The Origins of America's White Jesus
During this holiday season, you likely encountered public nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus, presenting the family with very rare exceptions as white. And the same can be said of his ubiquitous adult portrait \u2013\u2013 with fair skin and hair a radiant gold, and eyes fixed on the middle distance. In this segment from 2020, Eloise talks to Mbiyu Chui, pastor at the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, about unlearning Jesus's whiteness. She also hears from\xa0Edward Blum, author of\xa0The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America,\xa0about how the image came dominate in the U.S.,\xa0and psychologist\xa0Simon Howard\xa0on how White Jesus has infiltrated\xa0our subconsciouses. Lastly, Eloise speaks to\xa0Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas,\xa0womanist theologian and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, about the theology of\xa0the Black Christ.
\nThis is segment first aired in our October 1st, 2020 program,\xa0God Bless.
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