Associate Editor’s Message: What would Jesus do?

By Aswad Walker

NOT WHAT JESUS WOULD DO

White evangelicals and soft-headed Christians of color are rejoicing at the news that unlicensed religious chaplains will now be allowed to work in Texas public schools—no certification or classroom experience required—thanks to a new law signed by Abbott. And with the GOP takeover of HISD, we know that means a certain type of chaplain. One who subscribes to the brand of faith adhered to by Trump, Uncle Ruckus, the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, the white domestic terrorist Proud Boys who wanted to hang Mike Pence (and all Democrats), and all those good Christian folk over the centuries who led and/or participated in the lynchings of Black people and the destruction of Black Wall Streets nationwide. You know; those white Christo-nationalists who cheered on the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and George Floyd. And this fall, they’ll be counseling your kids; children they don’t even see as human.

LIBRARIES-TO-SCHOOL JAILS TRAVESTY

If there was ever any doubt about the dubiousness of the state/TEA takeover of HISD, state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles put all doubts to rest when he announced his plan to turn libraries on 28 Black and Brown schools into detention centers and fire their librarians—librarians who are quite often the most learned and degreed and credentialed educators in the building. Librarians, who have for decades exposed children to the joys of reading and lifelong learning. School libraries, which, for many years, were the only libraries Black students could enter. Libraries, home to information and resources folk on the wrong side of the Digital Divide can access since they can’t do so at home. School libraries, arguably the most beloved places on school campuses (next to the cafeteria and gym). And Miles wants to transform them into on-campus jails? Lord, Lord.

NFL REMINDS US WHO THEY ARE

Though there are several states racing to prove they are the most anti-Black, it’s really only a two-horse race between Texas and Florida. And sure, Texas has voter suppression and gerrymandering on steroids; outlawed diversity and equity; and seeks to turn libraries in Black and Brown schools into detention centers. But Florida is what the youngfolk call a “Real One.” Florida’s anti-Black street cred is so deep, the NAACP issued a “travel advisory” warning Blackfolk to steer clear of the “Sundown State.” Yet, while the Alphas and other organizations are pulling their conferences out of Florida in protest, the NFL just announced it’s moving its Pro Bowl to Orlando, giving a full-throated endorsement of the state’s anti-Blackness. Remember, the NFL is still whitelisting Kaepernick, under-hiring Black coaches and doing their Black alums dirty regarding benefits. And now this. Maya Angelou told us long ago, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

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