About

about this blog

Hey, friends! Welcome to my personal blog.

I’m a teacher at heart, and my site is devoted to the often-confusing world of navigating conversations about race. If you have ever stumbled inadvertently into a conversation that seemed to have landmines littering the terrain, then you’re in the right place. I’ve been there, too. I’ve survived. I’ve even managed to keep most of my friendships.

I have been teaching racial justice at the high school, university, and graduate levels, encouraging students to do the same in their circles. I do this by translating complex issues at the intersections of race, religion, politics, class, culture, and this blog will do the same for busy people like you who desire to learn a bit more about these clusters of issues. The heart of my work, though, is to help transform us all into better neighbors, citizens, co-workers, parishioners, and friends.

The content here is designed to inform you through my research and personal reflections, and lastly, to encourage you to keep on learning. Like every class I have taught, this site is meant to be conversational. I want to be approachable, so please do reach out to me with questions or comments; I’d love to hear from you. Also, I’ll just let you know up-front: I’m not interested in debating you. I am interested in getting to know you and your important thoughts, not your talking points.

Conversations are life-giving; debates are soul-sucking.

The conversation about racial matters is vast, complicated, and often an emotional roller-coaster, so I’ll take it slowly, in portions all of us can handle. I will post a couple of times a month at the outset and increase as I’m able. All the more reason, I’d love for you to subscribe to the email list and join the conversation.

Justin