Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's Blog

Two years ago this week, seventeen people were arrested on the first “Moral Monday,” sparking a summer of protests in which tens of thousands came to register their objection to immoral policies backed by dark money and extremist legislators. More than 1,000 people were arrested in the largest civil disobedience campaign since the 1960s sit-in [Read More...]

A few weeks ago, I got to worship at First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama alongside John Lewis, one of the most courageous nonviolent freedom fighters of the 1960s. I thought about how we were standing in the place where nonviolence came to America in 1955. We talked to the grandson of the woman who [Read More...]

Since meeting Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in the late 50s, Bob Zellner has lived his life in the Southern Freedom Movement. May 6-10 this year, he will serve as elder and guide for School for Conversion’s 21st-Century Freedom Ride to Selma, Alabama. Bob has nearly 60 years of experience from which [Read More...]

Now that it’s black history month, kids across American are learning about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, Martin King and Rosa Parks. These heroes of the black-led freedom movement remind us that #BlackLivesMatter has been a bold assertion throughout US history. But it is as true now as it was during abolition. In so many [Read More...]

I spent a few days this week away from Durham in another Southern town, visiting with young people who’ve relocated to under-resourced neighborhoods there. They told me what they’ve learned about themselves and their home communities, living on the other side of the tracks. I listened to them struggle with what they’ve seen and heard—and [Read More...]

Clarence Jordan, the Southern Baptist radical who started an inter-racial farming community in Southwest Georgia in 1942, used to tell a story about a time when he was invited to preach at a big, fancy church in the city. The pastor showed Jordan around his mid-20th century version of a mega church, celebrating the merits [Read More...]

This weekend, 47 years after Martin King’s death, America will pause to remember his life and witness. At celebrations in churches, community centers and town squares across the country, many will wax eloquent, remembering Dr. King’s Dream.   Amidst the accolades, it’s also important to remember what people were saying about Dr. King 50 years ago. [Read More...]

Some years ago, when George W. Bush was president and some folks from Christian Peacemaker Teams were being held hostage in Iraq, Leah and I spent this first weekend of Epiphany across the street from the White House, keeping vigil and to “shine the light” on the Iraq War. January nights in DC are long [Read More...]

 For Christmas in 1849, when nearly four million people were enslaved in America, abolitionists introduced a new carol. “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” celebrated the announcement of “peace on earth, good will to men” as more than a sentiment to warm people’s hearts. It was a proclamation that injustice could not last forever. In [Read More...]

Since we opened a third home here at Rutba House(s) this summer, I’ve found myself praying morning prayer in three different places each week. The same old songs ring a bit differently in each place, inviting me to see what God is up to from a different vantage point. I’ve been praying with my eyes [Read More...]