Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is an intellectual who speaks to the complex dynamics of the American experience. His most well-known books, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, and In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, take a wide look at black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges our democracy face. He is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In his writings, the country’s complexities, vulnerabilities, and the opportunities for hope come into full view. Hope that is, in one of his favorite quotes from W.E.B Du Bois, “not hopeless, but a bit unhopeful.” He is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies, a program he first became involved with shaping as a doctoral candidate in Religion at Princeton. He is the former president of the American Academy of Religion. His books on religion and philosophy include An Uncommon Faith: A Pragmatic Approach to the Study of African American Religion, African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction and Exodus! Religion, Race and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America, which was awarded the Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Book Prize. Glaude is also the author of two edited volumes, and many influential articles about religion for academic journals. He has also written for the likes of The New York Times and Time Magazine.
MUSICAL GUEST: Angela Predhomme
With a laid back, soulful style, singer-songwriter Angela Predhomme expresses emotion with honesty and passion. She has a knack for writing catchy melodies and lyrics that touch your heart, and sings with bluesy overtones that hint of her roots in Detroit. Predhomme’s songs have been heard by millions through television, film, and in major retail chains. Credits include the popular Hallmark movie “Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane,” Lifetime’s hit show “Dance Moms,” Freeform’s “Switched at Birth,” TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” commercials for ING Bank and Fiat, and closing credit placement in the film A Wedding Most Strange, among others. http://www.angelapredhomme.com/
Lyrics to the song that was inspired by the interview:
THE LIE
You've been denying it for years
These are deep-seated fears
It's not acceptance
It's not inclusion
It's collusion
It's the lie
It's there for all to see
Implicit supremacy
Why to hide it?
Why deny it?
Why the long face?
Why the lie?
If you're invited to a table
That you build with your own hands
It's not a bridge
It's not inclusive
It's exclusion
It's the lie
There's a serpent round the legs
And its eyes your throat
Feel it moving
Feel it rising
Feel the coldness
Feel the lie
If you decide your destiny
And control identity
You'll see the tightening
Feel the grip
Here it comes
It's the lie
Its the warped reality
At the heart of the country
It's the decay
It's the wreckage
It's the damage
It's the lie
The foundations are all rotten
And the termites caused destruction
The walls are caving
The roof is failing
It's coming down
It's all a lie
Somewhere in the wreckage
In the rubble of the righteous
Are the honest
Are the real
Is the pure
Is the truth
There's a reckoning to come
When the sorting will be done
Without derision
Without division
Without the hatred
Without the lie
The kiln is fired up
Rage is burning hot
Forge again
In the fires
In the flames
Beat out the lie
Build it for the third time
Rising from the ashes
Hope's renewed
Hope's revived
Hope's reborn
Without the lie