At Southern Adventist University

I had the distinct privilege of interacting with students and faculty at Southern this past Thursday. I was invited by a new friend, Lisa Diller, a history prof par excellence whom I met along with her husband, Tommy, at the Wild Goose Festival this past summer, to offer the winter convocation for the university’s history and political studies department. I talked about pressing beyond our usual non-responses to the realization that our privileges often come at the expense of others (e.g. environmental racism). It’s a part of the list of topics I explore when it comes to sustainable living in my work with Kid Cultivators.

The response to privilege I advocated was learning to exploit our privilege on behalf of others–an intuition that arises for Christians out of the Zacchaeus and Abraham myths (myths being stories around which we organize our lives).

The visit included time to talk about food systems with Mindi Rahn‘s geography class and a tour of the new natural garden and greenhouse her classes are cultivating. What I enjoyed most was the time yappin’ with students in the lunch line and during and after lunch. It was fabulous to encounter students thinking deeply about their lives, their faith and their places in the world. Although Southern is predominately white, that more intimate time included just as many black students as white kids, which was great. I also need to shout out the SAU chapter of the Black Christian Union for promoting my time on campus and putting a good many brown faces in the audience of about 80 who packed out the lecture room in Brock Hall where we gathered. Standing room only, baby! You know how we do it!

True to form, something managed to go wrong with my video equipment right as I was getting up to speak (not to mention I somehow stabbed myself with an exacto knife as I was reaching to put my camera back in my bag). So I have no documentation of the moment, except my own memories which are clouded by everything I woulda, coulda, shoulda done differently. The footage I will post in its stead is the song I couldn’t help but play as I came over the mountain into Collegedale. Yeah it dates me and solidifies my corniness but what better song to play crossing the state line, “Tennessee…”

After that, I jumped to AD’s newest album Standing at the Crossroads to help me get up for the moment. Like me, Speech is knocking at middle age, passing back something he hopes those stepping into adulthood right behind him might find meaningful. The songs that epitomize my hope for my time with young adults is “Living” and “My Reflection”. I don’t quite bring it like this yet, but a brotha can dream. Enjoy!