Josiah R. Daniels (he/him) joined Sojourners in 2021 and is the senior associate opinion editor at sojo.net. He is a native of the southwest suburbs of Chicago, but currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with his family.
Josiah loves being a journalist because he believes everything must be questioned and investigated. In all his coverage, he prioritizes fairness, accuracy, and journalistic integrity. Along with following Sojourners’ editorial policies and procedures, he also follows the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics.
Josiah is the co-founder of The Reconstruct interview series, which focuses on interviewing people who have faith in a new future and are working toward repairing the present. He also co-leads The Sojourners Journalism Cohort.
His coverage areas are primarily identity, religion, politics, and class. He has written book and movie reviews and reported on a church that became an impromptu shelter for hundreds of refugees seeking asylum in the United States. In 2023, NPR’s Weekend Edition interviewed him about a piece he wrote criticizing an ad campaign for spending millions of dollars to rebrand Jesus via TV spots. He is especially interested in the genre of narrative journalism.
When not working, he is begrudgingly watching a Chicago Bulls game, playing basketball, or listening to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. He does not have or use social media.
Posts By This Author
Hello, God? Yeah, We Got A Mess Down Here: What Our Editors Are Reading
I think we usually ask these questions in a penitential key: “Where was God during this tragedy?” Being a human is difficult — so difficult that it is not only hard to imagine someone created us, but also that there exists anything outside of the mess we’ve created. We often collapse in on each other — whether by accident or on purpose.
Six Books That Helped Me Think Critically About Race and Theology
For those who are just beginning to think critically about racial identity, the creation of whiteness, and how race interacts with our faith and theology, this list offers some helpful places to start.
Everything Stolen This Week: What Our Editors Are Reading
Allow us to steal a few minutes of your attention for stories that will steal your heart.
Wins and Losses: What Our Editors Are Reading
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) celebrates with Jae Crowder (99) as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on in the first half during game five in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mark J. Rebilas/ USA TODAY Sports. Via Reuters.
More than usual this past week, I've needed small reminders about the possibility of justice. Why? Well, this week is the week of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Who Is The Real Monster? Reviewing Netflix’s ‘Monster’
Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in Monster on Netflix
Director Anthony Mandler's movie Monster, focuses in on a myriad of social issues — race, class, mass incarceration, crime, and the U.S. penal system — but it also is a monster movie of sorts.
Black Like Jazz: Imagining a World Without Police
A man practices inside his car on one of the main street of Harlem in 2010. Photo: wagner stephane / Shutterstock.com
Two important promises I’ve made to myself: I will never again watch a video of a person being lynched by the police and I will not allow my writing to be used in a way that makes Black pain a spectacle.
Take This Injera: What Our Editors Are Reading
Photo by Ana Flasker
If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience an Ethiopian meal, you are missing out. I have Ethiopian family members, so I frequently get to enjoy this cuisine. A regular meal for us could be something like doro wat, gomen, atkilt wat, and mesir wat. No meal is complete without a boona, or coffee, chaser. But as incredible as it is, coffee is not the defining trademark of Ethiopian cuisine. That distinction belongs solely to injera.
How to Juggle: What Our Editors Are Reading
Photo by Alex Emanuel Koch
Lil Nas X, Godzilla, and the (unofficial) patron saint of the internet.
No More Begging For Our Humanity
A demonstrator waves an American flag during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in New York City. June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Idris Solomon
Black people don’t always end up dead when encountering police. But we almost always end up wounded.