Ep. 139 - Detroit’s Black Christian Utopia
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Show Notes
The Trump campaign has made us all too familiar with the ideology of Christian Nationalism, with its violent rhetoric and racist undertones.
Far less well-known, though, is the tradition of Black Christian Nationalism, a radical social and religious movement founded by Rev. Albert Cleage, Jr., in civil-rights-era Detroit.
On this episode, associate editor Griffin Oleynick speaks with writer Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America.
Blending history and memoir, Robertson’s book traces the untold story of Black Christian Nationalism while grappling with a question: what does Utopia look like in black?
For further reading:
- Tia Noelle Pratt on Black Catholic parishes
- Shannen Dee Williams on Black nuns in Baltimore
- Gary Dorrien on the theology of Sen. Raphael Warnock