Genesis Be & Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis: Building Collective Freedom with a Poet & Preacher

Laura Flanders and Friends

In a time of division, how do we create a sense of collective freedom? It’s a question that peace activist, artist and poet Genesis Be grapples with in all her work. Genesis Be has a new book out, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity, and recently curated the Freedom Rising art show in Brooklyn, New York featuring work by incarcerated artists currently held by the Georgia Department of Corrections. She is the subject of the upcoming film “Mississippi Turning” about the successful years-long effort to remove the Confederate symbol from the state’s flag. In this episode taped at the CUNY studios in NYC, we turn to a poet and a preacher. Genesis Be joins Laura Flanders and co-host Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation at Middle Church, to discuss how to reject stigmas and advance liberation. Genesis Be painted in the studio — for her and us it was a first.

“I did my protest about the confederate flag that went viral, I hung a noose around my neck and draped myself in a confederate flag . . . It was a very scary time for me because I got thrown into the fight to change the Mississippi State flag. There were a lot of death threats, but a lot of support during that time.” - Genesis Be

“The word freedom is hijacked often by folks: freedom from having to change, freedom from having to admit the humanity of others, freedom from having to widen the tent, freedom from having to let go of their sense of exceptionalism . . . This [conference] was a gathering of like-minded folks sharing a dream of all of us belonging and all of us saving this democracy, interfaith, intergenerational.” - Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Guests:

•. Genesis Be: Poet, Peace Activist, Artist; Author, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity

•. Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (Co-host): Senior Minister of Public Theology & Transformation, Middle Church, NYC

Full Episode Notes are located HERE. They include related episodes, articles, and more.

Music In the Middle: “Blind Lady Say (Be Love)” by Genesis Be; "Steppin" and "The Gall" by Podington Bear.

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Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders, Sabrina Artel, David Neuman, Nat Needham, Rory O'Conner, Janet Hernandez, Sarah Miller, Jeannie Hopper, Nady Pina, and Jordan Flaherty

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