The emerging prophetic voices in America

Mitch Hurst
Aug 8, 2017 · 2 min read

Who represents American values? Who speaks for people of faith? With few exceptions, the media has rolled out the pulpits for conservative evangelicals, ignoring progressive Christian voices and voices from other faiths and providing an interpretation of morality in America as restrictive, judgmental, and anti-intellectual.

Prophetic voices emerge to represent and amplify the voices of people who live on the margins of our economy and society. They view historical religious and philosophical figures, such as Jesus, not as rule makers but as exemplars of inclusive moral frameworks and equitable public policies. They are prophetic in the sense they warn against our march toward disenfranchisement.

Although in his iconic song Paul Simon wrote, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls, and in the sound of silence,” the current times have re-energized and vocalized a group of leaders willing to fight back against the regressives and reactionaries who increasingly control the levers of power.

Who are our prophetic voices? The Rev. William J. Barber II, leader of the Moral Mondays movement in Raleigh, North Carolina; writers Rebecca Solnit, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Jamilah Lemieux; Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal; activist Ai-jen Poo of the Domestic Workers Alliance. Their voices are just as reflective of American values as Franklin Graham, Michele Bachmann, and countless others who receive ample time on our broadcast airwaves.

A new project aims to amplify these voices. Created by the Kindling Group, a nonprofit documentary filmmaker that has produced the award-winning Radical Grace and other films, The Prophetic Voice is a series of digital-only, short documentaries that feature America’s prophetic voices, offering an honest exploration of values in a way that catalyzes dialogue, understanding, acceptance, and possibly common purpose.

In addition to the film series, an aggressive online outreach and engagement campaign will be launched to promote dialogue and coalesce audiences around the issues that are highlighted. We want viewers for the videos, but more importantly we want them to act on what they see and join a community or movement through which they can make a difference.

The Prophetic Voice is still in the planning stages, and everyday we see evidence of the importance of prophetic leaders in our dialogue about the direction of the country. Leaders are fighting for immigrant rights, raising the minimum wage, preserving the social safety net, racial equality, and other critical issues that impact our communities.

We aim to turn up the volume on their voices and their impact.

Mitch Hurst

Written by

Experienced communications strategist, editor, producer, and freelance writer. Dad, Liverpool FC fanatic.

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