Hosts of podcast "Truth's Table" set to speak to Lee students
“It’s this idea that as white people we can choose whether to engage or not, but if this is the color of your skin, this is your life,” Dr. Mary McCampbell said about the “Truth's Table” discussion.
Courtesy of Truth's Table
Members of the popular “Truth’s Table” podcast will be making their way to the Lee University campus on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Beginning at 7 pm in the Jones Lecture Hall of the School of Religion, the ladies will engage in a panel discussion on “Speaking the Truth in Love” in regards to racial justice issues in the United States and the Church.
Speaking from personal experience as black Christian women, panelists Michelle Higgins, Ekemini Uwan and Dr. Christina Edmondson formed “Truth’s Table” out of a search for truth in the midst of injustice.
“We are black Christian women who love truth and seek it out wherever it leads us,” the women state on the “Truth’s Table” site.
Each of the three women have a considerable amount of knowledge and experience.
Michelle Higgins, originally a Chattanooga native, serves as the Director of Worship at South City Church in St. Louis. Higgins is also the director of Faith for Justice, a Christian advocacy group, and has spoken for conferences such as Q Ideas and Urbana.
Ekemini Uwan has a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary and has shared her voice on various platforms such as Christianity Today and Huffington Post Black Voices.
Dr. Christina Edmondson earned a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, MS degree in family therapy and bachelor’s degree in sociology. Edmondson is a recognized speaker and currently serves as the Dean for Intercultural Student Development at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Despite only existing for a year, “Truth’s Table” has gained a considerable amount of attention.
Lecrae, who was recently interviewed on one of “Truth’s Table” podcasts, featured pieces of the podcast episode ‘Malcolm X’ on his recent album, “All Things Work Together.”
“Truth’s Table” has been featured in articles from New York Times, Huffington Post and The Atlantic,and was even ranked number nine on Apple’s Top 200 Religion & Spirituality Podcasts list.
Through personal connections with the ladies, Dr. Mary McCampbell, associate professor of humanities at Lee, invited “Truth’s Table” to share their stories and ideas on Lee’s campus.
“I think it’s particularly great to have black women speaking from a place of authority on campus,” McCampbell said. “They are very helpful in opening our eyes to patterns of oppression and patterns of systemic racism.”
“Truth’s Table” asked Dr. McCampbell to choose the topic for the panel discussion.
“The topic I’ve asked them to speak on, ‘Speaking the Truth in Love,’ is just so important because we need to face some of the issues that are very painful, both for people of color and for the dominant culture in this country—the white people,” McCampbell said.
McCampbell believes addressing the topic of racism is a conversation that needs to be addressed more prevalently.
“In the Church and for those like me who have grown up in a predominantly white church, we know the church in our country and especially the south is still, majority wise, segregated,” said McCampbell. “Churches will speak on sexual sin and abortion, and I want to be clear that those are things that should be spoken of, but it almost seems like racism isn’t treated as a serious sin sometimes.”
It is through discussions like “Truth’s Table” that McCampbell believes Christians can begin to grapple with the challenging conversation of racism.
“We need to learn how to lovingly deal with these topics,” said McCampbell. “To be bold but also be loving—and I think they can really help to teach us.”
McCampbell has been planning the Lee event with the help of the Diversity Council and the Racial Justice Advocacy group.
Tolulope Sofeso, a senior biochemistry major and Leadership Development officer of the Diversity Council, is looking forward to the topic, “Speaking the Truth in Love.”
“I think honesty and the art of speaking truth in love are topics that really need to be addressed on our campus,” said Sofeso. “Given that we are a Christian campus and we are usually trying not to offend the other person or come off as rude, we sometimes forget that the truth still has to be spoken and we still need to remain authentic.”
The ladies of “Truth’s Table” will also be speaking at The Camp House in Chattanooga and Covenant College throughout the week.
McCampbell has high hopes for individuals, no matter their race, to attend and hear what the ladies from “Truth’s Table” have to share.
“It’s this idea that as white people we can choose whether to engage or not, but if this is the color of your skin, this is your life,” said McCampbell. “This is not just about politics: this is about caring for the well-being of others made in the image of God. This is about really seeing the Imago Dei in every human being.”
