Our nation and world are still suffering the pandemic, our nation’s politics are still broken, and most white Christians would vote again for Donald Trump. I'm now launching a series of webcasts - and a companion series of blog posts - about how faith communities are interacting with the politics of poverty.
I have been teaching a graduate course in Berkeley to next-generation leaders who are preparing for careers in either public policy or religious leadership. The webcasts are drawn from guest presentations of ten national leaders at the nexus of poverty, communities of faith, and politics. I am now launching a series of 30-minute webcasts drawn from these presentations, We will release one of them every Sunday morning from now until the 4th of July.
You can receive the link to each webcast in a weekly blog post. Please also sign up for my blog posts if you aren't receiving them now. My blog posts will be sharing reflections on the presentations, insights from readings and discussion with the students, and the events of recent months.
You will also be able to find the webcasts on my website, my new YouTube channel, or the website of the Goldman School of Public Policy.
The ten webcast episodes are listed below:
Episode 1
David Beckmann, President Emeritus, Bread for the World and Alliance to End Hunger
Series introduction
Episode 2
Josh Dickson, Former National Faith Engagement Director, Biden For President
How effective outreach to faith communities helped win the White House and what this has already achieved for people in and near poverty.
Episode 3
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, CEO of Skinner Leadership Institute
& Congresswoman Barbara Lee, United States Representative
How the Black church has helped the African American community build electoral power.
Episode 4
Gabriel Salguero, Founder & President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Examining the extent of support among Latinos for policies to reduce poverty and church efforts to encourage more support.
Episode 5
Henry Brady, Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy
How churches foster democratic participation, but often shy away from needed conflict.
Episode 6
Eric Sapp, Founder, Public Democracy
How tech and artificial intelligence can be used to strengthen support for progressive causes among faith-based voters and strengthen the voice of low-income voters.
Episode 7
Galen Carey, Vice President, National Association of Evangelicals
The strengths of the Evangelical movement and the NAE’s poverty-related advocacy.
Episode 8
Anna Eng, Senior Organizer, Industrial Areas Foundation
How faith-based community organizations build the capacity of low-income Americans to speak for themselves.
Episode 9
Amy Reumann, Director of Witness and Society, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Why and how her church influences Congress and how they work with other faith partners.
Episode 10
Tom Hart, North America Director, ONE Campaign
How faith-based and other advocacy groups have helped to increase international aid and support progress against global poverty.
Episode 11
John Carr, Founder and Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University
The resources and liabilities of the Catholic community for this work. Catholic social teaching and Pope Francis.
Episode 12
Eugene Cho, President, Bread for the World
How people and congregations across the country repeatedly convince Congress to do the right thing on issues of importance to hungry people.
Episode 13
David Beckmann
Conclusions