What Others Are Saying
Talking directly on issues such as race and destructive systems is part of the work of Orlando Together, as we seek to undermine such divisions in our city’s major sectors; so it was an easy decision to ask Jabriel to help shape the conversation with a diverse audience. His boldness to directly address core issues of value and meaning are a refreshing and needed contribution in moving audiences and participants along in a focused and guided manner.
Jabriel Ballentine speaks with passion and integrity, naming clearly the way things are while offering real hope for the way they yet might be.
Jabriel is a true blessing in sharing his personal story, perspectives and the hard facts of how racism infects our communities, institutions and patterns of life – crushing hope for many. His passion is shaped by his faith in God and his deep love of people. His personal warmth helps him deliver hard truths.
Jabriel was a star. He was the perfect combination of honesty and humility. The participants where challenged by his thoughts and commented on how much they learned during the presentation, even if part of the challenge was the discomfort that confrontation with reality and truth evokes.
He brought wise words to UCF today for our panel discussion on racism. You know you made the kids think when they stick around talking with the panelists for an extra hour! On behalf of the Center for Law and Policy, many thanks.
Your words to our students were truly thought provoking & inspirational, and delivered in a manner that opened their hearts. Many students have continued to discuss your sermon & have asked when you will return.
Whether it is speaking to a group setting, leading a seminar, or a one to one engagement, you will benefit by sitting under the teaching, coaching and counseling of Jabriel Ballentine.
After the talk several participants shared with me how much they enjoyed it & told me that I should bring him back to campus for another presentation…If you are looking for someone who can speak knowledgeably and authoritatively about matters of race, social justice, and theology, then you need look no further than Jabriel Ballentine
Jabriel is a leader in forging deep conversations where truth is found. He is inspiring & informative, challenging & encouraging…He left us wanting even more conversation for life transformation…
A displaced people. A life in bondage. Miraculous freedom.
For over a century, black Americans have identified with the biblical story of the Exodus—when God rescued his people from slavery and led them to the land flowing with milk and honey.
But fifty years have passed since Jim Crow laws were repealed, and the promised land has never materialized—black lives matter as little today as they did before the civil rights movement. Why would God allow his people to have such a degrading experience?
In Black Power, Fr. Jabriel S. Ballentine offers a new perspective that not only answers this question but also shifts the entire conversation away from “why” and toward redemption and reconciliation: it’s the story of Joseph—not the Exodus—that truly encompasses the black experience.
Ballentine sets the groundwork for this new perspective by first explaining the traditional liberation narrative of the Exodus story. He goes on to redefine what liberation really is, applying that definition to Joseph’s story and to black Americans’ stories today.
It is only through this perspective change and the reconciliation it informs, says Ballentine, that we can redeem history and change the future of America.
