What Happens If We Don’t Tell Our Stories, with Jemar Tisby

Back in early 2020, on the first season of The Disrupters, Jemar Tisby told then-host Esau McCaulley that a person of color’s participation in historically white Christian spaces inherently come with a cost: “You get pushed out, you burn out, or you sell out.”  For McCaulley, this was a challenge to his own approach, as a black Christian who was a professor in a white-Christian institution: “This podcast is a record in time, and this is a hypothesis.” Said McCaulley at the time. “Let’s follow God in this way, and then let’s check back in 5-10 years and see what God has done with both. Hopefully, he’s blessed both.” It hasn’t yet been five years, but for both Tisby and host Nancy Wang Yuen, the writing is on the wall. White Christian institutions have not created spaces where they can thrive.  But what does that mean for the way forward? For Tisby, a key component of moving forward involves telling his own story in as truthful a way he can. “What I realized over time is if we don't tell our stories, then they can continue the really unhealthy, traumatic, abusive behavior. In some cases, the malpractice is allowed to continue.”  Jemar Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, national speaker, and public historian on a mission to deliver truths from the Black experience with depth and clarity. Disruptions discussed in this episode:  An Open Letter to the Board of Trustees at Grove City College White Awake by Daniel Hill Those Meddling Kids Pass the Mic Truth’s Table: The Podcast and The Book Truth's Table: Get In the Word Podcast Tyler Burns’ Sermons at All Nations Fellowship Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman Let us Google that for you. Amanda Gorman Reads Inaugural Poem, The Hill We Climb The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Executive Producers are Helen Lee and Andrew Bronson.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands