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Ancestral Wisdom Can Help Us Resist Authoritarian Politics
Abolitionist Sanctuary
Monuments, memory, and movement power collide when we sit down with Pastor William Lamar IV of Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC. We start with Abolition April and why faith-based abolition cannot stay theoretical when regressive policies and public violence keep targeting Black communities, especially Black women. From the first minutes, this conversation is clear: abolition is not only a practice, it is a way of life that forms what we believe, how we worship, and how we organize.
Pastor Lamar takes us deep into the spiritual technology of ancestral veneration through his book “Ancestors: The Names That Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us.” We unpack the difference between ancestors of light who bless and hold us and “shadow ancestors” whose energy can reinforce white supremacist culture, even through the architecture and rituals of Washington, DC. We also talk theology with our whole chest, from unlearning who is “in our head” when we read scripture to challenging harmful church teachings like gendering God and the violent logic of penal substitutionary atonement.
Then we get concrete about strategy: how to organize in an authoritarian political climate without being rattled into burnout, what it meant for Metropolitan AME to sue after the Proud Boys attack, and why building power is not optional. We close with hard-won fundraising and philanthropy lessons on relational grantmaking, transparency, and expanding the table so the work can last.
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