Thank you to Westminster John Knox Press for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Race in America is a collection of essays from numerous contributors that identify with Christianity The book seeks to provide a framework and guide for churches/ministries to use in order to have conversations surrounding race/racism/racial reconciliation.

Chapter 1 starts with a definition of racism, with the author suggesting that race cannot be understood solely as individual prejudice, but must also encapsulate a systematic element to any such definition. A common problem I encounter in articles/books on sociological phenomena is an absence of any sort of definition surrounding key terms. This chapter defines racism, but also distinguishes between common terms that are used interchangeably/mistakenly, such as culture, ethnicity, race, and nationality.

Chapter 2 asks the question "what does the Bible have to say about racism?" and proceeds to answer the question by engaging in different Biblical texts. While the author does spend some time addressing Biblical texts that would denounce or forbid racism, I wished to see a bit more Biblical data in this section. Martin Luther King, for instance, uses copious amounts of scripture to defend his fight for civil rights (as do countless others). The author also makes the claim that there are some "Biblical themes that can encourage racism." It is true that white supremacists, slave masters, etc., have used Biblical themes to defend slavery/racism. I wish the author could have distinguished and parsed that out a bit more rather than just merely suggest the potential themes that could encourage racism. Not every thinker/theologian would grant those points, so a potential change would be to have just cited specific examples of texts that have been twisted by white supremacist. I found this chapter to be weaker than others.

Chapters 3, and 4 provide a brief overview of racism in the United States. I found this to be a rather brief/beginner-level history on the subject, but if you have never learned about the history of racism in United States, this section is worth a read. Of course, some may think that the history presented here is biased, and the author admits on the outset that all history is biased (a reference to Howard Zinn), but the author provides numerous sources/footnotes to back up claims and facts. I don't take this as a statement that relativizes history, but I think the author is trying to communicate that any attempt to write a book about history is likely to leave things out due to the complexities of history. The author is trying to make the point that they are wanting to include things that have traditionally been left out.

Chapter 5, going off of 3 and 4, provides further analysis regarding racial views broken down by religious orientation. The chapter cites the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI, 2019) in its statistics that show that 83% of self-identified white evangelicals believe that racial minorities use racism as an excuse for economic inequalities more than they should, compared to 30% of Black protestants. Additionally, more than 50% of white evangelicals in the same survey doubt the existence of structural injustice. It would have been interesting to see the dissemination of the recent PRRI survey that came out (October, 2020) that also shows that self-identified white evangelicals as less likely than other religious groups (and non-religiously affiliated groups) to affirm that racial minorities experience "a lot of discrimination." As this is a revised edition of the book, I appreciated that the authors added a new section concerning Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and the growing amounts of racism/discrimination that AAPI individuals are experiencing in 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic and events surrounding it.

Chapter 6 provides more history in regards to the history of colonialism, immigration and assimilation in America. The authors spend some time discussing terms such as "Manifest Destiny," the "Doctrine of Discovery," and the "Monroe Doctrine." This chapter concludes by invoking Jesus and his "yearning for liberation, dignity, welcome, justice, and peace." I think this chapter (at least the conclusion) could have been a bit more impactful had it spend a little bit more time unpacking that point, as it somewhat seems a bit out of place with the rest of the chapter as its mainly a historical narrative.

Chapter 7 talks about Black Lives Matter and policing. This chapter deals with controversial topics within the church, and yet I appreciated the tone and nuance that was given in this chapter. Wherever you "stand" on your views concerning Black Lives Matter and policing, it is worth engaging with works such as Michelle Alexander's "The New Jim Crow" that demonstrate the difficulty in proving racial discrimination, concluding with the burden being essentially needing a confession of racist intent. I found it interesting that the author invoked the Stanford prison experiments as an example of power and authority and how people can potentially abuse power and authority if given the opportunity. As a psychologist myself, I must point out that there were numerous methodological and ethical problems with that study, so I hesitate to invoke it as evidence, but I do think the author is right here in applying that case to some of the social psychology themes at play.

Chapter 8 discusses social media and its positives and negatives in regards to discussions of race. While I found this chapter informative, I wondered a bit as to whether this chapter seemed a bit out of place/flow with the rest of the book. In few pages, the author jumps from talking about the 2016 election and social media interference from foreign countries, to talking about online worship services. The chapter seemed a bit scattered from my point of view, although it was helpful to read about social media algorithms, etc (for more on that, I recommend watching "The Social Dilemma.")

Chapter 9 asks the question "Do segregated churches imply racism." The author starts by invoking MLK and his disappointment that the most segregated hour in all of America is 11:00 AM on Sunday. The author also says that MLK claimed that many white evangelicals/churches actively engaged in racial segregation. While I appreciate this mention (King does in fact talk a lot about this), perhaps a bit more detail and examples would have been helpful. In Montgomery, AL, MLK was actively opposed by several evangelical churches. MLK also resented that there were many others that never spoke to defend the civil rights movement (although they perhaps did not actively oppose it, thus being the "white moderate," according to MLK). The chapter briefly traces the history of the Black church by discussing the African Methodist Episcopal church (A.M.E) and argues that "in those Black churches, Black people did not have to censor their speech to be politically correct or sensitive to the feelings of their white sisters and brothers"(97).

In chapters 10 and 11, the book shifts from history and argument, to practical application. The authors recommend engaging in more resources to learn about the history of racism in this country, and they even provide a list of resources to consider.

In chapter 11, the author provides examples of churches that are trying to pursue racial reconciliation. One example of this involves two Presbyterian (PCA) churches in Birmingham, Alabama that sought to pursue racial reconciliation. One PCA church is over 90% Black, and the author is majority White. The two churches partner with each other in working together on social projects, and the two churches organized a viewing of the movie "Selma" for their congregations to watch and discuss together.

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To sum up my thoughts, I think this book overall can serve, at the very least, as a conversation starter for some people that may have never engaged with the topic at hand. Some chapters were certainly stronger than others (this happens with books with several contributors). Perhaps my biggest critique would be that overall, I think it would have been more helpful and impactful to have invoked scripture a bit more. Scripture is invoked, leading me to believe that this was an aim for the authors, but I think more exposition would have been helpful. Some chapters have a bit more from the Bible, and others have little.

The historical elements to the book, along with some of the statistics regarding attitudes concerning racism from the PRRI were the strongest points in the book, albeit a bit brief due to it being a rather short book. Perhaps in the future, the recent Pew (2021) surveys concerning racism and religion can be disseminated.

While I did not agree with everything in the book, I still took away some valuable insights and would say that this can, at the very least, be a book that opens up a conversation into the topic.

Race in America: Christians Respond to the Crisis is an eye-opening book. While I have read several books on this topic,my eyes were opened in new ways to the systemic racism which is at the core of American history and life. Using straightforward language and examples pulled from every day life, Race in America provides a thorough and documented discussion of these issues that is laid out for anyone to understand if they take the time to read and engage with the book.

Many common statements such as "I'm not racist, I'm color-blind" and "I didn't own slaves or benefit from slavery" are thoroughly debunked. I found the discussion on the difference between white supremacy and white nationalism particularly helpful. While only a brief discussion, information regarding how colonialism and racist attitudes were behind many decisions throughout history and how contemporary issues such as the migrant and refugee crisis are direct results of these events sparked my interest for further reading and study of these topics. While not surprising, the reminder that European/white standards are still used to measure contributions in art, music, and literature and thus control western education was disheartening.

Race in America, edited by David Maxwell and Laura M. Cheifetz with contributions by approximately 15 other writers is a revision and expansion of the previously published Race in a Post-Obama America edited by David Maxwell and published in 2016. These edits are apparent as information is included for events that happened during recent months including the January 6 capitol riots and Black Lives Matter. A comparison of the table of contents of the 2016 and 2021 versions indicate several new chapters as well as chapters that were combined. The chapters in social media, Trumpism, and police brutality as well as other updates make the revision worth purchasing and reading even by those who are familiar with the original work.

While a heavy topic at any time, Race in America: Christians Respond to the Crisis was an especially heart-wrenching read given the simultaneous current events. At the same time, these current events emphasized that this book needs to be read by everyone who considers themselves a Christian and particularly by white Christians. While you may not agree with every point made, this is a great resource to become informed on the topic. But after reading, ask yourself what you actions you can take to confront racism in your community and church. There is so much more that I could share about this book, but I'd rather you read it for yourself or better yet with a group.