s book, I think it’s important to get to know the author so here are few things to check out: The Black Art of Escape - http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/the-black-art-of-escape.html The Gospel of Doubt - https://youtu.be/NI915VTjCHE Embrace your raw, strange music - https://youtu.be/DsrxbqFo41k Remember to check out the Reading While Black Merch Use promo code “RWBXMAS” for 35% off https://teespring.com/stores/reading-while-black-book-club?aid=marketplace Remember to leave a review and 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Follow Us: Twitter: @ReadingWhileBLK Instagram: @ReadingWhileBLK www.readingwhileblackbookclub.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ReadingWhileBLKPOD/message

In this episode, I sit down with my new big sister, Bassey Ikpi and we discuss her best seller, I’m Telling The Truth But I’m Lying. We also talk about mental health, going to therapy, learning to love being alone and so many other things. Remember to check out the Reading While Black Merch!!! Use promo code “RWBXMAS” for 35% off https://teespring.com/stores/reading-while-black-book-club?aid=marketplace I’m Telling The Truth But I’m Lying https://www.basseyikpi.com/books Twitter: @BasseyWorld Instagram: @BasseyWorld Our next book will be There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald There Will Be No Miracles Here https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549841/there-will-be-no-miracles-here-by-casey-gerald/ Twitter: @CaseyGerald Instagram: @CaseyGerald Follow Us: Twitter: @ReadingWhileBLK Instagram: @ReadingWhileBLK www.readingwhileblackbookclub.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ReadingWhileBLKPOD/message

Called ‘extraordinary’ and ‘electrifying’ by Marlon James and Colm Tóibín, Texan writer Casey Gerald’s powerful memoir traces fault lines in American racial and masculine identity. There Will Be No Miracles Here examines how Gerald grew up underprivileged, black and gay in Dallas but went on to study at Yale and Harvard, and work on Wall Street. It’s an American Dream story; so why does he spurn the classic rags-to-riches narrative? Live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 he shares his thoughts with educator and Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.

Casey Gerald discusses his memoir, "There Will Be No Miracles Here," at the University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum on Oct. 25, 2018. Interviewed by CNN contributor Van Jones.

Casey Gerald, author of “There Will Be No Miracles Here,” was the poster child for the American Dream, escaping a harrowing childhood to enter a new world of elite universities and secret societies. But as he climbed the social ladder, he saw how this hierarchical divide stifled those at the margins. He came to understand that “salvation stories” like his could be used to keep others from rising. In this interview with AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz, Gerald turns the American Dream narrative on its head, explaining how to keep a positive, but realistic mindset when faced with adversity, while challenging our preconceived notions of success. At AFP 2019, he will elaborate on these ideas even further in a special presentation. AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Each week this August, we’re updating some of our most thought-provoking episodes. This week: writer Casey Gerald reflects on what we lose when we buy into the promise of the American dream. We first talked to Casey about his book “There Will Be No Miracles Here,” back in November of 2018. At the end of the episode, there's a very special update from from Casey, including the realization that he was thinking about freedom, and how we get free, all wrong. We want to encourage you to discuss these episodes with friends and family, too, so we’ve put together a handy guide on how to organize your own podcast club. It’s like a book club, but for podcasts. Visit thenod.show/podcastclub for more info. Recommendations from Casey: Chani Nicholas workshops "Awakening the Three Psychic Knots" meditation "An Ecstatic Experience" by Ja'Tovia Gary

Casey Gerald has witnessed every facet of the American dream. From his harrowing childhood in Texas to his tenure at the heights of America's elite institutions to his journey through the cities and towns of the American heartland where his spent his recent years as co-founder and CEO of MBAs Across America. Now, his work as a writer, speaker, and business leader centers on the question, “Will the American dream survive another generation?” Casey received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College. He began his career in Economic Policy and Government Innovation at the Center for American Progress. He has been featured on MSNBC, in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, and he's even appeared on the cover of Fast Company; which also named him one of the most creative people in business. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of NPR's, Generation Listen, and is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here. In this episode, Casey and I discuss how we've both experienced others using our stories to validate or dismiss the suffering the others, the role God has played in both of our journeys, how he was able to share from such a vulnerable place in his memoir, why it was important for him to shift his focus from success to wellness, and so much more!   To learn more, visit the show notes.   Want to continue the love-fest? Follow me on Instagram!

I have a chat with fellow Texan and an amazing author and overall person Casey Gerald. His memoir, There Will Be No Miracles Here, was released late 2018. We talk about his writing process, his life, Texas, the Black church, and literally everything in between. be sure to check out his book available where ever books are sold. and follow him on all social media @CaseyGerald

From growing up “on the wrong side of the river” in Dallas, to studying at Ivy League schools and taking on the trials and tribulations of both Wall Street and entrepreneurship, Casey Gerald has lived an extraordinary life at the ripe age of thirty-two. Now, he has documented it all in his new memoir, “There Will Be No Miracles Here," which informed the emotional and inspiring talk he gave to conclude VOICES 2018, with a deeply personal glimpse into his thoughts on identity, courage and spirituality. Sign up for BoF’s Daily Digest newsletter here: http://bit.ly/BoFnews. Ready to become a BoF Professional? For a limited time, enjoy 25% discount on an annual membership, exclusively for podcast listeners. Simply, click here: http://bit.ly/2KoRRBH, select the Annual Package and use code PODCASTPRO at the checkout. For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.For all sponsorship enquiries, it’s: advertising@businessoffashion.com.

On the surface, Casey Gerald (http://www.caseygerald.com/), was living the dream.Growing up in Oak Cliff, Texas, he broke from the binds of an addicted, imprisoned dad and mentally-ill mom to become a star athlete, scholar, then a student at Yale, where he majored in political science and played varsity football.Heading next to Harvard Business School, while pursuing his MBA, he co-founded a foundation, MBAs Across America, that landed him on MSNBC, at TED and SXSW, on the cover of Fast Company, and in The New York Times, Financial Times, and The Guardian, among others.But, when you scratch the surface, things weren't as they seemed. As he shared in this week's conversation, everyone wants to make you into a nugget, a simplified soundbite. Gerald was anything but. Struggling with everything from his sexuality and faith, to his fierce desire to carve his own unique path, to live his own life, Casey, decided to walk away from it all, begin to write, and follow a path of self-discovery and revelation. His journey is laid bare in a stirring new memoir, There Will Be No Miracles Here (https://amzn.to/2QHjyvE)Check out our offerings & partners: ThirdLove: Go to ThirdLove.com/GOODLIFE now to find your perfect fitting bra... and get 15% off your first purchase.Kopari: Go to KopariBeauty.com/GOODLIFE and save $5 off your first order.Talkspace: Go to Talkspace.com/GOODLIFE and use the code GOODLIFE to get $45 off your first month.

Writer and thinker Casey Gerald reflects on what we lose when we buy into the promise of the American dream. In his new book, “There Will Be No Miracles Here,” Gerald unravels his origin story, which was previously held up as a “rags to riches” tale, and tells his truth, which is much more complicated.

In this episode, meet former NFL player Marcellus Wiley, cofounder of MBAs Across America, Casey Gerald, and staff writer for The New Yorker Bill Buford. Football—the American and British variety—plays an important role in each of these authors’ lives. Speaking from their personal experiences, they share musings, lessons, and expertise that may make you think about how sports and society’s expectations have affected your own life. And, hear why narrating is surprisingly more difficult than “a triple day training camp practice”. Never Shut Up by Marcellus Wiley: http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/572553/never-shut-up/ There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald: http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/549841/there-will-be-no-miracles-here/ Among the Thugs by Bill Buford: http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/20946/among-the-thugs/

Casey Gerald, was selected by Oprah Winfrey as one of the SuperSoul 100. Casey has witnessed every facet of the American Dream - from his childhood in Texas, to his tenure at the heights of America’s elite institutions, to his journeys through the American heartland where he has spent his recent years as co-founder and CEO of MBAs Across America. Casey Gerald is already an electrifying presence in the world. He is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Business School; his TED Talk, “The Gospel of Doubt,” has been viewed 1.8 million times; his Harvard Business School commencement speech went viral and brought him to national prominence; he opened for President Barack Obama at South by Southwest; and Fast Company declared him one of the “Most Creative People in Business.” Casey has been featured on MSNBC and in The New York Times. His new book is entitled, “There Will Be No Miracles Here.”  Visit www.caseygerald.com. Get the Inclusion Revolution CD by Sister Jenna.  Like America Meditating.  Visit our website at www.AmericaMeditating.org.  Download our free Pause for Peace App for Apple or Android.  

“How can there be anything wrong with trying to do good?” asks Anand Giridharadas in his new book, Winners Take All. “The answer may be: when the good is an accomplice to even greater, if more invisible, harm.” Giridharadas has done his time in elite circles. His education took him through Oxford and Harvard, he spent years as a New York Times columnist, he's a regular on Morning Joe, he’s a TED talker. And so when he mounted the stage at the Aspen Institute and told his fellow fellows that their pretensions of doing good were just that — pretensions — and that they were more the problem than the solution, it caused some controversy. Giridharadas’s new book will make a lot of people angry. It’s about the difference between generosity and justice, the problems with only looking for win-win solutions, the ways the corporate world has come to dominate the discourse of change, and the fact that elite networks change the people who are part of them. But for all the power of Giridharadas’s critique of elite do-goodery, does he have better answers to the problems they’re trying to solve? And what of the very real problems that have left so many disillusioned with government, or the very real accomplishments that exist in the systems we’ve built? If we are pursuing change wrong, then what needs to be changed to pursue it better? Recommended books: There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald (forthcoming) The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Francis Fukuyama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices