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Resources
Books on Race
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by Isabel Wilkerson
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully written narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving
For twenty-five years, Debby Irving sensed inexplicable racial tensions in her personal and professional relationships. As a colleague and neighbor, she worried about offending people she dearly wanted to befriend. As an arts administrator, she didn't understand why her diversity efforts lacked traction. As a teacher, she found her best efforts to reach out to students and families of color left her wondering what she was missing. Then, in 2009, one "aha!" moment launched an adventure of discovery and insight that drastically shifted her worldview and upended her life plan. In Waking Up White, Irving tells her often cringe-worthy story with such openness that readers will turn every page rooting for her-and ultimately for all of us.
God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time, by Desmond Tutu
Echoing the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., he writes, “God says to you, ‘I have a dream. Please help me to realize it. It is a dream of a world whose ugliness and squalor and poverty, its war and hostility, its greed and harsh competitiveness, its alienation and disharmony are changed into their glorious counterparts. When there will be more laughter, joy, and peace, where there will be justice and goodness and compassion and love and caring and sharing. I have a dream that my children will know that they are members of one family, the human family, God’s family, my family.’”
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, byMehrsa Baradaran
The Color of Money pursues the persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks. Studying these institutions over time, Mehrsa Baradaran challenges the myth that black communities could ever accumulate wealth in a segregated economy. Instead, housing segregation, racism, and Jim Crow credit policies created an inescapable, but hard to detect, economic trap for black communities and their banks.
Between The World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
Why We Can’t Wait, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King’s classic exploration of the events and forces behind the Civil Rights Movement—including his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963.
Books on LGTBQ+ issues
Torn: Rescuing the Gospel From the Gays-Vs-Christians Debate, byJustin Lee
Justin Lee, a gay man and devout Christian, bridges the gaps between his faith and sexuality in this insightful and touching memoir.
Space at the Table: conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son, by Brad and Drew Harper
The Harpers share their hard-won victories, taking us on their journey as parent and child from the churches of middle America to the penthouses of New York's party scenes, through a pastor's kid childhood and painful conversion therapy to the healing and depth they found in their relationship. It’s a journey from anger and fear to love.
Oriented to Faith: Transforming the Conflict over Gay Relationships, by Tim Otto
With gentle wisdom and compassionate insight, Tim invites all followers of Jesus to consider how we might work with God through these tensions so that all can be transformed by God's good news in and through Christ.
Love Makes Room: And Other Things I Learned When My Daughter Came Out, by Staci Frenes
When Christian singer and speaker Staci Frenes learned her teenage daughter was gay, she found her dreams for the future--along with her lifelong faith--collapsing around her. Coming to terms with a new reality was a challenge--and an invitation--to make room for many things along the way: the inevitability of uncertainty, hope in the midst of loss, awkward and tough conversations, an expanding faith, and a greater understanding of how people are more the same than different.
Embracing the Journey: A Christian Parents’ Blueprint to Loving Your LGBTQ Child, by Greg and Lynn McDonald
Written in an unvarnished, honest, reassuring, and relatable voice, this is a practical guide for parents and a roadmap to learning to love God, the people He created, and the church, even when they seem to be at odds.