‘Peace House Community Journal’ Archives
Mosaic or Melting Pot?
Dominant Theologies Denied Marginalized People from the series Peace House Community Journal... By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby I recently read The Cross and Lynching Tree by James Cone. Cone was one of the first and most respected Black Liberation Theologians who emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, arguing that the dominant Christian theology denied the experiences of minorities and had nothing to offer marginalized peoples. The Cross and the Lynching Tree was Cone’s final book before his death. He pointed out the similarities between Jesus’ crucifixion and the experiences of Black Americans who were lynched in this country. He also expressed shock that so few theologians, Black or White, could see the similarities. When he laid out the parallels, I was shocked, too, that I had never seen them, nor heard about them in my fifty plus years of attending church. Individual, cultures, and groups can have blind spotsThe experience was a little surreal, and it reminded me [...]
Mayor Frey’s La-la Land
By MARTI MALTBY On July 30, Mayor Jacob Frey sent out a weekly update that claimed, among other things, that “Under Mayor Jacob Frey’s leadership, Minneapolis is seeing meaningful progress in addressing unsheltered homelessness.“ The update went on to tout the lower costs to the City in encampment closures and a reduction in 911 and 311 calls (85% and 87% respectively) involving encampments. Overall, the Update painted a rosy picture of homelessness in Minneapolis under Mayor Frey’s leadership. Marti Maltby I doubt many alley readers agree with Mayor Frey’s message. Yes, the City has cracked down on encampments, reducing many problems associated with encampments. But the problems associated with homelessness . . . well, those are still with us. The crackdown has simply scattered encampment dwellers to other parts of the neighborhoods. And the problems have moved with them. I don’t need to belabor the point. Anyone who lives or works [...]
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
By MARTI MALTBY In the 1960s, Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus wrote “Don’t let me Be Misunderstood,” a song with lyrics that are intimate, timeless, and universal all at once. Marti Maltby Sung from the point of view of a flawed human, the song expressed the singer’s desire to be good while also asking: Baby, you understand me now?If sometimes you see that I'm madDon'tcha know that no one alive can always be an angel?When everything goes wrong, you see some bad I’ve always liked the song since I heard Elvis Costello’s version from the mid 1980s, although many other versions exist. I can relate to it so easily, knowing that I want to do what’s right, but that I often hurt the people I care about, or even total strangers, because of my weaknesses and limitations. In some ways, the song offers a gut check to the listener. While we can probably all relate to the singer, we should also try relating to the listener. When someone [...]
