stephenmatlock.com

writing the journey

  • #WakingUpWhite
  • Events
  • Comment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
  • Books and Other Works
  • #WakingUpWhite
  • Events
  • Comment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
  • Books and Other Works

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

American Exceptionalism, faith, history, justice, Life Recovery Skills, racism, writing

Moral Switzerlands

This is a prescient verse from 3000 years or so ago: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve;…

read more
July 15, 2019
musings

Six Freedoms Black People Do Not Have Under a White Supremacy

via Six Freedoms Black People Do Not Have Under a White Supremacy I highly recommend you take a look at this article.

read more
April 29, 2019
10 Days of Music, Music

My Life in Music: Day 1

Order and Beauty, Mixed I was given the task by a friend of choosing 10 songs that greatly influenced me. I will post one song per day, for 10 consecutive…

read more
June 15, 2020
musings

Review: Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle

Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle by Kristen Green My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a lovely,…

read more
July 5, 2015
Black Lives Matter, justice, racism

The White Voice in Black Conversations

There seems always to be that moment when the white participant says something that is simply too much to handle.

read more
September 19, 2021
  • A woman yells through a megaphone
    faith,  housekeeping,  justice

    Which Way?

    October 9, 2021 /

    Your faith is about your personal relationship with your values, and it should not matter in the slightest whether anyone knows why you behave as you do when you behave better because of your faith.

    read more
    stephen matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Mug of coffee on a square of burlap. A journal and pencil lay next to it. There are coffee beans scattered around the cup and on top of the journal.

    The Confidence of Ignorance

    July 25, 2020
    Brass key sitting on fallen leaves

    Hard Questions, Hard Answers

    June 20, 2021

    Getting From A to B

    March 4, 2019
  • A Black man, centered, is being pushed by the hands of an off-screen person
    Black Lives Matter,  justice,  racism

    The White Voice in Black Conversations

    September 19, 2021 /

    There seems always to be that moment when the white participant says something that is simply too much to handle.

    read more
    stephen matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    AI generated image of a black tea kettle and several black pots

    When the Pot Gets It Wrong About the Kettle

    September 23, 2023
    protest march with a sign that says "No Justice No Peace."

    When we resist, we resist completely

    April 8, 2023
    A man works to repair a church window.

    On Deconstruction

    March 17, 2022
  • book cover. Brian Broome as a child, overlaid with the title of the book PUNCH ME UP TO THE GODS
    Black Lives Matter,  racism,  reviews

    REVIEW: Punch Me Up to the Gods

    September 15, 2021 /

    We learn, slowly, how to gather the people around us who will care for us and who will give us some space in their own lives.

    read more
    stephen matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A Black man, centered, is being pushed by the hands of an off-screen person

    The White Voice in Black Conversations

    September 19, 2021
    Brass key sitting on fallen leaves

    Hard Questions, Hard Answers

    June 20, 2021

    REVIEW: Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege

    December 12, 2021
  • American Exceptionalism,  faith,  justice,  questions,  writing

    Beliefs and Behaviors

    August 19, 2021 /

    The Jesus of the texts doesn't encourage harm for others—and the opponents of health protocols aren't demonstrating the person of the texts.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Domino tiles laid out on a wooden table

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 40: Bull in a China Shop

    January 26, 2020
    A stramd of barbed wire running horizontally

    When Our Bibles Get It Wrong

    February 27, 2022

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 4: Optimism

    February 2, 2019
  • Sihouette of man walking toward light
    American Exceptionalism,  Black Lives Matter,  justice,  racism

    Shadows on the Wall

    July 15, 2021 /

    CRT is about systems, not individuals. Systems are developed as shortcuts for lengthy processes so that we don’t spend all our time trying to figure out how to hand multiple situations and not have disparate outcomes.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    protest march with a sign that says "No Justice No Peace."

    When we resist, we resist completely

    April 8, 2023
    Leaf floating on water

    When You Fall

    September 21, 2019
    A white man in a hat smiles at a white woman who smiles back.

    REVIEW: Good White Racist?

    May 24, 2021
  • Black Lives Matter,  humor,  justice,  racism,  reviews

    REVIEW: Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend

    June 25, 2021 /

    I’ve read many books this year, some of them similar to his in that they are life stories. This is the first one that I finished where I wanted to have more.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A white man in a hat smiles at a white woman who smiles back.

    REVIEW: Good White Racist?

    May 24, 2021

    My First Foray into the Field

    November 16, 2023
    Man sitting on bench by church

    A Place We Cannot Enter

    October 14, 2019
  • Brass key sitting on fallen leaves
    American Exceptionalism,  Black Lives Matter,  faith,  justice,  racism

    Hard Questions, Hard Answers

    June 20, 2021 /

    Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, which is simply you can’t follow Jesus if you have more important things than Jesus.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 20: My Robin Hood Syndrome

    April 9, 2019
    Gruff bearded white cowboy wearing a white hat

    REVIEW: Jesus and John Wayne

    May 19, 2021
    Three people sit facing a large mural. The mural has about a hundred faces.

    We Must See People in Color

    January 22, 2021
  • American Exceptionalism,  Black Lives Matter,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    Real but Imaginary Threats

    June 19, 2021 /

    Much ink will be spilled in the next few months or even years about the topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT), both by those who think they support it and those who think they oppose it

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 10: The Melting Pot

    February 22, 2019
    American flag, backlighted so that a white cross appears on the blue canton with white stars

    The Devil Is a Christian Nationalist

    May 23, 2021
    banknotes

    Juneteenth, Reparations, and What Do I Do About It?

    June 19, 2019
  • American Exceptionalism,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism,  writing

    The Fear of Transparency

    June 5, 2021 /

    The myth of white success also develops the myth of white innocence. All the successes were due to white efforts that others seemed unable to copy; all the events of terror and destruction were minimalized and forgotten. And white innocence was preserved & confirmed for a people who could gladly declare their devotion to America as the land of “liberty and justice for all.”

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Two women, one white, one Black, are having a conversation with each other. They're seated facing each other at a table next to a large window overlooking an urban setting.

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 45: Normalizing Race Talk

    May 9, 2020
    American flag, backlighted so that a white cross appears on the blue canton with white stars

    The Devil Is a Christian Nationalist

    May 23, 2021
    Close-up of two old doors painted white. The paint is peeling off.

    Beyond the Sight Lines of Racism

    January 1, 2021
  • A white man in a hat smiles at a white woman who smiles back.
    American Exceptionalism,  Black Lives Matter,  Books,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    REVIEW: Good White Racist?

    May 24, 2021 /

    As your friend, I need to tell you something about myself that I also see in you, and it’s something that’s bringing harm to people.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A stramd of barbed wire running horizontally

    When Our Bibles Get It Wrong

    February 27, 2022

    My Dear White People

    November 10, 2019

    Carefully Taught, Thoroughly Educated

    October 21, 2019
  • American flag, backlighted so that a white cross appears on the blue canton with white stars
    American Exceptionalism,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    The Devil Is a Christian Nationalist

    May 23, 2021 /

    There is no divine right for Christians to control the government. There is no place in the Constitution for Christians to be given charge of the government to rule as “Christians.”

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A montage of human faces overlaid by various color filters.

    What makes someone a human?

    March 2, 2023
    Boxes and cups and bottles all stacked on shelves

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 37: Boxes and Labels

    November 29, 2019

    When it is too much to bear but must be borne

    April 18, 2023
  • A Black woman and a white woman look down at an unseen fire. One is holding a stick with a marshmallow on it.
    musings

    REVIEW: The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person

    May 20, 2021 /

    Absolutely great. Frank, honest, funny, touching, real. Frederick Joseph here is at once wonderfully endearing and approachable and also blunt and direct, someone who is self-possessed and self-aware, and someone who is going to be a great friend for whomever will let him be exactly that. I found myself laughing on quite a few pages, but almost in the next line wincing or even blurting out “oh my god.” There is so much truth here, and great observations, and the definite proclamation of “I am a man,” much in the spirit of the resisters of the 1960s. I appreciated so much the willingness to go into the paint, as it…

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Six Freedoms Black People Do Not Have Under a White Supremacy

    April 29, 2019

    My Dear White People

    November 10, 2019
    White cat stretching on a brown wooden plank

    Two Things

    June 29, 2024
  • Gruff bearded white cowboy wearing a white hat
    American Exceptionalism,  faith,  history,  justice,  Life Recovery Skills

    REVIEW: Jesus and John Wayne

    May 19, 2021 /

    Du Mez answers the question “What happened to white Evangelicals between Clinton and Trump?” with provocative, well-researched data to show the inevitability of the election results in 2016—and 2020.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    The Barley Soup Recipe

    January 2, 2019
    Man sitting on subway

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 30: Feelings and the Culture of Niceness

    September 10, 2019
    A man works to repair a church window.

    On Deconstruction

    March 17, 2022
  • American Exceptionalism,  justice,  racism

    Maybe the Tree Is Bad

    April 16, 2021 /

    If policing is such a difficult skill that it results in the killing of Black civilians again and again then perhaps the problem is not the civilians.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Close-up of two old doors painted white. The paint is peeling off.

    Beyond the Sight Lines of Racism

    January 1, 2021

    Not Your Place, Not Your Time

    April 15, 2022
    A stramd of barbed wire running horizontally

    When Our Bibles Get It Wrong

    February 27, 2022
  • Books,  education,  faith,  reviews

    REVIEW: Urban Apologetics

    April 6, 2021 /

    This is a solid book and a solid resource for any Christian, but it is focused on the needs of the Black Christian in today’s America.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see

    January 26, 2019
    A white man in a hat smiles at a white woman who smiles back.

    REVIEW: Good White Racist?

    May 24, 2021

    Review: When They Call You a Terrorist

    February 9, 2019
  • faith,  family,  justice,  musings,  racism

    This Do

    April 1, 2021 /

    There is nothing that white American Christians have or want as human beings that our Black brothers and sisters do not want.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    REVIEW: Anxious to Talk About It

    January 17, 2022
    Two orange butterflies alight several thistle blossoms

    Bullhorns and Butterflies

    June 19, 2022
    Mug of coffee on a square of burlap. A journal and pencil lay next to it. There are coffee beans scattered around the cup and on top of the journal.

    The Confidence of Ignorance

    July 25, 2020
  • faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    On the Public Death of a Suspect

    March 30, 2021 /

    I am watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, taking place right now, to determine his culpability and guilt in the public death of George Floyd some ten months ago.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Mug of coffee on a square of burlap. A journal and pencil lay next to it. There are coffee beans scattered around the cup and on top of the journal.

    The Confidence of Ignorance

    July 25, 2020

    Fieldnotes on Allyship: Now in Print

    October 10, 2020

    The Barley Soup Recipe

    January 2, 2019
  • church building in an empty field. The sky is gloomy. A fence runs down the right side of the picture.
    American Exceptionalism,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    Can This Racial Division Be Healed?

    February 11, 2021 /

    It’s fascinating and saddening to realize that the people who are outside the faith have a better understanding of Jesus and Christianity and the Gospel than many Evangelicals have.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A footbridge in the fog. The bridge is held up by a concrete hand.

    Be Like Betty White

    January 2, 2022

    The Fear of Transparency

    June 5, 2021
    Boxes and cups and bottles all stacked on shelves

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 37: Boxes and Labels

    November 29, 2019
  • Three people sit facing a large mural. The mural has about a hundred faces.
    American Exceptionalism,  history,  justice,  photos,  racism

    We Must See People in Color

    January 22, 2021 /

    It is the reality of America that white people do recognize color, and use it for judgment about a person’s character.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 27: Living into Expectations

    June 18, 2019
    Community and Acceptance

    What Is the Home That Shuts Its Doors to You?

    September 23, 2019

    The Fear of Transparency

    June 5, 2021
  • Close-up of two old doors painted white. The paint is peeling off.
    American Exceptionalism,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    Beyond the Sight Lines of Racism

    January 1, 2021 /

    Small acts lead to great effects, and nothing that we do is wasted when we are committed to doing well.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Moral Switzerlands

    July 15, 2019
    A stramd of barbed wire running horizontally

    When Our Bibles Get It Wrong

    February 27, 2022

    When it is too much to bear but must be borne

    April 18, 2023
  • Books,  faith,  justice,  racism

    REVIEW: How to Fight Racism

    December 28, 2020 /

    Working to bring our fellow human beings up to their full dignity as people who are endowed with full human, civil rights is a good thing for all of us,

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Review: When They Call You a Terrorist

    February 9, 2019

    REVIEW: Urban Apologetics

    April 6, 2021

    If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see

    January 26, 2019
  • history,  reviews

    THE TSAR’S LOCKET, by Ken Czech

    October 13, 2020 /

    Nations must ally themselves against external enemies, but what of enemies within?

    read more
    stephen matlock 7 Comments

    You May Also Like

    White Doors of Opportunity

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 19: My Good Luck

    April 1, 2019

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 42: Solidarity and Accountability

    March 16, 2020

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 10: The Melting Pot

    February 22, 2019
  • faith,  history,  justice,  racism,  writing

    Fieldnotes on Allyship: Now in Print

    October 10, 2020 /

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that America is centered on the success, promotion, pleasure, and whims of white people.

    read more
    stephen matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Entertainment Matters

    February 23, 2019

    When it is too much to bear but must be borne

    April 18, 2023
    Brass key sitting on fallen leaves

    Hard Questions, Hard Answers

    June 20, 2021
  • reviews

    THE CHRISTMAS EVE PROMISE—Interview with Elyse Douglas

    October 6, 2020 /

    Do those people change history all that much as they live their little lives? We come and go like passing clouds.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    REVIEW: Urban Apologetics

    April 6, 2021

    I Am MLK Jr

    October 21, 2019

    #WakingUpWhite Chapter 2: Family Values

    January 29, 2019
  • book cover. An upraised fist of rebellion. Title "Fieldnotes on Allyship" is typeset underneath the fist.
    education,  faith,  history,  justice,  racism

    Fieldnotes on Allyship is Launched!

    October 2, 2020 /

    Fieldnotes on Allyship is launched—an anthology of eighteen writers from three continents writing about allyship for the Black community.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A book cover for "Chita Pa Bay". An outline of a man With one hand he is holding a conch shell to his lips to sound an alarm, and with his other he holds a machete.

    I begin “Chita Pa Bay”

    December 31, 2022
    A book cover. A young boy holding his bicycle is kissed by a young girl.

    Mwen damou pou Vava – a story

    March 17, 2023

    One thing more

    November 20, 2022
  • musings,  reviews

    THE CHRISTMAS EVE PROMISE, by Elyse Douglas

    October 1, 2020 /

    What if you could return to the past to correct a mistake in the present?

    read more
    stephen matlock 3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Update on the Language Journey

    July 15, 2023
    banknotes

    Juneteenth, Reparations, and What Do I Do About It?

    June 19, 2019

    SPEAKASY: An interview with Elyse Douglas

    May 4, 2022
  • essays,  faith,  justice,  Life Recovery Skills

    When Church Becomes the State

    September 27, 2020 /

    Sometimes we think that by making our country an explicitly religious one, we will solve our problems. But the results are always worse.

    read more
    StephenJ Matlock 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Mural of man expressing anger. Blue hair and shirt.

    With Malice Aforethought

    May 9, 2020
    white man with gray hair faces away from camera, sitting in empty stone church.

    Making the Past the Past

    August 1, 2020
    A black and white photo. A young man stands in the middle of a grove of slender trees, all with white trunks.

    When Words Fail

    December 12, 2019
 Older Posts
Newer Posts 
Ashe Theme by WP Royal.