A Reading List for the Anti-Racist Christian
It is important to state right off the bat: reading anti-racist literature will not automatically make someone anti-racist. These authors present helpful guides, moving testimonies, and well-researched histories and data but they cannot do the work for you. I strongly encourage you, whether you’re a lay person or a member of the clergy, to resist the urge to simply not be racist, but actively practice anti-racism from your sermons to your outreach ministries and everything in between.
“In too many churches and organizations, listening to the hurt and pain of people of color is the end of the road, rather than the beginning.”
— Austin Channing Brown
The links to these books will either direct you to the author’s website or the publisher. I’ve also included a link below for Black owned bookstores that would greatly benefit from your business.
- Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil
- Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience by Sheila Wise Rowe
- Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
- Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong Chan-Rah
- Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
- Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation by David Leong
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
- Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland
- Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
- Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley
- Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace by Osheta Moore
“Reconciliation is an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance, and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish.”
— Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil
Related Anti-Racist Resources:
- Black Owned Bookstores to Support Now
- Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead)
- Justice in June offers daily resources for 10, 25, or 45 minutes-a-day learning.
- Be the Bridge is an incredible organization that provides education and support for those who are responding to racial injustice. Consider joining their Facebook group!
- The Great Unlearn with Rachel Cargle
- A White Woman’s Prayer of Confession
