Resisting the Spiritual Violence of ICE

Straight White American Jesus

Axis Mundi Media: Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller

News, Politics

4.7 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Brad Onishi sits down with Rev. Alba Onofrio—executive director of Soulforce and host of Teología Sin Vergüenza—for a powerful exploration of faith, queerness, and resistance. Together, they unpack how white Christian nationalism and institutions like ICE perpetuate spiritual violence against marginalized communities, and how Soulforce responds through nonviolent resistance and liberative theology. Rev. Alba shares their own remarkable story—from growing up in Appalachia and coming out, to embracing the name “Reverend Sex” and reclaiming spirituality as a site of freedom rather than shame. The conversation dives into the roots and mission of Soulforce, highlighting its Spirit Resource Library and the movement’s commitment to equipping activists with tools for justice and healing. Rev. Alba reflects on the power of queer and trans ancestors, the complexity of belonging for Latinx and mixed-race individuals, and the importance of creating inclusive, full-bodied faith communities. Through Teología Sin Vergüenza, they continue to cultivate space for unapologetic conversations about faith, identity, and justice—challenging listeners to imagine a world where love and liberation guide our spiritual lives. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 850-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: https://bookshop.org/a/95982/9781506482163 Subscribe to Teología Sin Vergüenza Subscribe to American Exceptionalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Axis Mundy Axis Moondy I'm gonna be. I'm Welcome to Straight White American Jesus.
0:30.9	I'm Brad Onishi.
0:32.1	Great to be with you on this Monday and joined by somebody who is a first-time guest on this show, but with whom I've
0:38.7	gotten to meet and talk with and spend time with over the last six months and feels like
0:44.2	somebody I get to see all the time. And that is the Reverend Alba Anafrio. So Reverend Alba,
0:49.1	thanks for being here. Thank you so much. I'm delighted. You are the executive director of Soul Force and the host of Teologius and Freguenza,
0:58.2	and we're going to talk about both of those right now. I want to start just right in all of it.
1:04.6	And all of it is the terrible moment we're living in. And that moment is one in which in the United
1:10.5	States, we're seeing our Latinx neighbors living in. And that moment is one in which in the United States, we're seeing
1:11.7	our Latinx neighbors living in fear of masked secret police coming to their neighborhood,
1:18.2	to their apartment, to their work, to their kids' school. We're also seeing queer folks
1:23.0	targeted and made as a kind of cultural scapegoat for all the pain and grievance of certain
1:31.0	populations in the United States, including Christian nationalists and white Christian
1:35.5	nationalists and so on. You work for Soul Force. You lead Soul Force. You have done for over a
1:40.4	decade. And Soul Force is not an organization that everyone listening is going to know
1:45.8	about, but you have been doing work that meets this moment for two decades at Soul Force.
1:52.0	Tell us about the guiding principles of Soul Force and why you have resources and trainings
1:56.9	and podcasts and videos and all kinds of things that may be of real help to people right now.
2:06.3	Unfortunately, we are perfectly adept to be in this moment right now.
2:11.3	It's kind of a job that you always hope you're working yourself out of, and yet we find
2:15.8	ourselves here again. So Soul Force is an
2:18.0	organization that started in the late 90s. It started basically as an organization to give the far
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