The answer for how best to respond to the Charlie Kirk assassination and its aftermath eluded me at first. 

Yes, political violence is a serious problem in our country and should not be tolerated. No, the political left is not responsible for the deranged motives of the shooter, but yes, vitriol in general only adds fuel to fire, whether from the left or right. 

I suspect I am not the only one who is utterly disgusted by the way this tragic event has been politicized to the point of using it as the pretext for silencing those whose viewpoints dare to counter the MAGA narrative. Ironically, it was those on the right who bitterly complained about “cancel culture” just a few years ago. Fast forward to 2025, and MAGA has made it into an art form.

Two events, one in Eugene recently and the other at the Hollywood Bowl in July, suggest a way to respond for any wishing to find something they can do to build a better future to counter the violence and vitriol of this time. At the latter event I witnessed a standing ovation that lasted nearly 10 minutes, not at the conclusion of the concert, but at the end of its most demanding piece by a most dramatic performer. Ovations for incredible performances are nothing unusual in themselves, but it was not just the performance that was extraordinary, but the who and the what that made it most remarkable.

I was privileged to experience Ted Neeley in the titular role of Jesus Christ Superstar some 20-plus years ago. Neeley, who played Jesus in both the Broadway and Hollywood versions of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s famous musical, was just as phenomenal on the Eugene stage as he was on screen 30 years prior. The way he portrayed Jesus wrestling with his fate in the Garden of Gethsemane as he questioned God haunts me to this day. I never expected anyone to match it, let alone top it. 

Fast forward to this past summer at the Hollywood Bowl. Judas, interestingly enough, was not played by a Black actor as he was both on Broadway (Ben Vereen) and in film (Carl Anderson), but a very prominent gay singer, Adam Lambert. And he, too, was phenomenal. 

Ah, but Jesus stole the show. Not just a phenomenal singer, but a female Black singer, Cynthia Erivo, better known as the green witch of Wicked. And it was Erivo’s portrayal of that gut-wrenching prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that brought the house down. 

It is not lost upon me that when the producers were making their plans for this particular performance and thinking, “Who would be a good choice for the role of Jesus? A Black woman was running for president of the United States.” Maybe, just maybe, if we dare to imagine divinity incarnate as a Black woman, then the president would not be so far off.

So how do I connect that incredible performance at the Hollywood Bowl with the current debate? Marcus Nobel, a descendant of Alfred Nobel, spoke about this in September at a celebration for the Nobel Peace Laureate Monument in Alton Baker Park. In telling the story of the creation of the Nobel Peace Prize, he quoted Daniel Moynihan, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. 

Moynihan believed that peace comes necessarily from culture. It is culture, he said, that largely determines “not only if a person has the capacity to love another individual, but in the larger social sense, whether [they are] capable of loving [their] fellow [human beings] collectively. The whole of society rests on this foundation for stability, understanding and social peace.”

There are those who want us to believe that Charlie Kirk was a shining example of virtue and Christian faith. I have no doubt that he was sincere in his faith, but many of the values he articulated run directly counter to those I hold as a Christian, and I wonder, could he have imagined Jesus as a Black woman? If so, would that have changed some of those views that I and others find so problematic? One need not be a follower of Jesus to understand and appreciate the cultural significance of portraying an image for divinity that once was viewed as an image of slavery to be sold at (and for) the pleasure of white men.

As I stood and loudly applauded with the 17,000 other attendees in the Hollywood Bowl, I intuitively understood this was not only about a great performance, it was a cultural shift. Erivo challenged us to examine our view of who and what we consider divine. She didn’t just claim the role, she shattered it. What rose in place of the traditional blue-eyed, male Jesus was a new image, destroying the old shackles of white supremacy and male dominion.

So what can we do in this time? Build a culture that values diversity, works for equity and strives for inclusion. A culture where everyone belongs, regardless of immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation or racial heritage. That is the culture of which I want to be a part, and it is how we build a world to counter the hatred, violence and vitriol of this age.

Dan Bryant is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a resident of Eugene since 1991. The opinions of this article are his own and do not represent any organization with which he is affiliated.