116 - Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza - Activist Theology and Dismantling Supremacy Culture

Podcast

Jun 10

Written By

“I hope that my work speaks from the scars and not the wounds.” ~Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD

Revolutions take work. The movement to dismantle supremacy culture rightly demands that much of the work be done off-camera, by those who benefit most from its proliferation: white people, myself included. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD, engages those willing to do the requisite heavy lifting through stories (and, sometimes, food).

As a queer activist, Latinx scholar, and public theologian, they stand at the intersections of systemic analysis and lived experience. As a white-passing person of color, they move through the world with the same power, access, and privilege afforded to those who’ve set the ground rules for centuries. It’s upon this solid foundation that Robyn has constructed a specific view of modern, global Christianity, namely that Jesus the revolutionary wouldn’t be any more welcomed in the oppressive system of today than he was two thousand years ago.

Robyn casts an equally critical eye at our government, challenging yours truly to confront, in real time, the overt systems of supremacy under which American democracy was founded. Honest conversations about white supremacy and fragility are often mired in shame and an unwillingness to admit our collective lack of historical memory.

Robyn invites white people to get dirty, to sit with our defences and explore our tacit acceptance of supremacy culture. Only then, they say, can we join forces and begin to heal our world. “I think the work of coming together is our work…It’s an ethics of togetherness because if we are together in a practice of being human with one another, we can actually reshape our democracy.” The revolution is here. Are you in?

GUEST BIO:

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD has been described in a myriad of ways: a scholar-activist, scholar-leader, thought-leader, teacher, public theologian, ethicist, poet of moral reason, and word artist. Among these ways of describing Dr. Robyn, they are also a visionary thinker who has spent two decades working in the hybrid space of church, academy, & movements seeking to not only disrupt but dismantle supremacy culture by focusing their PhD studies on new concepts of being & becoming, decolonizing knowledge production, & bridging with radical difference. They enflesh a deep hope of collaborating in these hybrid spaces where their work seeks to contribute to the ongoing work of collective liberation. Activist Theology as a disciplinary off-shoot of liberation theology & Movement idea has been incubating since 2008 with Dr. Robyn and further developed throughout their doctoral program and engagement with Movement leaders. Now, Activist Theology has the chance to emerge as a collaborative project. Dr. Robyn was named 1 of 10 Faith Leaders to watch by the Center for American Progress in 2018. As a scholar-activist, Dr. Robyn is committed to translating theory to action, so that our work in the hybrid spaces reflect the deep spiritual work of transforming self to transforming the world. Dr. Robyn writes & creates both academic & other valuable resources, including digital resources. Dr. Robyn is a non-binary Transqueer Latinx who calls Nashville, TN home.

Website: https://activistheology.com/

CONNECT WITH ROBYN:

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD

Activist Theology Project

Activist Theology Podcast

RESOURCES MENTIONED

You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes / April 29, 2020

The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny - by William Strauss