When Did White People Become White People?

Today Heather sits down with Garrison Hayes, a content creator and former pastor, who has been called “TokTok’s unofficial history professor and documentarian.” As a scholar of forgotten Black history, and a talented filmmaker to boot, Garrison has garnered millions of views for his videos, including his much-talked-about TikTok on the history of whiteness. In fact, when Heather saw Garrison’s provocative overview of how white people became white people, she found it so fascinating that she asked him to come on the podcast to discuss it further. In their lively conversation, Garrison also reveals why he believes God designed the Sabbath to be an instrument of disruption.

This week marks the kickoff of “Disrupting American gods,” our latest pod-class series. Over the next three episodes, Heather and her guests will explore America’s uses and abuses of race, politics, and religion. This series will stretch your thinking and deepen your faith. 

Elsewhere in this episode Heather also chats with her best friend and co-blogger Scarlett Longstreet in our new Safe Space segment, where Heather and Scarlett discuss social media, popular culture, and other topics of interest. Today they discuss a TikTok by Julia Mazur that went viral over the weekend after she shared what her Saturday looks like as a 29-year-old single woman.

Guest Bio

Garrison Hayes produces innovative short documentaries for his community of 300,000+ followers on TikTok. He also has a massive Instagram presence with over 100,000 followers there. He explores the hidden or forgotten corners of Black history, faith, and politics, as well as his love of books. 

Additional Links

• Garrison’s TikTok on the history of whiteness: https://www.tiktok.com/@garrisonhayes/video/7258002292928974122?lang=en
• Here is an article giving more context to this week’s Safe Space conversation about a young woman’s unexpectedly controversial viral video about the joys of singleness: https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/viral-29-and-single-tiktok-sparks-heated-debate-single-life-married-life
• Sign up for Heather’s encouraging devotional email, which goes out every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST, at www.heatherthompsonday.com/links

Host Bio

Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including I’ll See You Tomorrow and It’s Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on Twitter @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday.

Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today

Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day

Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath

Producer: Loren Joseph

Associate Producer: Azurae Phelps

Mix Engineer: Alex Carter

Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper

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