Racial reconciliation team: (L to R) Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Dr. Nicholas Rowe, Sheila Rowe, Liza Cagua-Koo, me, Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond. Fifteen years ago all of us (along with my husband Christopher and REv. Dr. Gloria Hammond) pulled together a conference that we titled Tearing Down Dividing Walls. It was incredible. (Actually, it really was life changing for me.) We recently reassembled (for a mere hour) at Vision New England’s GO Conference in Springfield, to talk about race, the church, and what’s ahead. The following list is not exhaustive, but it is comprehensive. If you have favorites that I failed to list, please leave the title and author in a comment.
History
Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (Owl Books, 2007).
Kendi, Ibram X. Stamped from the BeginningThe Definitive History of Racist ideas in America. Bold Type Books, 2017
McGuire, Danielle. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — A New History of the Civil Rights from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power (Vintage, 2011).
Oluo, Ijeoma. So You Want to Talk about Race? Seal Press, 2019
Rah, Soong-Chan and Gary VanderPol. Return to Justice: Six Movements that Re-ignited our Contemporary Evangelical Conscious (Brazos, 2016).
Rah, Soong-Chan and Mark Charles, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery. IVP 2019
Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History about how our Government Segregated America (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2017).
Tisby, Jemar. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. Zondervan, 2019
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (Little, Brown and Company, 1993).
Takaki, Ronald. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans (Back Bay, 1989).
Walls, Andrew F. The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Orbis Books, 1996).
Present Manifestations of Racism
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness. (The New Press, 2012).
Carroll R., M Daniel. Christians at the Border (Baker Academic, 2008).
Cleveland, Christena. Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart (InterVarsity Press, 2013).
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. We Were Eight Years in Power (One World, 2017).
Dunsmuir, Lindsay. “Many Americans have no friends of another race: poll.” Reuters, August 6, 2013. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-poll-race/many-americans-have-no-friends-of-another-race-poll-idUSBRE97704320130808.
Ellis Jr., Carl F. Free at Last?: The Gospel in the African-American Experience (InterVarsity Press, 1983).
Emerson, Michael and Christian Smith. Divided by Faith (Oxford, 2000).
Gilbreath, Edward. Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity. (InterVarsity Press, 2006).
Hart, Drew. Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism (Herald, 2016).
Hill, Daniel. White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White (IVP, 2017).
Ingraham, Christopher. “Three quarters of whites don’t have any non-white friends.” Washington Post, August 25, 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/25/three-quarters-of-whites-dont-have-any-non-white-friends/?utm_term=.fbc5f329ac12.
Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, 3rd ed. (Oxford, 2011).
Jones, Robert P. The End of White Christian America (Simon and Schuster, 2016).
Kendi, Ibram X and Reynolds, Jason. Stamped: Racism, Anti-racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning. Little Brown, 2020
McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Peace and Freedom Magazine, July & aug. 1989, 10-12. https://nationalseedproject.org/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack.
Newcomb, Steven. Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (Fulcrum, 2008).
Op Stal, Sandra Maria. The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World (IVP, 2016)
Quezada, Sarah. Love Undocumented: Risking Trust in a Fearful World. Herald Press, 2019
Racism Is Real. YouTube video. Brave New Films. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?t\=59&v=fTcSVQJ2h8g.
Rah, Soong-Chan. The Next Evangelicalism (InterVarsity Press, 2009).
Rothenberg, Paula. White Privilege (Worth, 2002).
Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. One World, 2015 (And watch the movie!)
Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (BasicBooks, 1997).
Wen, Patricia et al. Boston. Racism. Image. Reality. Boston Globe (Dec. 2017): https://apps.bostonglobe.com/spotlight/boston-racism-image-reality/.
West, Cornel. Race Matters (Random, 1993).
Wystema, Ken. The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege (InterVarsity Press, 2017).
Theology and Christian Frameworks for Tearing Down Dividing Walls
Bantum, Brian. Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race & Christian Hybridity (Baylor University Press, 2010).
Carter, J. Kameron. Race: A Theological Account (Oxford, 2008). Cone, James. A Black Theology of Liberation (Orbis, 1986).
Elizondo, Virgilio. Galilean Journey: The Mexican-American Promise (Orbis, 2007). Elizondo, Virgilio. The Future is Mestizo (University Press of Colorado, 2000).
Gilliard, Dominique DuBois. Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores. IVP 2018
Harper, Lisa Sharon. The Very Good Gospel (Waterbrook, 2016).
Harvey, Jennifer. Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation (Eerdmans, 2014).
Higgins, Michelle. “The Idea of Racial Reconciliation Is Bankrupt: White supremacy, the Church and how to move forward.” Relevant Magazine, August 29, 2017. https://relevantmagazine.com/article/michelle-higgins-the-idea-of-racial-reconciliation-is-bankrupt/.
Jennings, Willie. The Christian Imagination: The Theology and Origins of Race (Yale, 2010). Park, Andrew. Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective (Orbis,1996).
Shin, Sarah. Beyond Colorblind Redeeming our Ethnic Journey (InterVarsity Press, 2017). Woodley, Randy. Living in Color (InterVarsity Press, 2001).
Taking Steps Towards Healing
Cannon, Mae Elise, Lisa Sharon Harper, Troy Jackson, and Soong-Chan Rah. Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith (Zondervan, 2014).
Christena Cleveland at #JUSTICE17. Performed by Christena Cleveland. Facebook. 2017. https://www.facebook.com/thejusticeconference/videos/10154560050292385/.
Crouch, Andy. Strong and Weak (InterVarsity Press, 2016).
Harvey, Jennifer. Dear White Christians: For Those Still longing for Racial Reconciliation. Eerdmans, 2014
HeeKap Lee, “Building a Community of Shalom: What the Bible Says about Multicultural Education”, ICCTE Journal, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2010). https://icctejournal.org/issues/v5i2/v5i2-lee/
Leadership and Sociological Imagination. Performed by Christena Cleveland & Tod Bolsinger.
Lee, Helen. “Why White-Centered Discipleship Hurts Us All.” Christianity Today, June 2017. http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/june/why-white-centered-discipleship-hurts-us-all.html.
Leong, David. Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation (IVP, 2017).
Morrison, Latasha. Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation. Waterbrooks, 2019
Rah, Soong-Chan. Prophetic Lament (IVP, 2015).
Raybon, Patricia and Alana Raybon, Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace (Thomas Nelson, 2015).
Salter McNeil, Brenda. Roadmap to Reconciliation (IVP, 2016).
Nicholas Rowe and Ray Aldred (2014). “Healthy Leadership and Power Differences in the Postcolonial Community: A Reflection”. In Evangelical Postcolonial Conversations: Global Awakenings in Theology and Praxis, Katherine Smith and Daniel Hawk, eds. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
Nicholas Rowe and Safwat Marzouk (2014). “Christian Disciplines and God’s Shalom in the Postcolonial Community”. In Evangelical Postcolonial Conversations: Global Awakenings in Theology and Praxis, Katherine Smith and Daniel Hawk, eds. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
Rah, Soong-Chan. Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Moody Press, 2010).
Rah, Soong-Chan. Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times (IVP Books, 2015).
Wise Rowe, Sheila. Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience. IVP: 2020
Wise Rowe, Sheila. “Healing from Race-Based Trauma”, The Redbud Post, 31 January 2018. https://www.redbudwritersguild.com/healing-from-race-based-trauma/
Wise Rowe, Sheila. “From Burning to Building Bridges”, The Redbud Post, 1 February 2017. https://www.redbudwritersguild.com/from-burning-to-building-bridges/
Sheila Wise Rowe and Nicholas Rowe, The Well of Life: Heal Your Pain, Satisfy Your Thirst, Live Your Purpose (The Rehoboth House Press, 2015).
The Cyrene Movement: Heal Racial Trauma, Realize Potential, Embrace Community. http://www.thecyrenemovement.com/.
Exploring the Perspective and Experiences of Ethno-Racial Communities
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me (Spiegel & Grau, 2015). DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk (Fawcett Premier Book, 1968).
Gee, Tracey and Nikki A. Toyama, eds. More Than Serving Tea (InterVarsity Press, 2006).
Gonalez Nieves, Juliany. Caribbean Christian Theology: A Bibliography (lots of resources here!)
Irving, Debbie. Waking Up White (Elephant Room Press, 2014).
Lincoln, C. Eric and Lawrence H. Mamiya. The Black Church in the African American Experience (Duke University Press, 1990).
Perkins, John. Let Justice Roll Down (Regal, 1976).
Robiteau, Albert. Slave Religion (Oxford University Press, 1978). Said, Edward W. Orientalism (Random House, 1994).
Skinner, Tom. Black and Free (Zondervan, 1968). Skinner, Tom. How Black is the Gospel? (Pillar, 1970).
Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Spiegel & Grau, 2014).
Park, Sydney, Soong-Chan Rah, and Al Tizon. Honoring the Generations: Learning with Asian North-American Congregations (Judson, 2012).
Tisby, Jemar. Pass the Mic. http://www.podasterystudios.com/podcast-pass-the-mic/. (I highly encourage you to subscribe to this!)
Toyama, Nikki A. and Tracy Gee, editors. More Than Serving Tea: Asian-American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership, and Faith (InterVarsity, 2006).
Tuan, Mia. Forever Foreigner or Honorary Whites? (Rutgers University Press, 1998). Twiss, Richard. One Church Many Tribes (Regal Books, 1979).
Twiss, Richard. Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys (InterVarsity Press, 2015). Villafañe, Eldin. The Liberating Spirit (Eerdmans, 1993).
Warner, Stephen and Judith Wittner (eds.). Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration (Temple University Press, 1998).
Williams, Delores S. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk (Orbis Books, 1993).
List compiled by Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Dr. Nick Rowe, Sheila Wise Rowe, Liza Cagua-Koo, Dr. Rev. Ray Hammond, and Dorothy Greco. Read hard. There’s so much to learn.