Benders of the Arc: Recent Episodes
Geoff Browning
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said that "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." But does it bend by itself like a rainbow coming to earth? Or does it bend when people and social movements grab hold of that arc and bend it towards justice? We will explore this and many other questions in this series and we invite you to join us on this adventure and exploration of social change.
I met the Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll when we both traveled to northern Minnesota in early June 2021 to support the water protectors who are resisting the building of a pipeline, called Line 3, that will bring even more dirty tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the Great Lakes. We were both there as part of an interfaith delegation in support of the Indigenous leaders who are putting their bodies on line to stop the building of this pipeline that will cut right through the treaty lands of the Anishinaabe people.
Ambrose is the pastor of The Church by the Side of the Road in Berkeley, CA. He has a long resume of being a pastor and chaplain. He was a green fall fellow with Van Jones in Denver, CO working on green jobs and environmental justice. He met Sally Bingham, the founder of Interfaith Power & Light, and realized there aren’t many Black churches who are part of that movement and realized that has to change.
Celebrate Juneteenth with personal reflections, deeply connected music and joyful jams that celebrate freedom. Collette Lynner presents a playlist of Soul, R&B, & Gospel expressions of love, gratitude and jubilation to honor her family and declare that all Black Lives Matter.
This second of two episodes are dedicated to the efforts by people of the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, a member of the Presbyterian Church USA, to make their denomination a more welcoming and inclusive place for LGBTQ people. Listen to this interview with Derrick Kikuchi, Craig Wiesner, and the Rev. Dr. Diana Gibson.
The next two episodes are dedicated to the efforts by people of the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, a member of the Presbyterian Church USA, to make their denomination a more welcoming and inclusive place for LGBTQ people. Listen to this interview with Derrick Kikuchi, Craig Wiesner, and the Rev. Dr. Diana Gibson.
In this episode of BOTA, The Day Worker Center of Mountain View, we interview Maria Marroquin, the Executive Director of the Day Worker Center. Organizations like the Day Worker Center are on the front lines of resisting the xenophobia and racism while also providing an invaluable service to their clients. During a single summer month, the DWC connected 1,365 jobs between workers and employers which allowed them to earn almost $162,000. Many of the clients of the DWC are recent immigrants and the clients are not immune from problems with finding housing.
In this interview with two members of congregations in the Presbytery of San Jose, we discuss what accompaniment looks like and how it helps to support immigrants who are in need.
BOTA interviews Joe Lewis who was one of the students shot on May 4th, 1970 when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on peaceful student demonstrators.