Last weekend, September 14-15, St. Stephen Church and Simmons College of Kentucky hosted the third annual Angela Project commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Black Enslavement in America. Some of the featured speakers included Jesse Jackson, Dedrick Assant-Muhammad, Yvette Carnell, Joe Phelps and Antonio Moore. Baptist Seminary of Kentucky was invited to be an exhibitor at this event, and several members of the faculty, staff, and student body attended the event throughout the weekend. Dr. Laura Levens, BSK’s Assistant Professor of Christian Mission, gathered powerful quotes from the event speakers during Friday’s session.
“There has been no systemic financial stability for descendants of slavery in the United States. The racial divide was built to be a wealth gap among other gaps. As MLK said, “we’ve been given a bad (bounced) check.” -Antonio Moore
Dr. Kevin Cosby leading a Q&A time with Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore.
“African American descendants of slaves have experienced escalating income inequality over the past ten years. Descendants of slaves continue to bear all the cost and failures of American capitalism with none of the legacy of the wealth. Young people understand failure baked into the present and are anxious, afraid, burdened with debt. They need people to face the data and not blame the oppressed. Church, they need you to speak about Justice Jesus.” -Yvette Carnell
“White theology talks a lot about loving God and adoring Jesus, but nothing about loving your neighbor as yourself. It leaves out transformation and reparations in Zaccheus. White privilege is the capacity to look at the Bible and miss the social implications. This is theological heresy that cripples our nation’s view of God. When you see that your entire life and your genealogical story is slanted and built by the undergirding of white privilege, you get vertigo. It’s me, O Lord.” -Joe Phelps