Propaganda

They looked my onyx and bronze skinned forefathers in they face,
Their polytheistic, god-hating face
They shackled, diseased, imprisoned face
And taught a gospel that says
God had multiple images in mind when he created us in it
Their fore-destined salvation contains a contentment
In a stage for which they were given
Which is to be owned by your forefathers’ superior image-bearing face
Says your precious puritans

These lyrics are from Propaganda’s song “Precious Puritans”, and it is not a deviation from his style of writing. The Christian rapper Propaganda is not afraid to address the ways that we as Christians fall short, especially in relation to race. Growing up in LA, he experienced living as a minority in both dominantly Mexican and white neighborhoods. He knew what it was to be different from those around you and to be constantly made aware of it. He was discovered by the group Tunnel Rats, an underground hip hop collective, after learning rap, poetry, art, and dance, and he eventually branched off to work on solo projects. In his music, Propaganda addresses the problem of race in Christianity and culture at large that others are reluctant to discuss. What Propaganda does is point out the issues that are too often ignored and prompt his listeners to engage with hard topics for themselves.

But his input on the subject does not end with pointing out brokenness. In his music, Propaganda also makes an effort to veer his listeners toward the solution. In his song “Redeem”, he writes,

It's a such fortunate failure, and tossed into that sea of forgetfulness
Redeem redeem
Helpless to change our past, but great was Elohim
To redeem redeem
It's no rewind, just redeem
Redeem

He reminds us that the story does not end with Christian failure. The problems will not go away anytime soon and we are given the responsibility as believers to work towards reconciliation, but we are unable to completely fix the problems we created on our own. We cannot change our history, but we are given the hope that God will restore the relationships that have been broken. It does not diminish the work that Propaganda lays before us, but it provides Christians the hope of restoration that is needed to continue.

- Avery Johnson