The same religious tradition was used to defend slavery and challenge it. The historical record reveals how institutions, economic interests, and religious authority became intertwined. I’ve been thinking about something that many of us learned growing up. We were taught that taking the Lord’s name in vain meant saying something like “Oh my God” or “God damn.” Even saying those phrases could get you in trouble.

I’m watching Mississippi again. I keep coming back to the same thing. Nolan Wells didn’t drown. The autopsy findings reportedly don’t support drowning as his cause of death, which makes the questions surrounding what happened to him even harder to dismiss. Yet a grand jury declined to indict anyone in connection with his death. That’s the part I’m struggling with. How can there be this many questions surrounding the death of a young man and the response still be that th