Guest: Melissa Tate; Role of choice in our ability to better our lives
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Segment #1: Intro and Interview with Melissa Tate
Go support our friend, Edwin Ramirez, at The Proverbial Life. He released a video this week called "This is Not Biblical Preaching." Check it out!
Melissa Tate is a political conservative and popular social media influencer. She brought some real talk about personal responsibility and personal choice.
Melissa is originally from Zimbabwe and immigrated to the U.S. at age 19. She told us about her life experiences and learning early on from her mother the importance of hard work; she did not allow racism and prejudice to become her identity.
Melissa's critics say she is blaming the African American community for the problems they face, such as poverty, lack of education, school to prison pipeline...because of emphasizing choice and responsibility, But, Melissa's rebuttal is—NO, she is not blaming, but instead her message is actually a message of hope and empowerment! You can actually do something that can change your life and make your life great, based on the choices you make!
For example, three critical life choices that can really have an impact on someone's life and create a more hopeful future:
Finish high school
Get a job
Get married before having kids
What is the impact of the messages of white privilege, white supremacy, and oppression on the Black Community?
In the bigger picture, Melissa believes the narrative put forth is purposeful and being used as a political weapon. These messages/ideologies are actually very dangerous to the Black Community because it creates a mindset that this "oppressive system" is keeping you back from becoming everything you can be in life.
What about entrepreneurship in the Black community? Let's teach people the importance of work and build an entrepreneur mindset, rather than a defeatist mindset of long-term dependence on social programs.
The bottom line: We live in a fallen world. Until Jesus Christ comes back, we're always going to live in a fallen world (where racism and injustice exists), but the question is, what are you going to do with your life to overcome these things?
Resources:
Check out Melissa's book: Choice Privilege: What's Race Got To Do With It?
A helpful resource recommended by Melissa (and Monique!): Please Stop Helping Us by Jason Riley
Article by Jason Whitlock regarding "Blackness" as a religion: "Black Pride Religion Ordained by White Liberals Taking Black People and America Straight to Hell"
Connect with the guest
Find Melissa on social media and check out her website!
Segment #2: Critical Social Theories Coming in to Christian Colleges
Monique's recent blog post: "When Critical Social Theory Moves Into Your Kid’s Christian College Dorm"
Resources
Our small group curriculum, Reconciled, is ready for pre-order! Who will you invite to join you for the study...Maybe family devotions? Your small group or Zoom group?
Check it out!
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