Jesus Saves… From What and For What? The Cost of Whiteness on Black Faith

The Weight of Black Faith in a White World

I engaged with a Black girl on Threads the other day—she was wrestling with her faith, unsure of what to hold onto and what to let go of. Our conversation left me thinking, once again, about whiteness, evangelicalism, and the effect they have on Black people.

Because the truth is, Christianity in the West has never just been about faith—it has always been about power. And that power has always been wielded against Black people.

Take the image above: a Black man holding a sign that says Jesus Saves in the middle of a white supremacist coup—not 100 yards from a noose.

Jesus saves.

Saves from what?

Saves for what?

and WHY?

Because the context in which you hold that sign—the world in which that declaration is made—tells me a lot more about the Jesus you believe in than you might realize.

Faith as a Battleground

When Black people say, “I am a child of God first,” they have a long road ahead.

I know because I’ve walked it.

For Black people in America, faith ha…