In Part 15 of Redlining & White Noise, Dr. Jean Kantamu Latting joins us to talk about personal and social change. “If we imitate the worst of the oppressor,” she says, “we create a backlash and will not make progress.” She speaks with us about the difference between the middle ground and centered space, makes a distinction between agreement and ac…

In Part 14 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Dain and Constance Perry. Dain is a direct descendant of James DeWolf who was the patriarch of America’s leading slave trading enterprise and at the time of his death, the second wealthiest person in America. In this moving episode of Redlining & White Noise, we tal…

In Part 13 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Sammy Rangel, Executive Director of Life After Hate. In this moving conversation, Sammy shares his story of gang violence, incarceration, and how he became immersed in violent extremism. He talks about his transformation from a life of hate to a life of compassion a…

In Part 12 of Redlining & White Noise, our friend Jonathan Russell joins us for a conversation about whiteness and land domination. Using his recent article, the ‘white lie’ connecting President Trump’s pardon of arsonists, current immigration policy, and Charlottesville as a launch point, this episode focuses on the historical and contemporary lin…

Redlining & White Noise Part 11 | Implicit Bias with Edward Palmer In part 11 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Pastor Edward Palmer about Implicit Bias. In this passionate and informed conversation, Pastor Palmer combines personal experience and professional training to inform us about what implicit bias is, …

In part 10 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Will Willimon about his book Who Lynched Willie Earle?, based on the true story of pastor Hawley Lynn’s March of 1947 sermon of the same title. Will walks us through the story of the last recorded lynching in Greenville, South Carolina, the complicity of the mainlin…

In part 9 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor are on location at Project Row Houses in Houston to talk with Eureka Gilkey about Closing the Racial Wealth Gap. Eureka Gilkey is the Executive Director of Project Row Houses, an innovative organization in the Third Ward, which combines art, community development, and historic …

In this episode of Redlining & White Noise, we get to the topic of Redlining. Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor meet with Preston Allen, Director for Community Development at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, located in the Third Ward of Houston. We talk about what redlining is and--beginning in the early part of the 20th Century--how the U.S. governm…

In the 7th episode of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor are joined by the award-winning author, Linda Gordon. A renowned historian, Linda is the Florence Kelley Professor of History at New York University. She is the author of The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition. …

In Part 6 of Redlining & White Noise: Field Trip to Morton Cemetery, Charles and Gregg take a trip back in time to the beginning of Texas -- and into Charles’ personal history. Located along the banks of the Brazos River in Ft. Bend County and established in 1825, Morton Cemetery in Richmond is the final resting place for many first settlers of the…

In Part 5 of Redlining & White Noise, we talk with our friend, Jay Jenkins, Harris County Project Attorney with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. Our topic, Telling the Truth About History, builds on last week’s conversation about the discovery of the skeletal remains of 95 African-Americans in Sugar Land, Tx. As an attorney and advocate for cr…

In Part 4 of Redlining & White Noise, a conversation with Reginald Moore about 95 Bodies & Convict-Leasing. A former correctional officer with the Texas Department of Corrections, Reggie has spent years uncovering the dehumanizing policies and practices of convict-leasing, which began in the years of Reconstruction. He has discovered the remains of…

In Part 3 of Redlining & White Noise, we go to the campus of Texas Southern University to speak with Dr. Merline Pitre about the tumultuous period in American history known as Reconstruction and its aftermath. Merline Pitre is Professor of History and former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Science at Texas Southern University. A …

In Part 2 of Redlining & White Noise, we speak with Dr. Gerald Horne about America's history of enslaving human beings from Africa. Gerald Horne is an African-American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. Dr. Horne is the author of more than thirty b…

In Part 1 of our new series Redlining & White Noise: The Otherization of African Americans, we speak with Rudy Rasmus at his coffee shop in Houston, ThroughGood. Rev. Rudy Rasmus is a pastor, author, and global humanitarian. Along with his wife, Juanita, he leads the nine-thousand-member St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, one of the mos…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Gabriel Lopez and George Nunez, to discuss Homeboy Industries, how it helped them change their lives, and how they experience kinship. Gabriel Lopez is a Senior Navigator at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, the largest gang intervention program in the world and founded by Father Greg Boyle. Georg…

In this encore episode, Charles and Matt examine forgiveness and its challenges, its relationship to the criminal justice system and kinship, and the importance of seeking it. Miroslav Volf's book "The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World" is discussed in this episode. It can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/End-Memory-Remembe…

In this encore episode, Charles, Matt and, Gregg discuss the powerful meaning of Good Friday, the road to the cross, the suffering of God, and the emergence of light.

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined for another encore episode by Mustafa Tameez, Managing Director of Outreach Strategists, for an illuminating discussion about ISIL, ways to combat terrorism in the US, and how our faith communities provide the key to combating it. Mustafa has had a distinguished career in public affairs and communications and has…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Mustafa Tameez, Managing Director of Outreach Strategists, to discuss the American criminal justice system, how we got to the present era of mass incarceration, and where we go from here. Mustafa has had a distinguished career in public affairs and communications and has also advised successful candidates for …

Gregg and Charles are joined by Steve Klineberg to learn about the results from the 35th Houston Area Survey, the diversity it points to, and how the 21st Century city can thrive. Dr. Stephen Klineberg is the Founding Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, where he is also a Professor of Sociology. He has been condu…

Charles and Gregg are joined in this encore episode by reVision staff member Adriana Garcia, formerly a student at Rice University researching gangs and incarceration, along with the social factors contributing to both. Adriana has an inspirational personal journey that has led her from the barrio of Pacoima, California to academia. She shares her …

Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor talk about how people change their lives, with a focus on the Readiness for Change model, the five stages of change, and the ways forward to hope. James Prochaska and colleagues developed the Readiness for Change model, officially known as the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Details are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg speak in this encore episode about trauma, how it manifests itself in the lives of people, responses by those affected by it, and the redemption of everyone in the cycle of trauma.

Charles, Matt, and Gregg talk in this encore episode about communities of redemption, focusing on Matt's research into trauma and recovery, how people who have experienced enormously difficulty move to change, and how we can respond.

In an encore episode, Charles and Matt talk about El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the crucifixion as it is perpetrated today.

Charles, Matt, and Gregg look at recent trends in adolescent substance abuse, how to prevent it, and what factors make a difference in the lives of teens. The article referenced in this episode is here: http://substanceuse.jjie.org/posts/substance-use-among-teens-can-be-prevented/ Additional resources can be found here: SAMHSA: http://www.samhsa.go…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg mark Matt's departure from the podcast with a look back at the great discussions we have had and a look forward at Matt's crucial work. This podcast will continue and will take a brief hiatus while we retool and reorganize. We will be posting encore episodes for a few weeks and then we will be back with new episodes. Please…

Charles and Matt, and Gregg are joined in an encore episode by Dr. Shadd Maruna for an inspiring discussion of how our society labels those in the criminal justice system and processes them out of the community. The group then envision rituals of reintegration that will heal and reconnect. Shadd is now Professor of Criminology at the University of …

Charles and Matt, and Gregg are joined in an encore episode by Dr. Shadd Maruna for an inspiring discussion of how our society labels those in the criminal justice system and processes them out of the community. The group then envision rituals of reintegration that will heal and reconnect. Shadd is now Professor of Criminology at the University of …

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Austin Rios in this encore episode for a timely and intense discussion about the refugee crisis facing Europe and the world, and how it calls the people of God into connectedness. Rev. Austin Rios is an Episcopal Priest who is Rector of St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy. He also serve…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Jamie Byrd to learn about how she overcame one of the most violent racial episodes in recent Texas history, and how she now lives without hate and helps others. Officer Jamie Byrd is a Police Officer with the Houston Police Department. Her father was James Byrd, Jr. of Jasper, Texas. His story is here: http://…

Charles and Gregg are joined by three young reVision soccer players to discuss their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, their transition to America, the challenges they faced, and how they found hope. John Mlondoni, Joseph Kapayamba, and Iluta Shabani are soccer players for reVision Football Club and are high school students in Houston,…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg look at the year of 2017 and try to find hope in the dark places. What results is a crucial discussion about race, social justice, God, and where we locate ourselves. Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" is discussed in this episode and can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/We-W…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg mark the beginning of the season of Advent with a discussion about the absence of God and how we wait for God to break in on our lives.

Charles and Gregg are joined by Elizabeth Henneke to discuss the enormous number of youth serving time in adult prisons, how they get there, and how she is leading efforts to help them. Elizabeth Henneke is an attorney and founder of the newly-formed non-profit Lone Star Justice Alliance which is dedicated to assisting youth in the criminal justice…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Amy Bezecny to look at the need for foster parents, ways churches can connect and make a meaningful impact, and how each of us can get involved. Rev. Amy Bezecny is a Deacon in the United Methodist Church and is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Cultivating Families. The website is here: htt…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined again by Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis to look at how foster youth enter the criminal justice system and how the two systems often overlap to the detriment of us all. Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis is Associate Rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the Heights, Houston, and is the parent of two adopted children. St…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis to talk about the experience of being a foster parent, how trauma affects the family and how to find kinship in a divided 21st-century society. Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis is Associate Rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the Heights, Houston, and is the parent of two adopted ch…

Charles, Matt and Gregg look at a soccer team in Houston that is building community for youth who have never experienced it, and the ways it is forever changing all the lives who are part of it.

Charles, Matt, and Gregg look at our divided American society, how we can work together instead of against one another, and what God tells us about overcoming conflict and division. The Upshot charts on dividedness: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/05/upshot/gun-ownership-partisan-divide.html Walter Bruggermann book: https://www.amazon.c…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Michelle Hansford to hear her amazing story, to learn about the issues surrounding women who are incarcerated and their children of these women, and how we can get involved. Michelle Hansford is a returning citizen who is now working with OneVoice Texas. Their website is here: http://onevoicetexas.org/…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Kathryn Griffin to learn her earthy and inspiring story of addiction and recovery, how women who have been incarcerated can regain their self-worth, and how we are all connected in brokenness. Kathryn Griffin directs We've Been There Done That, an intervention program for women who are victims of human traffic…

Charles, Gregg, and Guest Host Eric Moen are joined by Russ Oeschel to discuss effective disaster relief and recovery approaches, the role that communities play in restoring themselves, and what the church can do to help. The Ven. Russ Oeschel is the Archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and also coordinates disaster response for the Diocese…

Charles, Gregg and guest host Eric Moen discuss the experience of Hurricane Harvey for Houston, the amazing outpouring of volunteerism and connectedness it spawned, and how we move forward.

Charles and Guest Host Eric Moen are joined by Jimmy Abbott and Joy Alonzo to learn about how one church has responded to the needs of its community by broadening how it thinks about outreach, and the implications this will have for everyone involved. Rev. Jimmy Abbott is Rector of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Spring, Texas. Dr. Joy Alonzo is…

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are reunited and talk with Marcos Gonzales about the link between violence and hopelessness, how we can work against white supremacy in our systems and the urgency of locating ourselves with the oppressed. Marcos Gonzales, SJ is a Jesuit candidate for the priesthood and has a Master's in Social Work from Loyola University C…

Gregg and Guest Host Eric Moen are joined at Homeboy Industries by Marcos Gonzales to discuss the lessons of Ignatian spirituality and how to find God all around us--even among the despised and the dispossessed. Marcos Gonzales, SJ is a Jesuit candidate for the priesthood and has a Master's in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. He is curre…

Charles and Gregg are joined by Biko Gray for an essential conversation about the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, the Confederate monuments that are the focal point for this violence around the United States, and where we as people of faith go from here. Dr. Biko Gray is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Syracuse University. Biko…

Gregg and Guest Host Eric Moen are joined at Homeboy Industries by Alison Lass to discuss building the Global Homeboy Network and how forging connections across lines transforms everyone involved. Alison Lass is Global Homeboy Network and Media Relations Director for Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California. Information about the Global Homebo…