MOURNERS' BENCH: BLACK JOY & HEALING
THE FOUR
LEAD HOST: Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews GUESTS: Reverends Rudy & Juanita Rasmus Seeing Big Ma on the Mothers’ pew of the church, crying her heart out in grief, gratitude and joy, left an indelible mark on me…as a child I knew something powerful and transformative was happening in the front of the church, on “the Mothers Bench.” -MRM Conflating the Mother’s & Mourner’s bench as a child, Rev. Mathews has since envisioned ideas of grief, conquering fear, healing, joy and liberation that enflesh theology and hold much-needed space for trauma healing and...
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RECLAIMING THE WHOLENESS OF OUR STORIES
THE FOUR
LEAD HOST: Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews GUEST: Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Roshi Black contemplation and spirituality are a wellspring for the work of individual and social transformation. Drawing from his engagement with ’s seminal best-seller, , Rev. Mathews leads The FOUR as they explore with their good friend how the spiritual ways of Black folk are reshaping practice for Buddhists and others committed to liberation.
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SHOUTIN’ IN THE FIRE & FINDING FIERCE LOVE
THE FOUR
SHOUTIN’ IN THE FIRE & FINDING FIERCE LOVE LEAD HOST: Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis GUEST: Dante Stewart Best-selling author and new voice, , stormed the scene with his personal story. In 2016, he was a rising leader at his predominantly white evangelical church. But then came Donald Trump and Dante quickly found himself isolated amid a people unraveled. He needed to leave his god box and Dr. Lewis challenges us to do the same. , Dante’s coming of age in a time of terror, calls us to reclaim and reimagine spiritual virtues like rage, resilience, and remembrance. Similarly, Dr. Lewis,...
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BONUS MINUTE - Linty: Under the Black Light
THE FOUR
Join The FOUR in an absolutely hilarious few minutes down memory lane and those basement parties of yore. (You know the ones...and if you don't, you've really got to give this a listen!)
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RECONNAISSANCE: WHAT DO WHITE EVANGELICALS WANT AND HOW ARE THEY TRYING TO GET IT?
THE FOUR
LEAD HOST: Lisa Sharon HarperGUEST: Kristin Kobes Du Mez catapulted to the top of the best-seller list with her book, . A leading church historian, joins The FOUR in a real eye-opener for the team. Kristin pulls back the curtain on conservative white evangelical America to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the white evangelical movement, what got us to January 6th, and where we may go next. In sum, at times The FOUR were left speechless. This episode features the track by Blue Dot Sessions
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BONUS MINUTE: "I will not hate."
THE FOUR
BONUS MINUTE: "I will not hate." Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. shares a deeply moving experience with MLK, Sr.
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PART 2: HOW TO DEFEAT AMERICAN FASCISM AND OTHER LESSONS FROM THE MOVEMENT
THE FOUR
LEAD CO-HOSTS: Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis GUEST: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. The FOUR continue the conversation with Globally revered, Dr. Moss is one of America’s most distinguished leaders in the decades-long struggle for civil and human rights, health care, education and social justice. Join The FOUR for Part 2 of their conversation. Reverend Moss co-pastored with Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and was a board member and regional director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during Dr. King’s tenure as...
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PART 1: HOW TO DEFEAT AMERICAN FASCISM AND OTHER LESSONS FROM THE MOVEMENT
THE FOUR
LEAD CO-HOSTS: Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis GUEST: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. Where to begin? is one of America’s most distinguished voices, advocating for the achievement of education, civil and human rights, health care and social justice. His influence is global and revered. The FOUR are honored to invite Dr. Moss into a two part conversation with this influential and very special leader. Reverend Moss co-pastored with Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and was a board member and regional director of the Southern Christian...
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BONUS MINUTE: "The Dyson-ator!"
THE FOUR
Catch another sneak peek into the word master, Michael Eric Dyson, as he joins The FOUR.
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BONUS MINUTE: What's the film that grabbed you?
THE FOUR
TheFOUR had a blast talking film with NPR's Josh Larsen. Catch a couple of minutes of the run-up to that interview here!
info_outlineGUEST: Ruby Sales
“I never will talk about my ancestors as being back in the day as they are part of a continuum.” Few have worked harder to cut and mend the ties between oppressor and oppressed than the one and only Ruby Nell Sales. The FOUR are honored to be joined by this iconic human rights activist, public theologian, and social critic. She offers wisdom beyond words for all of us on the unconquerable strength of the Black spirit through history; the subversiveness of prayer; and the “social and spiritual cataracts that interfere with the way we see ourselves.” Her resolute messages reverberate for future generations as she expresses concern for the false sense of freedom in the age of technocracy.
Ms. Sales witnesses profound strength in the American Black family, including her own. But for too many people of African descent, family stories were buried as a strategy to conquer us, and that toll remains to this day. It’s something TheFour’s Lisa Sharon Harper has taken on, documenting this nation’s history through a richly researched 10 generations of her family story—Black, white and Native American—in her newest book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All. Like Harper’s family story, Mama Ruby calls for repair through truth-telling, reparation and a measure of forgiveness to cut the ties that still bind.
Ms. Sales’ long fight for freedom began in the 1960s with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SNCC, at Tuskegee University, as a student freedom fighter in Lowndes County, Alabama. And it nearly got her assassinated. Jonathan Daniels, a white freedom worker from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, pulled Sales out of the line of fire. But Daniels was shot and killed. The assailant was acquitted by an all white jury.
Ms. Sales has bravely been on the national scene since, dedicated to the work of racial, sexual, gender, and class reconciliation, education, and awareness. She’s been a mentor to many, including members of The FOUR.
Her current project, SpiritHouse, plays leading roles in public policy debates on poverty, prison industrial complex, the shrinking budget for human needs, voting rights, privacy and judicial issues, and neo-conservatism; train grassroots volunteers and staff; and houses SisterAll Programs that bring together Black women from all walks of life to renew their historical roles as a community of activists, spiritual guides, and leaders on the front lines of racial, economic, and human rights, using non-violence and participatory democracy to build up a 21st-century front-line crusade for racial justice.
Among her many recognitions and awards: Certificate of Gratitude for her work on Eyes on the Prize; featured in Broken Ground: A Film on Race Relations in the South; in 1999, Selma, Alabama gave her the key to the city to honor her contributions there; 2000, Dan Rather spotlighted her on his “American Dream” series; 2009, named a HistoryMaker for her contributions to civic affairs; 2013, awarded the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Living Legacies Civil Rights Recognition Award; and in 2014, Sales was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.
Ruby Sales knows our ancestors are part of our continuum. Should you wish to find your family story, advances in genealogy, DNA science and increased availability of documentation are making it possible for us to reclaim our histories.