Passionate for Justice

Nibs Stroupe, Catherine Meeks

Description

"In Passionate for Justice, we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity, and life-giving community. Ida Wells would have had it no other way."
—From the Foreword by Stacey Abrams, 2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of Georgia

Ida B. Wells was a powerful churchwoman and witness for justice and equity from 1878 to 1931. Born enslaved, her witness flowed through the struggles for justice in her lifetime, especially in the intersections of African Americans, women, and those who were poor. Her life is a profound witness for faith-based work of visionary power, resistance, and resilience for today’s world, when the forces of injustice stand in opposition to progress.

These are exciting and dangerous times. Boundaries that previously seemed impenetrable are now being crossed. This book is a guide for the current state of affairs in American culture, enlivened by the historical perspective of Wells’ search for justice.

The authors are an African-American woman and a child of white supremacy. Both have dedicated themselves to working, writing, and developing ministries oriented toward justice, equity, and mercy. This book can be used in all settings, but most especially in churches (pastors and other church leaders, study groups), seminaries, and universities.

Foreword
An Introduction to Ida B. Wells from Her Great-Granddaughter
Preface

1. “To the Seeker of Truth”
2. “Crusade for Justice”
3. “To Tell the Truth Freely”
4. “My Name Is Legion”
5. “At the Crossroads: Just Trying to Be Human”
6. “Order Our Steps”
7. Seeking the Beloved Community

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• justice
• Christian Living
• Social Issues
• Philosophie et théologie
• History of the United States
• Ida B. Wells

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 17 septembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781640651616
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright 2019 by Catherine Meeks and Nibs Stroupe
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Church Publishing 19 East 34th Street New York, NY 10016 www.churchpublishing.org
Cover photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center. Digital Reproduction: Existing Archival Photographic Collection (apf1-08641 Ida B. Wells Formal #5).
Cover design by Marc Whitaker, MTWdesign Typeset by Rose Design
A record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-160-9 (pbk.) ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-161-6 (ebook) ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-294-1 (audiobook)
Contents

Foreword
An Introduction to Ida B. Wells from Her Great-Granddaughter
Preface
1. To the Seeker of Truth
2. Crusade for Justice
3. To Tell the Truth Freely
4. My Name Is Legion
5. At the Crossroads: Just Trying to Be Human
6. Order Our Steps
7. Seeking the Beloved Community
Foreword

The story of America has no finer an example of perseverance, brilliance, and accomplishment than Ida B. Wells. She valiantly navigated a path of courage and strength and trumpeted the call to justice and equality, setting an example that continues to resonate for me and millions of others. Born into slavery in Mississippi, the state where I was raised, she saw the promise of Reconstruction and survived the scourge of white supremacy that followed. Despite a nation that ignored her humanity and shunned her potential, she understood that her capacity stretched deeper and wider than the definitions of white supremacy and of patriarchy. Like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, she crafted her own narrative, and in so doing became a clarion for our soul s deepest ambitions-justice.
A journalist, scholar, and activist, she wove together the ability to investigate and animate issues that robbed blacks of full participation in the citizenship guaranteed by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. In 1892, when white men lynched her good friend Tom Moss in Memphis, she confronted the racism that sought to legitimize murder by vigilantes. She decried lynching and, moreover, demanded action from leaders who failed to protect their citizens. So affecting were her calls to action, her newspaper offices in Memphis were blown up. Though exiled from the South for more than twenty years, Wells became emboldened rather than silenced by the attack. The tenacity, ferocity, and dedication to justice of this former slave girl from rural Mississippi challenged the moral core of America, and her strategic vision for change transformed the lives of millions.
From co-founding the NAACP to producing a compendium of investigations that shocked the conscience of leaders, she redefined what leadership could and should look like. In particular, she furthered the role of women in the fight for justice, and she led without apology in an era when the words of women were not expected to be heard and where black women were summarily dismissed. Ida B. Wells refused to be dismissed.
Because of the witness and work of Ida Wells and those she girded for the fight, we as a nation have made critical progress. Yet, we find ourselves at a crucial turning point in our history, when the forces that sought to silence her and to reestablish oppression seem to gain strength each day. From the tragedy of family separations to the glib invocation of nativism, those charged with maintaining our progress have instead reignited the most infernal instincts of the past. In these moments, Passionate for Justice serves as a welcome and timely reminder of power of witness in our nation s history. I am grateful to Nibs Stroupe and Catherine Meeks for bringing forth this testimony to the life and ministry of Ida Wells. In this work, they reflect upon the power of Wells s life, as well as the dynamic of race and gender that sought to limit her and continues to constrict access into the present age.
I have been awed by Reverend Stroupe during his long and effective ministry at multicultural Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, where he met scripture with action. Together, with the scholarship and insight of Dr. Meeks, they have produced this critical work to help revive the heroism of Ida Wells, not only restoring our understanding of her unflinching example but reminding each of us to find our place in the perennial fight for justice. Through their exposition, we rediscover a model for diminishing those forces of repression and oppression in our individual and communal lives. In her honor, we are called to acknowledge the depth of those oppressive powers in our time, and to be like Wells-to seek a new way of liberty and justice for all.
Ida Wells confronted the evils of her time with a determination to compel America to live up to its highest ideals. Her example continues to guide the work of millions, including my own, as we in our own ways work to reaffirm the humanity of all and the potential for more. I applaud Nibs and Catherine for their efforts, a robust inquiry that produced such a transformative statement about the meaning of Wells s life for the twenty-first century. They honor the life of Ida B. Wells, a life carved out of the hardscrabble ground of slavery, white supremacy and oppression of women, especially black women. In Passionate for Justice , we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity, and life-giving community. Ida Wells would have had it no other way.

-Stacey Abrams
2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of Georgia
Founder of Fair Fight Action
Founder of Fair Count
New York Times Bestselling Author of Lead from the Outside
An Introduction to Ida B. Wells from Her Great-Granddaughter

My great-grandmother Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (aka Ida B. Wells) spent almost fifty years of her life fighting for equality and justice during a period of history that spanned from the Civil War to the Great Depression. Through the writing of articles and pamphlets, plus delivering hundreds of speeches across the United States and the United Kingdom, she chronicled in great detail the atrocities and frequency of lynching that were used to terrorize the African American community. She co-founded and worked with several civil rights organizations that focused on both racial, gender, and economic equity. Not only did she work with some of the most well-known leaders of her time, but also interacted with the less fortunate on a personal level. She visited prisoners, worked as a probation officer, and created housing for Southern migrants.
Regardless of the personal sacrifice that was involved in her work, she was focused on fighting for the betterment of a country even though, as an African American and a woman, she faced discrimination on multiple fronts. She lived through some of the more violent and lawless times in American history. She put herself in dangerous situations in order to investigate the details of devastating riots. And because of her revealing the truth, calling out exact names of people, and encouraging disenfranchised people to fight back against the establishment, her own life was threatened. Despite the danger, criticism, and marginalization she faced, she somehow drew on a higher power and an inner strength to keep going-many times alone.
As our country experiences efforts to divide and oppress people based on race, religion, gender, or economic class, the life and legacy of Ida B. Wells can be a guide and inspiration for those who are committed to equality and justice. Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Time will help people reflect on her principles, struggles, and unwavering commitment to speaking truth to power. Reflecting on the past and drawing on the life experiences of an incredible fighter for justice can bring needed strength and inspiration to current and future leaders who do work to help this country live up to its true potential where there is truly life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
-Michelle Duster
author, speaker, educator
great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells
Preface

I met Nibs Stroupe for the first time one Sunday a few years ago when he stood at the small podium in the dining room-turned-sanctuary at Open Door Community. It never occurred to me then that we would come to this day, coauthoring a book on this woman who is very precious to me.
Nibs and I grew up less than forty miles from one another in Arkansas. He lived in Helena and I lived in a small community called Moro. Though as a little white boy his life and experience were very different from mine in many ways, there are so many ways in which we were walking a parallel path. As you read this book, you will begin to see the ways in which this parallel path was forged, and how our souls were kin to one another, though we were some miles apart geographically and, in many ways, light years apart culturally in our little Arkansas oppressive worlds. Both of us were poised toward the search for liberation from our earliest days and while we had no way to name that quest, there was an inexplicable spirit of grace that moved us along that path and kept us in its protective grip in order to make sure that we found the path.
Both of us are grateful that we found the path and that God s grace has helped us to stay on that path of the search for personal and collective liberation. Though Nibs, along with his wife, Caroline, had the good fortune to pastor a progressive congregation in