Hey y'all. Happy, happy, happy new year. I hope that the holidays found you warm with loved ones and most importantly, being taken good care of.

Listen, this is a year where a lot is coming.

We know that plenty is going to change for us, for our neighbors, for our loved ones, for strangers we've never even met. People who may have voted for this situation and unfortunately are going to F around and find out,

and even more who didn't vote for this and are still going to be subject to the limbs of, well, that guy.

This is a time where we need to clarify who we are, what we stand for, and how we're moving

forward.

And in my book, we can't do that unless we get clear on the patterns that got us here.

So in the same ways that we've been examining exactly how this election went the way that

it went politically, racially, in terms of gender and all of

the accusations that have been leveled against this leadership. I also want to explore this through

the lens of religion. You all know that I proudly self-identify as a woman of faith, that I was

raised by a black liberation theologian, and that the

Jesus that I worship had brown skin, woolly hair, was born in Palestine, lived and died for all

people, and was subject to state violence. I am a person who identifies as a progressive because of my

faith, not despite it.

And yet, that's not a lot of people's story.

And I'm not saying that I'm perfect or don't have things to learn because quite the

opposite is true.

But what I know is that I've been watching the Christian faith and so many others be weaponized for

decades. Whether you find yourself to be a religious person or not, this trend is impacting

you. It's impacting all of us. It's got a lot to do with why we're in this political situation and why we'll

stay in it if we don't recognize the patterns and correct them now.

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