When Donald Trump says, “Make America Great Again,” what era is he referring to and which demographic is he appealing to?

Robert P. Jones, author of the New York Times bestselling book “The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy,” argues that the slogan is aimed at white Christian voters who fear a lose of cultural control.

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He joined Created Equal to discuss how white Christian nationalism has steered U.S. history and politics. Jones detailed the hidden roots of white supremacy in American society; defined white Christian Nationalism and revealed its anti-democratic nature; and gave his thoughts on what needs to be done to move toward a country that truly values all its citizens equally.

“We’re living in a real moment of reckoning, and part of that reckoning is telling the truth about what happened,” Jones said.

Jones will be giving a talk on democracy, social values and the American story at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 23-24, at the University of Detroit Mercy.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Jones.

Guest:

• Robert P. Jones is the founder of the Public Religion Research Institute and author of “The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

It’s no secret that America’s politics are polarized. According to one preacher and educator, they’re not broken beyond repair. Jim Wallis, author of “The False White Gospel” says the Christian gospel is one way to bridge the political divides in the United States.  

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Wallis says the teachings of Jesus Christ are at odds with the white Christian nationalism that has dominated conservative politics for a long time. 

“Jesus did not say ‘blessed are the peace lovers, or the peacekeepers.’ He said blessed are the peace makers — which means conflict resolvers,” Wallis said. “White Christian nationalism is a conflict maker, dividing people. And Jesus says we’re supposed to be peacemakers, conflict resolvers.” 

Guest: 

• Jim Wallis is a writer, educator and preacher. He is the author of “The False White Gospel” and is the inaugural holder of the Chair in Faith and Justice and the founding Director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice. 

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

For many Black Americans, the idea of religion intersects with freedom in a complicated way. Enslaved Africans came to this country with religions and traditions, most of which were stripped upon arrival and replaced with new forms of worship. 

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Once the freedoms of Black Americans were slowly granted after the Civil War, the ideas for what the future could look like and how to achieve that future were beginning to take root. Black-led cities, towns and small communities began to flourish — many short-lived — but their ideas of a paradise on earth persisted. 

Detroiter Aaron Robertson’s new book, “The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America,” takes a nonfiction look at what happened when Black Americans were dreaming of better lives and different ways of religious thinking. 

The book follows along the histories of these movements — including the history of the Black Christian Nationalist Movement and the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit.

Roberston joined The Metro on Tuesday to chat more about the book and its significance.

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation with Robertson.

More headlines from The Metro on Oct. 1, 2024: 

• A recent set of bills passed by the Michigan state House and Senate would allow home health care workers to unionize. Gongwer News Service reporter Elena Durnbaugh joined the show to discuss the proposed legislation.
• In the late ’80s and ’90s, Michigan adopted punitive criminal policies — at one point incarcerating more juvenile lifers than any other state in the country. But while they’re still possible, life-without-parole sentences are not automatic and much less likely after U.S. Supreme Court rulings limited these sentences. Still, many in criminal justice reform spaces are trying to end life-without-parole sentences completely in Michigan. Tonight, several former juvenile lifers are speaking at Wayne State to share their stories as part of a panel conversation and film called “Life Beyond Life.” Community Engagement Specialist for Safe & Just Michigan Ronnie Waters joined the show to share more about the event.
• Art has the ability to tell stories and weave us together. That’s the theme of a newly renovated studio, gallery and event space, Schinkel Fine Art, located on East Jefferson in Detroit. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “Threads of Connection” opens on Thursday, Oct. 3, with a public reception. Gallery owners and mother/son duo Linda and Teddy Schinkel joined The Metro to talk about the new gallery space.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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• Alice Randall is a New York Times best-selling author, award-winning songwriter, educator and food activist.

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

When Lori Tucker-Sullivan’s husband Kevin died from cancer, she took it upon herself to merge her life-long passion of writing with music, a hobby she shared with her late husband. Though her husband was not a musician, the subject of her writing became clear after she heard Yoko Ono talk about life after her husband, John Lennon, was killed. Ono continued to build a name for herself as a multimedia artist and activist, and that inspired Tucker-Sullivan to explore other stories of women in the spotlight who lost their husbands.

Tucker-Sullivan interviewed widows of rock musicians who navigated the complicated aftermath of their partner’s passing. Some of these women’s lives were upended by legal battles, other’s reputations were distorted because of who their husbands were. Like Yoko Ono, many of these women were committed to defining their own narrative. In Tucker-Sullivan’s book “I Can’t Remember If I Cried: Rock Widows on Life, Love, and Legacy,” she documents and shares those stories. She joined Created Equal to discuss what lessons she learned from these women who persevered through all the commotion.

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Guest

Lori Tucker-Sullivan is a music writer and author. She says these women and their stories are a good reminder that life goes on. “…regardless of the depth of your loss, you can keep going, you can find purpose, you can find new love.” She goes on to say, “I hope they take from it that people who 10, 15 years on still have grief in their lives, but it’s not the central focus of their lives.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.