In today’s column , Luke Foster reflects on President Obama, the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois, and Christian hop-hop.
Healing racial wounds in America must go beyond government policy and economic reform and address family norms in our nation’s most marginalized communities. Yet, from the president’s rhetoric to his administration’s initiatives, Obama-era social policies have only made matters worse. The HHS mandate will stifle the sacrificial work of Catholic institutions serving the poorest among us, and the Democratic Party’s entrenched alliances with teachers’ unions have blocked school reforms that could revitalize the nation’s worst school districts.
Politics matters, but real signs of Gospel hope run deeper in art and culture:
There are voices crying in every wilderness. Enter the new generation of Christian hip-hop artists. The chart-topping Lecrae Moore sees his worshipful lyrics and intense sound as part of his broader work to bring Gospel renewal to inner-city culture through ReachLife Ministries . His lyrics repeatedly call on men to honor women and pursue chastity and his “Just Like You” tells the tragic story of a son whose father abandoned him. “Don’t Waste Your Life” has been a perennial encouragement to me. Along with other Christian rappers like Trip Lee—who released a wonderfully poignant pro-life track, “Beautiful Life” —and the richly theological Shai Linne , there is much all Christians should love about the Church and the Faith redeeming an art form to serve neighbor for the glory of Jesus.
Read the full On the Square here .
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