Jordan Taylor Jones is an opinion writer for the 2025 Sojourners Journalism Cohort.
He is a faith-based organizer, theologian, and associate pastor at Metro Hope Church in East Harlem, N.Y. In May 2025, he earned his master in divinity degree at Union Theological Seminary, where his scholarship focused on the role of contemplative spirituality in the formation of fugitive communities. He was accepted as a clergy fellow for Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, which will facilitate his investigation into ethical leadership during times of moral and social catastrophe.
Prior to moving to New York for seminary, Jordan lived in Medellín, Colombia, where he taught English as a Fulbright scholar and worked as a journalist and managing editor for a startup news organization. He has written for several publications, including AfroPop Worldwide, Skin Deep Magazine, The Atlantic, and Conde Nast Traveller.
Jordan is an avid runner, jazz-head, and salsa dancer. Don't get him started on Howard Thurman, Alice Coltrane, or Fred Moten.
Posts By This Author
The Theology Behind Trump’s Crackdown on D.C.
When President Donald Trump announced a takeover of the nation’s capital in August, he justified the move by claiming that crime in Washington, D.C., was rampant. It wasn’t.
Many videos have surfaced on social media depicting law enforcement officers from multiple agencies targeting predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods while outraged bystanders berate the officers.
‘Dancing in the Darkness,’ Even in Our Despair
Image of Otis Moss III's book, Dancing in the Darkness (2023). Image credit Betsy Shirley.
In Dancing in the Darkness, Moss urges readers to move through the sorrow of the blues to what he calls “jazz politics” — one of collaboration, community participation, and dialogue: “If we had a jazz version of democracy in our politics, where each of us could play all our notes, even the blue notes, and contribute them to the music of the whole, then dialogue and honest debate would be the norm rather than demonization and incivility.”