WHY BLACK CHRISTIANS ARE BRACING FOR A ‘WHITELASH’. Trillia Newbell, a Christian author, had just delivered a talk in Jackson, Tennessee, when a White man approached her. Newbell, who is Black, had spoken about imago Dei — the idea that all humans, of all races, are made in the image and likeness of God. The man disagreed. “He explained that I was subhuman, that I was a different species,” recalled Newbell. “And he was trying to use Scripture as proof.”