Houston spoken word artist Willy Showtime

The Texas Miracle #13: Would Jesus Say Black Lives Matter?

This week on the podcast: Our resident theologian unpacks the Beatitudes for the 'Blue Lives Matter' crowd, while Prairie View remembers Sandra Bland on the anniversary of her death.

by

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State, we’re talking about race. Specifically, we’re talking about Black lives, and we’re talking about Black lives mattering.

If that offends you, host Andrea Grimes invites you to listen to this episode particularly closely — maybe take notes, too — as Black Texans talk about what it is like to walk in their shoes, or, perhaps, their skin.

We’ll start off with a message for white folks, and for anyone else who thinks “Black lives matter” means others do not, from Dr. David Brockman, the Observer’s resident theologian. Then we’ll go to Prairie View, Texas, where, one year ago this week, Sandra Bland was pulled over and put in jail, where she later died. We’ll hear from poets, pastors and students who are working to make sure that Sandy still speaks, even after she’s gone.

Houston spoken word artist Willy Showtime
Houston spoken word artist Willy Showtime performs at a memorial for Sandra Bland on the anniversary of her arrest in Prairie View, Texas.  Patrick Michels

And finally we’ll head into the studio for an in-depth roundtable discussion with University of Texas professors Peniel Joseph and Christen Smith and Austin Justice Coalition co-founder and second-year Southern University Law Center student Fatima Mann to talk about the media’s misrepresentation (and conflation) of the Black Lives Matter movement, its place in the history of Black Americans’ human rights struggle, and the Black women who are so often ignored when we talk about whose lives matter.

[Editor’s note: There are adult themes, and conversations about racial violence, in this podcast. You can find the Texas Miracle on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow us at @TheTexasMiracle and here on the website for news and updates. If you want to submit an Ask A Texan question, e-mail us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 512-981-5936!]