Footnotes with Dr. Jemar Tisby

What can a Star Wars series teach us about authoritarianism, resistance, and the state of democracy in America? 

In this episode of Footnotes, Jemar Tisby sits down with his friend and producer, Beau York, a man steeped in Star Wars lore. Together they explore how Andor—a show set in a galaxy far, far away—becomes an urgent mirror for our political present. T

hey discuss the rise of empire, the courage of ordinary people, and the power of storytelling to stir the soul when facts fall flat. 

Whether you're a sci-fi fan, a studen...

Dr. Beth Allison Barris the James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University. She earned her PhD in Medieval History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the bestselling author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.

In this episode we talk about her latest book, Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry.

We discuss:

In this episode of Footnotes, I sit down with investigative journalist Katherine Stewart to discuss her latest book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. 

Katherine’s work, including her previous book The Power Worshipers, which inspired the documentary God & Country, exposes the hidden networks of money, power, and religious extremism shaping our political landscape. 

We dive into the key players behind the antidemocratic movement—funders, thinkers, sergeants, infantry, and power brokers—exploring why financial influence is central to their success. 

Katherine u...

In this episode, I take a closer look at Homestead, the post-apocalyptic drama from Angel Studios based on the novel Black Autumn. I explore its themes of faith, anti-government sentiment, and personal property rights, plus its connection to real-world trends like doomsday prepping and Christian nationalism. Join me as I unpack how this film reflects the intersection of faith, politics, and culture.

Subscribe: JemarTisby.Substack.com  

Spirit of Justice (All Ages Books): bookshop.org/shop/jemartisby 

Key Themes:

On this episode I speak with Amanda Tyler, head of the BJC, a Baptist group that works for religious freedom for all, about her new book "How to End Christian Nationalism."

We talk:

Pick up the book at EndChristianNationalism.com and access a whole library of resources for use in your local context at ChristiansAgainstChristianNationalism.org

Give your kids the...

Fuller Texas and the Pannell Center for Black Church Studies welcome author, speaker, and public historian, Dr. Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise, in celebrating the release of his most recent book The Spirit of Justice: Faith, Race, and Resistance. In this chat recorded live at Fuller Texas, Dr. Tisby will share the heart behind his new work which features bold stories of individuals who have gone before us and how their legacy continues to encourage us to pursue solidarity as the fight against injustices continues today. Following the presentation, Dr. Dwight Radcliff, Academic Dean of the Pann...

Joel Edward Goza dismantles the deep-seated myths that perpetuate white supremacy—and makes the case that reparations are necessary to heal America’s racial wounds and live up to our democratic ideals. 

Like many well-intentioned white people, Goza once believed that he could support Black America’s struggle for equality without supporting reparations. Reparations, he thought, were altogether irrelevant to the real work of racial justice. 

This is a book about why he was wrong. In fact, any effort to heal our nation’s wounds will fail without reparations. 

In Rebirt...

Dive into the pages of The Spirit of Justice and uncover the enduring power of faith and resistance in the fight for racial equality. Here are key themes and takeaways you'll explore:

We are nearing 100 episodes! Let me know what you'd like to hear or see more of on the Footnotes podcast. Email: info@jemartisby.com 

Please leave me a review! The last new review was July 2023! I'd be glad to read yours on the next episode. 

You're hearing from Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey about her latest book "Antiracism as Daily Practice: Refuse Shame, Change White Communities, and Help Create a Just World"

ORDER HERE

We discuss: 

--Why I resona...

Author interview!!! Caleb Cambpell has written a book you've probably been waiting for...

It's called "Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor." 

At one point in his young life, Caleb Campbell was an avowed white supremacist. Then through a series of experiences he followed Jesus and has turned his energies toward discipling his white Christian nationalist neighbors out of this harmful ideology. 

In a first for Footnotes, we are jointly releasing this episode. I wanted to have Caleb on my show, and he wanted me...

We often frame the white Christian nationalism as a problem exclusively of far-right, fundamentalist evangelicalism. What we talk much less about is mainline Protestants and how they have contributed to the rise of Christian nationalism from the 1940s to the present.

I talk with Rev. Dr. Brian Kaylor about the book he co-authored called, Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism.

Among the topics we cover are:

Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021. While many African Americans have celebrated the holiday for decades, many other people know little about it. In this teach-in Dr. Jemar Tisby--a historian, professor, and bestselling author--talks about the history of Juneteenth and describes its importance in the life of the nation. 

In this video you will learn about: 

--The announcement on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, TX 

--The Junteenth flag and its symbolism 

--Why we should celebrate Juneteenth as a national holiday 

--And more! 

You can get...

Dr. Jemar interviews Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter-McNeil about her latest book "Empowered to Repair: Becoming People Who Mend Broken Systems and Heal Our Communities." 

Dr. Brenda is a professor of Reconciliation Studies, a program she founded, at Seattle Pacific University. She is also a pastor and has been doing racial reconciliation work for decades. 

We talk about her journey from Trenton, NJ to Seattle, WA, the importance of self-care in justice work, and how to move beyond the theory and get practical in doing racial reconciliation. 

...

In my second book, How to Fight Racism, I wrote a section called "Create a Pipeline of Mental Health Therapists of Color." In it I suggested that "you or your church could contribute to scholarship funds for people of color interested in getting trained in mental health and therapy." 

Well, a group actually did this and formed the Black Mental Health Counselors Reparations Foundation. I spoke to the three founders: Drs. Dr. Layla Bonner, DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash, and Danny Bryant. 

They explain the extensive and EXPENSIVE process of training to b...

There is a movement of people who grew up in evangelical Christianity out of those circles. These are ex-evangelicals or "exvangelicals."  Now Sarah McCammon, a politics reporter for NPR, has given us the first book-length treatment of this movement and the individuals within it.  In this interview we talk about her very evangelical upbringing (and wax nostalgic about growing up in the 90s along the way). She tells us her thoughts about what's leading to this disillusionment with evangelicalism. We talk about how race affects people differently within and outside evangelicalism. And she tells us what it's like to be a jo...

I have often said, "White Christian nationalism is the greatest threat to democracy and the witness of the church in the United States today." Now there's a documentary showing and telling why this is true.  I talk to Dan Partland, the director of "God & Country" a feature-length documentary film that "takes a closer look at the dangerous implications and explores how a base of Christians has radically stoked a movement erasing the line between Church and State."  Partland explains how he approached the delicate tension of truth-telling while still engaging a potentially skeptical audience. He describes how film can be a...

Michael Wear is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics. It's a book that takes a fresh approach to how faith and politics should interact. Instead of beginning with policies, pundits, or politicians, Wear encourages us to begin with our own spiritual formation.  We talk about everything from our similar conversion stories in evangelical contexts to how to engage people with radically different political persuasions.  Order The Spirit of Our Politics HERE.  Be sure to subscribe to my Substack: JemarTisby.Substack.com  Get your merch here: JusticeTakesSides.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finally, finally, finally you can pre-order my latest book The Spirit of Justice: Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance! This is a book for all those who are weary and heavy-laden. It encourages you by telling the true stories of people who found reservoirs of strength—what I call the spirit of justice—to resist oppression and keep on keeping on. If you pre-order the book you get several bonuses. You get exclusive access to the first chapter of the book. You get access to my keynote message from “The Color of Compromise 5-Year Anniversary Event” where I give a talk titl...

I went to Northern Ireland as part of an endeavor hosted by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and the Telos Group. We were looking at justice and peacemaking in the context of worship. To that end we visited places such as Corrymeela, Derry, Giant’s Causeway, Clonard Monastery, and Stormont just to name a few. In this very special episode of Footnotes, I offer some of my reflections about the trip. The journey deeply impacted me, and I hope this is not my last trip to Northern Ireland! Read more HERE. Be sure to subscribe to JemarTisby.Substack.com And...

In this episode I talk with first-time author Ronald Olivier whose life is a movie...or at least a book. He wrote "27 Summers: My Journey to Freedom, Forgiveness, and Redemption During My Time in Angola Prison." As a historian and racial justice advocate, I've made incarceration one of my primary areas of focus in terms of action and raising awareness. That's why I was honored and excited to talk to Ronald about his experiences in Angola Prison and what he has share with us now that he's on the other side. You'll fee like you could listen to Ronald tell s...

Racism, white supremacy, and the attempt to control Black bodies didn't go away after the Civil War. As I often say, "Racism never goes away, it adapts." One of the ways racism persists is through our criminal legal system, especially the death penalty.  Joia Erin Thornton is the founder and executive director of the faith leaders of color coalition (flocc). Through her organization she works toward eliminating capital punishment in the carceral system. She talks about her journey into this work and why faith leaders need to be involved.  Episode Highlights:  How growing up in the South (Memphis and New Orl...

How do you keep the flame of justice burning in the midst of so much misery and disappointment? A new book, Heart on Fire: 100 Meditations on Loving Your Neighbor Well, is just what you need.  In this episode I get to interview first-time author and long-time artist, Dani Coke Balfour. We talk about how art relates to activism and how all of us have a role to play in doing "good work."  Be sure to grab your copy of Heart on Fire wherever books are sold!  Buy the Book On Amazon Bookshop Episode Highlights:  The difference between "equity" and "equality"  Why it's b...

On this episode of Footnotes, join me as I delve into an enlightening conversation with the esteemed author Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley, discussing his highly anticipated new book "How Far to the Promised Land."  Episode Highlights:  We talk about how Black Christians in white evangelical spaces get "pushed out, burned out, or sell out" and how McCaulley has endured in his place of work  How he thinks about his interracial marriage in view of the historic and ongoing Black experience with racism  What he teaches his biracial children about racial identity and the role of police in the midst of anti...

According to a Psychology Today article, racial and ethnic minorities represent 30 percent of the population, yet 83.6 percent of mental health professionals identify as non-Hispanic White. And only about 5 percent of students enrolled in graduate level psychology programs are Black.  Adebisi Gbadamosi is a Black woman therapist who specializes in addressing racial and religious trauma. She specializes in working with peo[le of color to process racial trauma, Christians to process faith-related trauma, and women wanting to work through any aspect of life. In this episode she talks about her journey into mental health care, her painful experiences with race and whi...

The United States has five percent of the world's population but 25 percent of its incarcerated individuals. But the statistics only tell part of the story. Behind the numbers are real people.  Stanley Frankart is someone who made it out of the prison system and is now helping others to do the same.  Through the nonprofit he co-founded, Young Christian Professionals, Frankart and his team offer character education and professional development to reduce rates of recidivism.  Learn More:  -Young Chrisitan Professionals: youngchristianprofessionals.org -Vera Institute: vera.org  -Prison Policy Initiative: prisonpolicy.org -The Witness Foundation: thewitnessfoundation.co  FIGHTING RACISM is a miniseries...

Racism is not an ideology invented by people of African descent—people of European descent who are considered white hold that dubious distinction. So what is the role of white people in fighting racism?  In part four of the Fighting Racism series, I talk with Shelley and David Park. They are the transracial adoptive parents of a son who is Black. They also composed a curriculum called “Let's Talk Race: A Beginners Guide to Conversations about Race.” In this 5-week course they talk to other white people about race.  Delve into the definition of an ally and how white people can act...

In this episode we are going to talk with someone who knows all too well the challenges of environmental racism externally and the challenges of fighting for racial and ethnic diversity internally at a company.  We are joined by Abigail Oduaol. She works for an organization called Earthjustice which employs more than 500 people. She serves as a senior development office but has also taken it upon herself to spearhead the company's antiracist initiatives and their efforts to make the workplace more responsive to the needs and concerns of its Black employees. This is an informative interview that will challenge and in...

In this episode we hear what one homeschooling parent, Brytni McNeil is doing to create a more racially inclusive and honest culture in homeschooling. Brytni is so graciously vulnerable in sharing her story of coming from a colorblind approach to race to becoming color-conscious. She talks about the challenges of being a Black homeschooling parent and how she is working to make homeschooling families more aware of racial dynamics. Learn more about her work HERE. Subscribe to JemarTisby.Substack.com so you'll never miss a new episode.  Grab your copy of How to Fight Racism HERE. FIGHTING RACISM is a minise...

“Welcome to the FIGHTING RACISM series, a project that explores how real people just like you are fighting racism in their everyday lives. My name is Dr. Jemar Tisby. I'm a historian, an author, a speaker, and a professor of history at Simmons College of Kentucky, and I will be your host and guide throughout this series. In this episode I unpack the ARC of Racial Justice and tell you how this series came about and what to expect. See below for the upcoming episode themes. Fighting Racism Series Real Stories from Real People - Jemar Tisby, PhD Confronting Racism in...

"Critical Race Theory has become a lightning rod in contemporary American politics and evangelical Christianity. This irenic book offers a critical but constructive and sympathetic introduction written from a perspective rooted in Scripture and Christian Theology." I sit down with the co-authors Dr. Robert Chao Romero and Dr. Jeff Liou to talk about the need for this book and the intersection between Christianity and Critical Race Theory.  Buy the book "Christianity and Critical Race Theory HERE.  Subscribe to my Substack and never miss an episode: JemarTisby.Substack.com  Subscribe to my YouTube! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho

In his new book, "More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew", CNN journalist John Blake shares an intimate story of his journey with race, faith, and forgiveness.  In this interview we talk about racial identity, the usefulness of the term "racial reconciliation," and a bit about The Wire.  John's book is now AVAILABLE!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jordan Neely used to dress up and do Michael Jackson impersonations. But on May 1, 2023, a Marine veteran on a subway train put him in a chokehold that led to his death. Neely had allegedly been shouting on the train about how he was thirsty, hungry, and tired of his situation. Neely should not have been killed. He suffered from homelessness and mental illness and the system failed him, we failed him, long before the day of his death.  We talk about why attacks against the houseless population should be classified as hate crimes, why we need better mental health care fo...

In what is becoming a disturbing pattern in Christian higher education, I was contacted by another professor who was fired for her teachings about racial justice.  Professor Julie Moore, formerly of Taylor University, taught a composition class with a racial justice theme. She's been doing this for years. But in January of 2023, her provost refused to renew her contract. As part of the paltry evidence for the dismissal, he cited a quote from me that Professor Moore used in the introduction to her syllabus.  Listen to Professor Moore's story as well as how she and Professor Sam Joeckel are calling the...

Jon Ward is senior political correspondent for Yahoo News, author of Camelot's End: Kennedy v Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party (Twelve Books, 2019), and host of “The Long Game” podcast. Jon has covered American politics and culture for two decades, as a city desk reporter in Washington D.C., as a White House correspondent, and as a national affairs correspondent who has traveled the country to write about two presidential campaigns and the ideas and people animating our times. In this episode of Footnotes, we talk about this upcoming book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Ge...

The 2023 women's NCAA championship game broke records for viewership, and racist reactions also broke the internet.  Two phenomenal players--Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese--used the same "can't see me" gesture during basketball games in the series. One player garnered almost no attention, or simply positive attention, for the gesture, while the other was lambasted.  Can you guess the difference between the two?  Caitlin Clark is white and Angel "Bayou Barbie" Reese is Black.  In this podcast I break it all down--why did this particular incident garner so much attention; what other racial double-standards have we seen; how should we move forward in a...

Professor Samuel Joeckel has been teaching a unit on racial justice at Palm Beach Atlantic University for twelve years. He has been a faculty member at the school for 20 years. All of that came to an abrupt end when administrators at the school fired him for teaching about racial justice.  This is the first interview Professor Sam gave after his dismissal. We talk about his initial reactions to the news, how his students have responded, and what all of this is teaching him about God and faith.  Please support Professor Sam by leaving him encouraging messages, by contributing to his fi...

The twenty-one years that kept Rob separated from his wife, Fox, and their six sons was long enough. As Rob survived two decades at America's bloodiest penitentiary and Fox raised their sons solo, they never stopped fighting for Rob's freedom and for their futures against the statistical odds. All the while, it was love that carried them through. The Academy Award-nominated documentary Time introduced audiences to Fox and Rob, who riveted audiences with their relentless fight for each other and justice, despite America's broken prison system. This book tells the rest of their story. In alternating voices and intimate detail, Fo...

Not only have we reduced Martin Luther King's vision to a single line from his "I Have a Dream" speech, we have also forgotten or ignored his vision for economic equity.  In this episode I talk about King's economic agenda--one that he had from the beginning of his work as a pastor and moral philosopher all the way back in the 1950s and not just in the last few years of his life.  We also get into how the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday came to be and a 15 year saga to get to sign the bill into law.  Some res...

Some thoughts about the Jan 6th Committee’s final hearing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charlie Cobb is a living legend of the Civil Rights movement. He has been an editor, a journalist and founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists. He is a professor. He is the author of several books. And he was the field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Mississippi from 1962-1967. In this episode Jemar talks to him about his book “That Nonviolent Stuff Will Get You Killed” and the new online resources about the history of SNCC. Visit snccdigital.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices