This timely book is perfect for Christians like myself who want to take a stand against racism. In this book, Jemar Tisby gives us perfect advice foe the season that we are living in in America. The facts presented were just as eye opening for me as the emotional pleas. I loved this book.

How to Fight Racism lays down an action for individuals and organizations regarding how they can help in the fight against racism. While the title pulls from actual scripture and has religious components to it, it has applicable advice and steps outside of religious paradigms. Tisby is direct and fully accessible in his no-nonsense approach to addressing the issue point by point and showing biblically why not just Christians, but religious organizations need to step up and join the fight rather than shying away from the politics of it. Tisby does a wonderful job of reading his book; it's very clear that he has a preaching background and knows how exactly to speak to really pull his message through. While listening I found myself pausing and taking notes to take back to my government job to use for ideas on how we as an organization can do a better job supporting our community, patrons, and staff. Like I said, it maybe "Christian" in the title but there's a lot here to unpack and apply without the context of religion.

In this follow up to his 2019 "The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism," Jemar Tisby lays out a path for moving from learning about the history of racism to fighting against it.

In three parts, Tisby moves the reader from explaining how you can raise your (A) awareness about racism in your community, to building (R) relationships through reconciliation in your community, and finally to working out what it means to be (C) committed to fighting racism.

This book is a helpful, and much needed, follow up to his 2019 historical analysis. By framing his argument around The ARC of Racial Justice, he helps the reader see how they need to continually be working in each of the three areas (rather than just assuming they are an expert in one and that is good enough). By combining historical examples with real world challenges, Tisby encourages individuals AND communities of Christians to begin doing the work of fighting racial justice together. Tisby understands the limitations, but does not hesitate to push against them in a way that is necessary to break the logjam that so often inhibits the hard work of racial justice. By laying out concrete actions that both individuals and communities can take, Tisby moves beyond the theoretical and gives the reader things the begin working on from the first chapter.

This book is highly accessible and I would recommend that it be used both for individual action, but also for church leaders, small groups, and other organizations that want to fight for racial justice to work through together and begin asking the hard questions about what they should begin doing today to start down the road of racial justice and continue moving down that road.

The audiobook was well done, read by the author, and a worthy companion to the printed book. Pick up both.

(Note: I received an advance copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review)

Happy pub day to @jemartisby’s How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice

First of all, I LOVE to see people of faith and faith organizations getting involved and leading the discussions on racial reconciliation. This isn’t just for a Christian audience, though, it definitely places a lot of responsibility on the Church to step up in this movement.

Tisby has such a gracious but authoritative approach on our responsibility in said reconciliation (especially those in the Church) in this and his previous work (The Color of Compromise). The goal is to keep focused on awareness, relationships and commitment in an interactive, “cadence.”

I think previously #blacklivesmatter has come and gone like a trend, but Jemar stresses from the very beginning of How to Fight Racism that our challenge against racism is to view it as a journey.

And if you’re concerned about Marxism, liberal, leftist, socialist, critical race theory . . . He addresses that early on, too 🙌

Thank you @netgalley and Jemar Tisby for this e-arc audiobook copy (which he narrates himself)! I 💯 will be picking up a physical copy of this one, and suggest you do, too, if you have any interest!

#jemartisby #thecolorofcompromise #racialreconciliation #blm #diversereads #readdiversebooks #blackauthors #nonfiction #nonfictionreads #diversifyyourbookshelf #diversifybookstagram #diversifyyourbacklist #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobookstagram #antiracistchristian #racialjustice #bookish #pubday #bookbirthday #publicationday #instabooks #instabook #instaread #instareads #instareading

Summary: A practical, focused guide to opposing racism through the ARC model (awareness, relationships, commitment).

Jemar Tisby has long been fighting against racism. He has an NYT bestselling history survey, The Color of Compromise. He is the co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective. He is in the final stages of his Ph.D. in history, focusing on 20th-century racial history. And he co-hosts the Pass The Mic podcast.

This is a very different book from Color of Compromise. Color of Compromise is a survey of the American church’s racial history, especially its compromise concerning accepting racism in exchange for cultural power. Tisby says clearly in the introduction that How to Fight Racism responds to the standard question that he frequently gets, especially from White Christians, after presenting the problems of racism. How to Fight Racism is a book-length response to ‘what can I do.’

The broad structure of the book is ARC (see link for a graphic detailing the concept). ARC is not linear, but a broad strategy that will look different from person to person and community to community. But generally, healthy response to racism will include some mix of ongoing awareness, relationship building, and a long-term commitment to systemic change. This may sound theoretical, but it is very practically focused. There are many stories to illustrate the suggestions. And while you certainly do not need to be a Christian to get value out of the book, it is a Christian book that is rooting the reasoning and methods of fighting racism in a Christian background.

How to Fight racism will be the most helpful read in a group. Because many aspects of racism are cultural, organizational, or legal, there are limits to individual actions. There are study guides for group discussion available. And I think that if you can read this in a group, especially a group within a church or organization, it can be a good jumping-off point toward organizational change that is systemic. Many other similar pieces (often article length) are oriented toward individuals.

I did see one review that said there was not much new or unique here. In some ways, I agree. Similar to how there is not much about prayer or bible reading or discipleship that is really new or unique, but we still need new books to teach and communicate to new contexts. We do still need books to talk about how to oppose racism and take different approaches.

How to Fight Racism is not also not trying to prove that racism exists. That is a different book. This book centered around practical, constructive opposition to racism, especially the type of work that Christians should do. And I hope it is a book that will be widely read and widely put into practice.

*Disclaimer* I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair/unbiased review.

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Tisby strikes the right tone with this. I have a much more...stern demeanor when discussing racial equity; this does not work for all demographics — some require more coaxing. Given the extensive and explicit infliction of harm and complicity of Christianity against BIPOC worldwide, it will take time.

There are some topics and specific aspects that I assumed he might avoid; but he addresses them, and in a way that will definitely make some squirm in discomfort in their pew. Though this is written with Christians in mind, it isn’t satiated with the citation of verses (which, as an ex-Christian, I appreciate) – there’s just enough. Readers may not finish this book feeling like they have a step-by-step guide, but they WILL finish it with plenty of food (questions) for thought that can be analyzed again and again (individually and at the institution/small community level), action items that can easily be brought into their daily lives, and some that will take more resolve.

When I requested this audiobook from NetGalley, I didn't read the subtitle before requesting it. When I started listening to it and heard that it was focused on Christian responses to racism, I cringed. While I am a Christian, I am also a transracial adoptive parent raising Black children and have seen more than my fair share of very unchristian and racist "Christians". I also don't like being preached to. I was pleasantly surprised, however, because while there is definitely some church-centered components, the majority of the text applies to people of all faiths, and even to agnostics and atheists. So much of Tisby's advice is just plain 'ol how-to-be-a-good-antiracist-human. His ideas were practical and very attainable for most people.

How to Fight Racism should be required study for the white evangelical church. Jemar Tisby writes with razor-sharp clarity and precision, defining each and every one of his terms in exacting manner. Tisby doesn’t just made it plain that racism is still a driving factor in society—a skill in and of itself when white evangelical society thinks of itself as post-racial—but provides a thorough, practical blueprint for the church to move forward in the fight against racism in our institutions, communities, and lives.

As I read through How to Fight Racism, I tried to look at it from the perspective of someone who holds to this sort of post-racial world: someone who responds to #BlackLivesMatter with #AllLivesMatter, or someone who doesn’t believe in systemic racism. I tried to see what statements I would pick it, what word choices I’d be offended by, or what storylines I’d refute. And, in truth, I couldn’t find any. Tisby’s arguments are self-evident and airtight. You can argue against them, but not effectively. You can disagree with him, but not substantially. By shying away from language that some find inflammatory, by carefully defining his terms, and by being clear, firm, and practical, Tisby forces the reluctant reader to least consider a different perspective.

The cynic in me still wonders what effect How to Fight Racism will have on this audience. History has shown that careful arguments and substantive evidence can all too often be overwhelmed by the systemically racist structures it calls out. However, those people are Tisby’s secondary audience, and we should laud the fact that he even attempts to write in a manner accessible to them. His primary audience are the increasing number of people who—particularly through the events of 2020—have jumped into the arena of racial justice and are ready to fight.

Tisby doesn’t say it outright, but these folks need to be educated. Particularly young white evangelicals who are breaking from their denominations and their elders on this issue (and hi, I’m one of them). We’re young, white, and ready to fight—and that’s not always the best. Tisby leads readers through a calm, yet forceful response to racism, utilizing the ARC framework of awareness, relationships, and commitment.

How to Fight Racism covers each of these points in three-chapter sections. Awareness is step one: becoming aware of racism, exploring one’s own racial identity, and understanding the history of race. This helps the reader orient themselves to racial ideas beginning with the intimate and personal before moving to the systemic and communal. Tisby begins with an explanation of race as it factors into the humankind’s creation in the image of God. Often, the imago Dei is used to downplay the idea of race (and therefore racism) because all humans are created in God’s image. Tisby flips the script, asking if that is the case, why have some humans been treated in ways that would profane that image?

Tisby also talks about race as a social construct. Because race is a social construct, it is one that we—the society—have the power to change. Understanding the history of race, both one’s own personal history and American history, helps readers contextualize the need to fight against racism and one’s own personal place within that fight.

After awareness comes relationships. This is where many young white Christian find themselves. They’ve been made aware of the issues, but they don’t know where to go and they don’t know what to do. To speak from my own experience, my change from being neutral on racial issues to active involvement came through the development of relationships. I grew up in a rural town that was almost universally white. Only after seminary, when I took a position at a primarily Asian church set within a primarily Hispanic and Black community that I begin finding myself challenged to action through the creation of relationship. I was out of the fight before because I wasn’t connected to it. Getting into the fight wasn’t, for me, as much a change of intellectual position as it was simply gaining these connections, becoming educated, and experiencing even by proxy, the life of a person of color.

The final part is commitment. It’s something we’ve seen a lack of again and again. There will be some egregious incident, there are protests and calls for justice, then a week or so later the media narrative has moved onward. It’s social justice by social media, where calls for justice are often superficial and simply moving along with the bandwagon of wokeness. No real change ever—or rarely happens. At least, no real change happens like that. Tisby walks readers through a blueprint for real, substantive lasting change that will only come through real, substantive work.

Point by point, area by area, How to Fight Racism spells out exactly how to work for racial justice and expose and stand up against racist systems. Tisby is thorough, providing clear and practical advice. It’s not easy advice, understand, because it’s about changing systems not just minds. It’s about practical change, not just intellectual assent. It’s about becoming a person for whom justice and reconciliation are integral parts of life. Tisby doesn’t call readers to all of this points. Some individuals are made for some spaces, other individuals for others. But neither does Tisby leave something out simply because it’s hard or because it won’t be relevant to most of his readers. He talks about how to run for political office, how to organize voter drives, how to protest, and the list goes on. Find one or two and pursue that. This section can be the building block for sustained, substantive activism.

Tisby ultimately concludes: Fighting racism is not just about how it changes the world; it’s also about how it changes you. We began with a personal exploration of racial identity and an awareness of racial and racist systems. We moved through awareness to relationship and reconciliation, which happens in one-on-one friendships and through small groups, churches, and communities. We ended with a commitment to take on the system, expanding our reach even more into our governments and institutions. But, in the end, Tisby leads us back to ourselves and how the journey toward racial justice changes us, makes us more Christlike, and calls us to be a part of that Kingdom that is coming and is even now here.

How to Fight Racism has the ability to save the soul of white evangelical Christianity. Jemar Tisby is our Ezekiel or our Amos, warning us of the vapid hollowness of our religious systems if we do not take up this banner of justice and let justice roll like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. With precision, passion, and grace, Tisby calls the church to repentance. We ignore him at our eternal peril.

I was hoping that this book would go further but it reads like this books written for White Christians. It doesn't go far enough to confront colonialism and imperialism impact to racism in Christianity. But while I'm familiar about many of the concepts shared in the book, I believe the book provides steps to talk about racism in the church or church community.

Key take aways:

ARC of racial justice
A = Awareness
R = Relationships
C = Commitment

Difference of equality and equity
Equality is typically defined as treating everyone the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. Meanwhile, equity refers to proportional representation (by race, class, gender, etc.)

Radical Christianity
- The church must confront how white supremacy impacts the gospel. Jesus is not white.
- Multicultural congregations must be able to identify if they alienation parishioners of color. What happens when parishioners of color do not see you as an ally? Will they have the language to share their experiences?
- Racism in the church impacts church participation.
- We are ALL created in God's image regardless of race/ethnicity/culture
- The bible speaks openly about diversity

In The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby laid bare the Church's centuries of complicity in systemic racism in America. It was an unflinching call for honesty about the past, repentance, and active work towards racial justice moving forward. In How to Fight Racism, Tisby provides a roadmap for how that can happen, through what he calls "The ARC of Racial Justice". Through awareness, relationships, and commitment to action, he lays out eminently practical, doable steps that we can take to fight racism in our families, churches, communities, and countries. I very much enjoyed Tisby's narration.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of How To Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby in exchange for my honest review.
This was such an interesting read and I think everyone should read it. Whether you are starting your journey educating yourself about race, or whether you have been doing this for a long time, I’m sure you will lean something new.
I was not aware this was written by a Christian and that Christianity strongly featured throughout. I am not a Christian so when I found this out, I was a little hesitant as I thought it would revolve around Christian beliefs and how they refer to race. Of course, this is a strong element to the book, but if you are not religious (like me) it does not over power the book.
As a white woman, I have been and continue to educate myself of race and how I can be a better person and ways to support black people. This book is a great way to start. It is very well researched and includes suggestions on other ways to educate yourself, how to support black owned business and so much more. What I like most about the book is it really shows that if everyone did something (no matter how big or small) then we can make a difference.

DNF

This was not what I expected it to be, not saying that it was badly done, however.
I read about 60% of this book before realizing it was not the book for me. It was done extremely well giving the ways to combat racism within your christian circles. I think that many of my christian friends would greatly love and appreciate this book! I will be recommending this book in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an e-copy for me to read and review

Jemar Tisby, previously the author of The Color of Compromise, which addressed the role of the church as relating to racism, adds more to the timely conversation with How to Fight Racism, a guidebook with practical ways to, both personally and collectively, implement strategies and actions to address racism and racist practices.

This may look like offering suggested interview questions to collect narratives from people of color. Or an acknowledgement of how not everyone might be receptive to such initiatives, and how to frame them in a way to communicate its value. Tisby also discusses the value of how a church can address failure in their past through honesty and confession, even if none of the principal characters are still living. He also touches on how to read the Bible to glean insight into God's heart when it comes to racism, and how diverse communities offer insight and cultivate empathy (even beyond race and ethnicity, a diverse community based on geography, gender, and class can shape a faith community by offering different experiences and revelations that can challenge and change us).

For those who particularly appreciate hearing works directly from the author, Jemar Tisby narrates his own book.

I found this an informative book that adds to the conversation taking place. Particularly as some churches have questioned outright the role of Critical Race Theory, Tisby's work may be better received than other books not necessarily framed by a person of faith.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I was given this audio book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Tisby's book is timely and poignant for the church. White Christians will benefit from the author's perspective on how they can be apart of racial justice and reconciliation. I highly recommend Christians and especially church leaders to glean from Tisby's words and call to action.

This book would be good for those looking for a spiritual outlook on how to better themselves.

I personally missed the Subtitle that included Courageous Christianity, and being Pagan this was not the book for me. So I think it is important for people to know, that Religon is up front and center in this book and if that's not for you it's better you know now rather than later.

When I received this book, I did not realize a Christian publisher had published it or that it had that religion as a base for exploring racism.

With that being said, you can understand this was not exactly what I expected, however, the mention of religion wasn't out of proportion.

Having read other books on the same topic by different authors I think it didn't bring anything new to the table rather than exploring how racism relates or can relate to Christianity.

I would recommend this book, especially to white Christians because it explores how their legacy affects people of colour. It's a good book for its intended audience.

(I'll post the review sometime this week in my blog)

oh the NetGalley Shelf app isn't available in france so i can't listen to audiobooks from NetGalley.

Once again, I'm incredibly thankful to see books on race by BIPOC authors being published in Christian publishing houses. Christian circles are deeply intrenched in White Supremacy, and like many other institutions, it is not often addressed enough. In many cases, from personal experience, there is a lot of resistance against the notion that Christians and Christian teaching can be biased and racist, because we like to believe that we are God-loving people. However, it is impossible to separate our foundational Christian beliefs from institutionalized Christian values without dismantling where these cultural influences came from. As a BIPOC Christian, I've found Christian spaces to be very frustrating and demoralizing more often than not. Although How to Fight Racism does not bring entirely new concepts to the discourse on racism that has been published in recent years, it is powerful because it brings this discourse into a Christian sphere, and the more that get published and read, the more Christian publishers will publish books by BIPOC authors. This will mean more BIPOC Christian values and interpretations will become normalized. And for BIPOC believers, this is so necessary, otherwise Christianity will continue to push out people who they claim to want to reach.

On the specifics of this book, I love how clear Jemar Tisby's writing is. He writes in a way that easy to follow, very straightforward, and encompasses the idea of dismantling racism through love, a very Christian perspective on dismantling disagreements (to put it lightly). It is not an easy ask, but I think this is a very encouraging perspective for Christian readers. I think BIPOC Christians will feel seen reading this and be glad to know that Jemar is on their side. For white Christians, I sincerely hope that they read this and that dismantling racism becomes a very normal thing to actively work towards.

This is a book I would love to gift to all of my Christian friends and family. I do wish I had a physical copy of this to markup (since I listened to the audiobook).

I liked this! Racism is a beast that will not have one solution and and this book adds some useful tools to reader's repertoire for battling racisms. I can appreciate what Tisby is doing with this novel, even though it was not a 5 star read for me. Having gone to a Christian highschool and college I would have loved to have a class discussion following this reading and I can definitely see a ton of value for highschoolers and college students. I would definitely encourage friend's families to pick this up and have a family read together.

This was a well-researched book that provides actionable steps for folks who are looking for ways to fight racism in the various places of their lives.

Touted as a handbook, rooted in Christian values, Tisby provides a framework - the A.R.C. of Justice - as a playbook for readers to use to evaluate their own relationship with racist ideas, policies, and thoughts. I loved the historical examples shared throughout the book to provide insight that when systems, policies, and personal racist ideologies combine we are unable to actively fight racism.

Tisby explores how racism impacts schools, the criminal justice system, voting, churches, employment and uses current and historical examples of policies and systems in place that have contributed to our racist society. I really loved how Tisby shines a light on performative acts that institutions often partake in passively address issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity within their walls.

I think my one issue with the book evolves around the theme of love. Admittingly, it is the one ideology I often struggle with when moving through anti-racist spaces. Overall, this was a quick and easy read that was filled with actionable ways to continuously confront racism in our day to day lives.