47. Andre Henry
Today's convo is with Andre Henry and we discuss his new book All The White Friends I Couldn't Keep, compromises we make when we are in relationship with people who are non-Black, how the murder of Eric Garner became a wake-up call, and anti-Blackness that exists in all of us.
When the rallying cry “Black Lives Matter” was heard across the world in 2013, Andre Henry was one of the millions for whom the movement caused a political awakening and a rupture in some of his closest relationships with white people. As he began using his artistic gifts to share his experiences and perspective, Henry was aggrieved todiscover that many white Americans—people he called friends and family—were more interested in debating whetherracism existed or whether Henry was being polite enough in the way he used his voice.
In ALL THE THE WHITE FRIENDS I COULDN’T KEEP: Hope--and Hard Pills to Swallow--AboutFighting for Black Lives (Convergent Hardcover; March 22, 2022; $26), Henry explores how the historical dividesbetween Black people and non-Black people are expressed through our most mundane interactions, and why this struggle won’t be resolved through civil discourse, diversity hires, interracial relationships, or education. What we need is a revolution, one that moves beyond symbolic progress to disrupt systems of racial violence and inequality intangible, creative ways.
Sharing stories from his own path to activism—from studying at seminary to becoming a student of nonviolentracial change, from working as a praise leader to singing about social justice—and connecting those experiences to lessons from successful nonviolent struggles in America and around the world, Andre Henry calls on Black people and people of color to divest from whiteness and its false promises, trust what their lived experiences tell them, and practice hope as a discipline as they work for lasting change.
Andre Henry is an award-winning musician, writer, and activist contending for the world that ought to be. He is a columnist for Religion News Service and the author of the newsletter “Hope and Hard Pills.” His activism in pursuit ofracial justice has been featured in The New Yorker and The Nation, and on The Liturgists Podcast.