Shows
Stony RoadA Conversation about Christian NationalismIn this episode we talk about the rise of Christian Nationalism as a war on inclusion in America. 2025-06-2941 minStony RoadWhite Male Supremacy and the Empire with Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale Part 2In this episode, we continue our conversation about the pattern of White Male Supremacy aka “the Patriarchy” or "the empire" that has impacted Black Indigenous and People of Color, women and LGBTQ+ folks and continues to inform the conversations we are currently having about diversity, equity and inclusion in the United States of America. Rev. Bushey and Dr Swilley are joined by the Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale, founder of the Incarnation Institute for Sex and Faith, Rev. Bev is an ordained Christian clergy who has spent most of her thirty years of ministry helping people reconnect their spiri...2025-06-1550 minStony RoadWhite Male Supremacy and the Empire with Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale Part 1In this episode, we are talking about the pattern of White Male Supremacy aka “the Patriarchy” or "the empire" that has impacted Black Indigenous and People of Color, women and LGBTQ+ folks and continues to inform the conversations we are currently having about diversity, equity and inclusion in the United States of America. Rev. Bushey and Dr Swilley are joined by the Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale, founder of the Incarnation Institute for Sex and Faith, Rev. Bev is an ordained Christian clergy who has spent most of her thirty years of ministry helping people reconnect their spirits and t...2025-06-0137 minStony RoadCulturally Responsive TeachingIn this episode, Dr. Swilley and Rev Bushey explore Culturally Responsive Teaching, the other CRT, with some insight from Dr. Swilley's recent dissertation on CRT. As schools navigate the new anti-DEI initiatives in American government, we discuss where and how CRT fits into the goals of our education system today.2025-05-1540 minStony RoadRacism, Raccoons and Broken SystemsIn this episode, Dr Swilley and Rev Bushey discuss the four levels of racism (personal, interpersonal, institutional and structural) and how broken systems perpetuate systemic racism in our culture today. Retelling an old fable about a town with a bad curve in the road and our personal experiences with racoons, we talk about the role of fear holds us back from dismantling structural racism in America.Funding for this episode was made possible by a Healing Illinois Grant.Healing Illinois GrantWe receieved a Healing IL Grant through the Field Foundation for 2025. Healing Illinois is...2025-05-011h 02Stony RoadExploring the Intersection of Racism and Indigenous PeoplesIn this episode, Dr. Swilley and Rev. Bushey have a follow up conversation to Episode 7 about the intersections of racism and indigenous peoples. Often forgotten in conversations about race, indigenous persons have been dishonored and oppressed by white supremacy even as the first resisters in America. 2025-02-0115 minStony RoadSettler Colonialism, Resistance and Peyote Politics with Dr. Lisa BarnettIn November 2024, we were joined by the Rev. Dr. Lisa Barnett, Assistant Professor of American Religious History at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK. Our conversation explored the impact of settler colonialism on Native Americans, connecting with the lived experiences of American Indian people today, and how we honor the history of indigenous people and move forward together. Our Guest for this episode:Dr. Lisa Barnett earned her PhD in U.S. History at Texas Christian University in 2017, a Master of Theology in American Religious History from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas in 2012 and h...2025-01-2930 minStony RoadSaying the Quiet Part Out Loud with Dr Cynthia TaylorIn this episode we explore the value of being culturally competent and sensitive at this moment in history. Our guest, Dr. Cynthia Taylor shares her experience working with the Cultural Competency Work Group of a local nonprofit, Project SUN of Kankakee County. Dr Taylor is the Director of Multi-Ethnic Student Services at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois and is a professional mental health provider as well. During the episode, Robert and Shannon share in conversation about current dialogue concerning racial equity in our nation. Usually when we hear the phrase, "saying the quiet part out loud," reference i...2023-02-1455 minStony RoadA History of Trauma on Black Bodies and White Body SupremacyIn this episode we will be exploring the historical patterns of trauma on black bodies and white body supremacy in America. Black bodies have been labeled and treated differently from white bodies by everything from medicine to education, entertainment, civil and criminal law, and law enforcement throughout America’s history. This episode was Inspired in part by two books, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem. 2022-01-231h 23Stony RoadOur Stories of Racial HealingIn this episode we hope to model a racial healing conversation as we explore our own stories of racial identity and reconciliation. 2021-10-281h 03Stony RoadBuilding Blocks for Structural RacismIn this conversation Shannon Swilley & Robert Bushey survey the landscape of segregation in the 20th century and discover how those patterns of division, specifically in housing and education, inform our conversations on racial equity today.2021-08-261h 23Stony RoadA History of Racial SegregationIn this conversation we will examine how the progress and demise of reconstruction erected the foundation for segregation and racial hatred which continues to play out in our own backyards today. We discuss the historical roots of the Civil Rights Movement, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Black Lives Matter Movement.2021-04-211h 21Stony RoadUnited Way Equity Challenge ClipThe United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois Counties Equity Challenge Community Debrief Event on April 7, 2021 at 9:00 AM will feature a conversation based on this clip from Episode Two of the Stony Road Podcast. 2021-03-2602 minStony RoadA History of Racial TraumaIn this conversation we explore the enduring impacts of racism and racial trauma upon our communities. We discuss the traumatic experiences of African-Americans from the Middle Passage to this current moment in history. We ask the question how does this history of trauma impact our conversations on race today.2021-03-2457 minStony RoadA History of Racial IdentityWhenever we talk about racial identity, Whiteness or even Blackness, we believe the conversation must be rooted in history. In this conversation we will discover that racial identities were created to provide freedom to dehumanize those who did not look like Anglo Europeans.Our story is not a singular story of oppression, meaning it didn’t start with oppression. Who were we before the Transatlantic slave trade created African-Americans or Black people?2021-03-021h 00