Christian Resources about Racial Justice
These resources are ordered from more introductory books (1) to texts that rely on more experience or understanding (4 or 5). Books numbered 1-3 are primary recommendations for 101 level learners.
Biblical basis for racial reconciliation and racial justice | - Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey (Shin)
- Very Good Gospel (Harper)
- The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change (McNeil and Richardson)
- The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Jennings)
| These books provide Scriptural foundations for why ethnicity matters and how it fits into the Christian redemption narrative.
- Why should the Church care about race?
- What does the Bible say about my ethnic identity?
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Learning | - Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Smith and Emerson)
- Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Rah)
- White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Looks Like to be White (Hill)
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree (Cone)
- Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart (Cleveland)
| These books discuss historical and social implications of race through the lens of the Christian faith.
- How does culture and race affect how people experience the Gospel?
- What is the Christian hope for racial reconciliation?
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Responding | - Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up (Khang)
- Prophetic Lament (Rah)
- I’m Still Here (Brown)
- Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience (Rowe)
- Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World (Heltzel and Salvatierra)
| These books give instruction for how faith informs individual, communal, and social/political response to racial injustice.
- What do I do as a Christian convicted about racial injustice?
- What does it look like to pursue social change with a Christian worldview?
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Secular resources | - White Fragility (DiAngelo)
- Between the World and Me (Coates)
- So You Want To Talk About Race (Oluo)
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Alexander)
- How To Be An Antiracist (Kendi)
| While these resources are not rooted in the Christian tradition, they are useful for understanding race relations in America and how to engage with unjust structures in today’s society. |
Learning Path Recommendations
This list organizes resources to help Christians responding to racial injustice and organizes them by a “path” so that an individual or group can identify their current learning location and progress through a three-book recommended reading list.
“I don’t even know where to begin” | - Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey (Shin)
- White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Looks Like to be White (Hill)
- Prophetic Lament (Rah)
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“I have concerns/questions about the relevance of social justice to the Christian Gospel” | - Very Good Gospel (Harper)
- Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Smith and Emerson)
- Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart (Cleveland)
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“I care about social justice, but don’t know how to integrate that value with my faith” | - The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change (McNeil and Richardson)
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree (Cone)
- Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World (Heltzel and Salvatierra)
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“I want to learn about how people who are culturally different from me experience God and the world” | - Between the World and Me (Coates)
- Prophetic Lament (Rah)
- I’m Still Here (Brown)
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“I am ready to take a faithful risk to engage social/racial injustice” | - Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up (Khang)
- Roadmap to Reconciliation (McNeil)
- Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience (Rowe)
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“I am interested in expanding my current paradigms of faith and justice. Challenge me!” | - Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery (Charles and Rah)
- The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Jennings)
- “Can White People be Saved?”: Triangulating Race, Theology, and Mission (Fuller)
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