The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism

by Jemar Tisby

In August of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, calling on all Americans to view others not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Yet King included another powerful word, one that is often overlooked. Warning against the "tranquilizing drug of gradualism," King emphasized the fierce urgency of now, the need to resist the status quo and take immediate action. King's call to action, first issued over fifty years ago, is relevant for the church in America today. Churches remain racially segregated and are largely ineffective in addressing complex racial challenges. In The Color of Compromise , Jemar Tisby takes us back to the root of this injustice in the American church, highlighting the cultural and institutional tables we have to flip in order to bring about progress between black and white people. Tisby provides a unique survey of American Christianity's racial past, revealing the concrete and chilling ways people of faith have worked against racial justice. Understanding our racial history sets the stage for solutions, but until we understand the depth of the malady we won't fully embrace the aggressive treatment it requires. Given the centuries of Christian compromise with bigotry, believers today must be prepared to tear down old structures and build up new ones. This book provides an in-depth diagnosis for a racially divided American church and suggests ways to foster a more equitable and inclusive environment among God's people.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Religion, Christian, Social Justice, Christianity

Audio CD

First published January 22, 2019

About the author

Jemar Tisby is president and co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective. He has written about race, religion, and culture for The Washington Post, CNN, Vox, Christianity Today and The New York Times. He is the co-host of the Pass The Mic podcast, which is frequently rated as one of the top 100 religion and faith podcasts on iTunes. Tisby is a PhD student in history at the University of Mississippi, studying race and religion in the 20th century, and he has spoken to thousands at colleges, conferences, and churches across the country on such topics as “Understanding the Heart Cry of Black Lives Matter,” “The Historical Politics of Race in America,” and “The Image of God and the Minority Experience.” In 2017, the Religion News Association recognized him for excellence in student religion reporting for his articles on the police-related killings of unarmed black citizens. https://thewitnessbcc.com

Reviews

[Jonathan Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This has to be one of if not THE most important books on race and racism I have ever read. It is a historical survey of how the American church in general, especially white Christians, have largely not only failed to oppose racism but have also been culpable in creating it and preserving it. While mostly just telling the truth, it has a bit of a prophetic voice as well, especially towards the end.

The author, Jemar Tisby, is a Christian leader and speaker and PhD candidate for U.S. History. He also is the President of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, and his podcast Pass the Mic has been very helpful for me and other friends in understanding the intersection of Christianity, current events, and the black experience. As he said in the book, Jemar loves the Church, but has done the hard work of research to speak the truth in love about the history of Christian complicity with racism in America. As he reveals in the book though, for much of the past 400 years of our history, the church in America has been at best complicit (allowing racial injustices to prevail) and at worst far too often, creating structures, policies, and even theologies that conserve racism. While he admits that there is so much to cover about the mistreatment and dehumanizing injustices against many ethnic groups by white people as a people, he specifically focuses on the legacy of racial injustice by white people against black people in America.

Two main points he wants every reader to know from this book is that:
1) White complicity is not a factor of melanin but a factor of power
2) It didn't have to be this way. Intentional choices were made to create or allow the racial injustices that have happened, including the ones that prevail today, which means it is possible to undo them.

The book covers every major period of history from the earliest days of European colonization of North America all the way to the current times while Trump is president. There are almost 400 footnotes in this book, most of them unique, so I know that conservatively Jemar must have read dozens of books (maybe a lot more), not to mention interviews, articles, etc. to compile all the most pertinent information in one book. This is so worth your read not only because of the content, but because of Jemar has connected the dots through so much reading and research that most would surely never be able to or choose to do.

I found this book to be extremely well researched and informative, incredibly disturbing and gut wrenching at times (especially the conditions of slave ships and the brutality of lynching, which wasn't only hanging), very surprising and angering in how deep the complicity goes, and practical and somewhat hopeful towards the end, with realistic anti-racist actionable ideas.

I've read several books this past year on race, and the past 4 years I've been trying to learn and understand as much as I can on racism in the past and present, how Christians have gotten it wrong in the past, and how the church can move forward in repairing what has been broken, but there was SO much in here I didn't know. For instance

-I assumed that most slavery-era christians were abolitionists (not true).
-I assumed abolitionists all believed in and wanted the equal treatment and social standing for black Americans (also not true, even Lincoln).
-I knew there was inadequate Christian support of MLK and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, but I didn't know how "precious few Christians publicly aligned themselves with the struggle for black freedom in the 1950s and 1960s."
-I didn't know the extent to which segregation for fear of black men getting with white women and having babies motivated the start of private Christian schools

I think some of the most surprising and complex content was about the last century, including the rise of the Religious Right and the Moral Majority (which were segregationist in their motivations), racism becoming more covert through overwhelming white evangelical support of "law and order", the roots of theological doctrines in Christianity that made excuses for not actively opposing racial injustice, and the White Evangelical Cultural Toolkit which "explains how Christians from different racial backgrounds can have such different views on contemporary racial and political problems" This toolkit includes terms such as accountable individualism, relationalism, and antistructurism (he defines them). These were already covered in the book Divided By Faith, which was published in the year 2000 (why that book didn't get more attention and impact in white evangelical circles, I have no idea).

I do wish there was a bit more covered on Christians and race in the past 10-20 years, but this is a survey after all and he could only cover so much in such a broad time span.

One thing that became even more clear from this book is that both consciously, actively racist people and "non-racist" people who doesn't oppose the status quo are motivated by the same thing. Though the many stories and facts, this book show that both racist and non-racist value their own power, comfort, and convenience above equality, justice, and shared power for those who are different and possibly far away from them. Self-proclaimed colorblind, non-racist people do nothing to oppose the status quo, and that is the definition of complicity. The call is to actively be antiracist and to rock the boat.

This book is a needed wake-up call for how too many Christians (even our leaders) are woefully under-aware of not only the history of racism and Christian complicity or support of it, but also how bad things are today. At the same time, it is a wake up call for the many of us who do know they need to take antiracist action and speak truth to power (even and especially within different parts of the church), but are too fearful of the backlash, loss of support, getting it wrong, or threats and "divisiveness" it might cause.

The last chapter gave many suggestions for action steps in the main 3 main areas of Awareness, Relationships, and Commitment to action (ARC). For instance, he mentions reparations and how it might be actually implemented civically and ecclesiastically. Another of his ideas I liked best was to resurrect something like the "Freedom Schools" of the 1960s in which people attend a class about the history and current realities of racial injustice and best practices and organizations to partner with, in addition to more Pilgrimages, which are experiences that are very effective for engaging and moving participants emotionally as well as intellectually. I know that Lisa Sharon Harper puts on racial justice pilgrimages (freedomroad.us) and something kind of like a Freedom School that I'm aware of is a race, power and privilege intensive I'm connected to called Lenses (lensesinstitute.com).

Overall, Jemar does a fantastic job connecting the dots between the past and the present, as well as paving a road of progress ahead, but he calls us, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to the "Fierce Urgency of Now." Racial injustice is much worse today than most realize, and in words of Divided by Faith author Michael Emerson, the 2016 election "was the single most harmful event to the whole movement of reconciliation in at least the past 30 years. It's about to completely break apart." The witness and faithfulness of the church in America is at stake if we fail to adequately grapple with our history of complicity and the barriers that keep us from opposing racial injustice in all forms.

Just as in MLK's days, the biggest indictment is not on the overtly racist white supremacists (as disturbing as they are), but on the Christians who either can't be bothered at all, are in denial of how bad the black community and their allies say things are, or resist anything faster than glacial speed in change. Let's cancel compromise together, starting with making this among the most-read Christian books of 2019.

In exchange for an honest review, I received an advance copy and am eagerly awaiting its final release on January 22nd. I highly recommend preordering, reading, and promoting this book.

[Stephen Matlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps one of the most accessible, clear, and gentle book you might read about the history of, and acceptance of, white supremacy and black abasement of the American nation and in the American church.

Tisby is an historian and does not shave meaning or impact by using soft words. When you read this, you understand what he is saying, directly: racism in the American church was, and is, a deliberate choice. Nothing that has happened so far had to happen.

But the good news is that our American nation and our American church can be changed by the actions of interested and committed people.

I would expect that some people might feel this book is personally distasteful or even animated against them--"We are good people. Why do we get told that we're racist?"

Tisby is not attacking. He is describing, carefully, what it means to be American, to be Christian, and to be racist, and how the third leg of this stool does not need to remain unchanged. It is possible to be American and Christian AND to be committed to social justice and racial equality.

I imagine it might be hard to read for some people--and I'm one of those people. It is never fun to look into the mirror and see the flaws. But, it is delightful to see the flaws and then to see ways to remove those flaws and become more just, more fair, more equal, and more loving.

Pick this up, and spend some time reading.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very painful and important read.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this book, Jemar Tisby paints a picture of America's racist history and of his vision for an America without racial inequality. His evidence is selective, his rhetoric is vivid, but what's missing from the earliest chapters is anything resembling a good and tight argument. Beginning with Tisby’s definition of racism on p.19, announced without hesitation as if it was wisdom from on high, he introduces unproven assumptions at each stage in the development of the book. It’s not a coincidence that at several points in his survey of American history he chastises “reasonableness” as a problem to be confronted. “Reasonableness,” for him, is a failure to recognize urgency (p. 137).

Everything you need to know about his endgame can be found in the last chapter, “The Fierce Urgency of Now.” At the end of the survey of America’s dark past, the reader is invited to ask “what now?”
So what will Tisby offer his readers? What is the most urgent thing that needs to happen now? Across the previous ten chapters of the book, he wants the American church to know that they are complicit in both past and present racism/racialism. If he’s right (and sometimes he is), will he now preach to them freedom from the guilt and from the power of sin? Will those guilty and complicit be offered freedom before they close the book? Don’t hold your breath. Plenty of action items are offered, but none of them are grounded in anything like the objective and permanent justification in the blood of Jesus Christ. For all the talk about a “truncated” gospel among his opponents, it is that very gospel that got left out of the book. Endless action is demanded, with no end in sight ("racism never goes away"), and no assurance of righteousness for those involved.

Chapter 11, the last chapter of the book, does not mention the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, nor the forgiveness and new life sinners can find in Him. If you’re a Christian dealing with serious multi-generational sin, as Tisby claims to be, you can have a multifaceted response to sin (including dealing with its societal consequences), but at the center of them all should be the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ and its application to sinners by the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s the (increasingly obvious) missing gospel from Jemar Tisby’s project. All the “solutions” offered by Tisby could have just as well been cooked up by the pagan materialist down the street. Is this the best Protestants can offer?

Tisby’s prescriptive section at the end of the book deserves a response in the style of J. Gresham Machen. This is not Christianity anymore, but a whole other religion, with its own original sin, its own cathedrals (schools, activist organizations, etc.), membership (“allies”) and sacraments (“transformative pilgrimages”). There are even instructions for how to practice secular church discipline. The Color of Compromise tells us that “racism never goes away,” while the Lord Jesus promises us that “the names of their gods shall no longer be remembered.”

If you're an American Christian who's not convinced this book's approach is not Christian, ask yourself this: if every American believed every sentence in this book, would you have a justified America?

[Adam Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most recent thoughts on the third full reading
Summary: The church has been complicit in the creation of a racial hierarchy.

Last night I finished up a discussion group for the Color of Compromise. I was not particularly interested in re-reading the book because I have read/listened to it two previous times and watched the video series twice. But the Color of Compromise is exactly the type of book that brings about a shared story of the history of the United States so that there can be a place for Christians of different racial groups to come together for real discussion and future work.

This discussion group was the fourth round of small groups that I have helped lead or participated in that explicitly focused on racial issues at my church. And one of the significant confirmations of participating in these groups is how important it is to have a shared understanding of history. That does not mean that everyone has to believe the same things on all policy or theology or historical understandings, but it does mean that a shared basic shape of the history of the US and the role that race has played in that history is important for moving forward. Color of Compromise is a basic introduction to the history of race in the US. I have read a lot of history around race, and there is very little that is controversial here.

That being said, one of the consistent critiques that I have heard about Color of Compromise is that its history is not very good. Generally, when I have asked for examples, there are two main threads that people are talking about. One is that there is a frustration that Tisby does not spend more time talking about the role of white abolitionists or those that opposed segregation. And generally, my response is that this is not a history of abolition or ending segregation. This is a history of the church's complicity in racism, and their complaint isn't with Tisby's history but the book's focus that he actually wrote. The second area where people have complained about the historical work is from people who want more clear heroes and villains in their history and who are offended that Tisby is pointing out that some of our heroes were not very heroic regarding race. So again, this tends to be a problem with people's understanding of the methodology of history and their theological anthropology.

The current historical methodology is not designed to create heroes. If you go back two hundred years, some early historians were trying to develop heroes and a shared 'mythology' (using it in the sense of a shared creation/origin story). For example, the 'myth' of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree arose about 10 years after Washington's death in the fifth edition of a biography of Washington by Locke Weems. Weemes was not trying to tell a historically accurate story that he got wrong; he was trying to illustrate the importance of virtue. By 1835, PT Barnum purchased an elderly slave woman and advertised her as Washington's nanny, and she told the cherry tree story as one of her acts. By 1854, the story was adapted to one of McGuffey's Readers to teach reading. But it was a 'myth,' not in the sense of false story (although there is no historical evidence of it actually happening), but in the sense of a shared story of the virtue of our founding father, which allows us as US citizens to point to the story for a sense of identity and meaning.

When Color of Compromise points to how those important historical figures in the 'mythology of American Christianity were complicit in racism or the culture of white racial superiority, it impacts how people see themselves and their faith. The article and backlash (here, here, here, and here as examples) over John Piper's defense of Jonathan Edwards enslaving people exemplify how we 'mythologize' our Christian heroes. And it is exactly this mythologizing that is a perfect example of how the church has been complicit in racism.

That being said, there is one place that I am aware of a factual error. The quote is, "As historian Joseph Crespino relates, Reagan began his 1980 presidential campaign at an annual fair in Neshoba County, Mississippi, where in 1964, three civil rights workers—James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman—had disappeared." Tisby cites Joseph Crispino for Reagan starting his campaign at the annual fair in Neshoba County, but Reagan announced his campaign on Nov 13, 1979, and the Neshoba County Fair speech was on Aug 3, 1980. Except for the dating, the discussion of the content was accurate. (Update, Tisby is accurate here. This is the first speech after the National Convention where he was starting the campaign as the official GOP candidate for president.)

The final chapters, 8 to 11, are the real heart of the importance of the book. The chapters covering the pre-civil rights era are pretty straight narrative history, and I would find it hard to think that anyone familiar with the content has much to dispute. Chapter 8, complicity with racism during the civil rights era, uses MLK and Billy Graham as examples of ways in which the church could have responded, and did respond, to racism, again poking holes in our Evangelical mythology. Chapter 9 focuses on the rise of the religious right. I think it has a more nuanced version of the Randal Balmer thesis that government investigation of segregated Christian schools in the 1970s played a role in developing the religious right. Finally, chapter 10 is about Black Lives Matter and the recent church. Because I have followed Jemar Tisby on Twitter and his podcast since at least 2015, if not a bit earlier, I had experience with Tisby as a figure in this history, not just a writer of this history. And I think that matters to how you read his accounts of LeCrae and other Black Christians in White Evangelical spaces and the backlash they received for talking about racism in the church. And of course, chapter 11 is an early explication of Tisby's ARC model of racial reconciliation that is the subject of his second book, How to Fight Racism.

In some ways, it is hard for me to believe that this book was published just over 2.5 years ago (Jan 2019). It has been wildly influential and important to the current moment. There are many other history books about the church and racism and the US, but very few are targeted to a popular evangelical audience. In fact, Christianity Today has a whole article about how this was the first book by an evangelical publisher about race to sell more than 100,000 books and only the fifth book by a black author published by an evangelical press ever to sell more than 100,000 copies. Color of Compromise is a book that should be read in part because it has become so influential.

Original post:
Summary: An introductory survey of American history and the relationship of the church to racism.

Racism is hard to talk about because we have a hard time agreeing with what racism is. Not only are there disagreements on what the definition of racism is, but conflicts often devolve into, ‘That was racist’ and ‘I don’t understand how you can say that was racist.’

The Color of Compromise is an introductory survey of how the church has compromised with racism over history. Early chapters cover slavery and the divides within the church over the Civil War, Jim Crow, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement. All of this is well done and important, but also a history that I think many will be relatively familiar with.

I think where The Color of Compromise is most valuable and essential (and will be most controversial) is the last several chapters where racism is less overt. Tisby uses comparisons with Billy Graham and a few others to show that even when there may not be an intention, harm can still occur.

In previous eras, racism among Christian believers was much easier to detect and identify. Professing believers openly used racial slurs, participated in beatings and lynchings, fought wars to preserve slavery, or used the Bible to argue for the inherent inferiority of black people. And those who did not openly resist these actions—those who remained silent—were complicit in their acceptance. Since the 1970s, Christian complicity in racism has become more difficult to discern. It is hidden, but that does not mean it no longer exists. (page 155)

The word 'compromise' in the Color of Compromise was well chosen. Racism is not just overt harmful action, but also the times when it is easier not to say or do anything. The examples of Billy Graham compared to Martin Luther King Jr, and other figures from our recent past do give the best illustrations in the book about how subtle, but real, lack of attention to how racial lines create reinforce historic racial divides.

Early in the book when talking about Reconstruction, Tisby says,

"Even after the calamitous events of the Civil War, many citizens and politicians maintained a moderate stance on race and civil rights. Unionists in the North tended to show more concern about the status of former white Confederates than for the status of freedpeople (page 92)"

It is easier to see with overt actions, but the later chapters are important in showing that when the church is racially isolated or assumes White normative culture or bias, those that are not White are alienated. Said another way, if we as individuals have a view of the person we are identifying within a situation and we default to identifying with the White people in the story, but we do not include identifying with non-White people in the story, then we have drawn a line about who we have included as children of God and who we have not.

The tragedy of the Color of Compromise is not just that slavery or Jim Crow happened and that at the church was mostly on the wrong side. The tragedy of the Color of Compromise is that because slavery and Jim Crow happened, and minority Christians were largely pushed out. Separate White and non-White churches arose, leaving a relational break, which led to a cultural separation, which has resulted in a modern lack of empathy and a lack of awareness among much of the White church that there even is a problem.

The church as a whole is no longer fighting about whether slavery is biblical (there is still some discussion on these questions, but not much). The church as a whole has not; however, adequately grappled with how patterns of history have led to the continued separation that today has resulted in a compromised church that is unable to address racism squarely.

The same review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/color-of-compromise/

[Alison Chino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following Jemar Tisby's work for a couple of years now and have been eagerly anticipating the release of his new book The Color of Compromise, so when calls went out for advance readers, I raised my hand high. 

I've been digesting the book slowly for a few weeks and here is what most amazes me: I have been reading and studying America's racial past for a while now, but this specific history of the American church's leading role in maintaining racism has been, for the most part, previously unknown to me. 

I think that there is a part of my heart that felt that all true followers of Jesus during the colonial era were abolitionists. (Not true.)  

And I certainly thought that all abolitionists were free of racism. (Also not true.)

I thought that white churches during the Civil Rights Movement were either supportive or silent, but I was surprised to discover that segregation was both preached from the pulpit and used as a core founding principle for the Religious Right. (It was not abortion that bound the Moral Majority together, but rather move to establish private schools in order flee integrated ones.)

Understanding the ways that racism has evolved since the slavery has repeatedly brought me to my knees in lament. 

Reading that the church and many Christian leaders have lent their overwhelming support to that evolution is a whole new level of devastating.

 I read A LOT of history because I think that it's important. The parts of our history that we don't know or the stories we sweep under the carpet are the bits that come back to bite us. (Also reading history keeps me from naively believing the many false narratives that pervade our thinking about "The Land of the Free.")

And so it follows that for a Christian, reading and knowing the history of the American church's complicity in maintaining a racist society, is the only way to begin to break the cycle of that complicity.

It's been a long, sad slog of complicity, but Jemar Tisby graciously tells it under 300 pages, stating himself that it is "a historical survey" rather than "a comprehensive treatment." Also, he reminds us from the very beginning that it is his love of the church that compels him to tell this truth. He is not writing from the perspective of someone who written off the church, but as someone who wants to see a better day in the American church. He maintains hope that we can still seek unity across racial and ethnic lines, that we can still see God's kingdom come. 

But first, like the people of Israel who mourned when Ezra read them the word they had forgotten and forsaken, we have some reckoning to do. We cannot gloss over the sins of the past or we will continue to allow their more subtle forms in the present. 

Jemar closes the book with a chapter full of practical ways to address current racial injustice in America, because when we know how hard those who have gone before us have worked to erect racial barriers, surely we will want to know how to do the work of taking them down. 

Here's a paragraph from the book that will continue to inspire and admonish me in the days ahead:

Although our eternal peace is secure, a diverse but unified body of Christ will only come through struggle in this life. A survey of the history of racism and the church shows that the story is worse than most imagine. Christianity in America has been tied to the fallacy fo white supremacy for hundreds of years. European colonists brought with them the ideas of white superiority and paternalism toward darker-skinned people. On this sandy foundation, they erected a society and religion that could only survive through the subjugation of people of color. Minor repairs by the weekend-warrior racial reconcilers won't fix a flawed foundation. The church needs the Carpenter from Nazareth to deconstruct the house that racism built and remake it into a house for all nations. 

Amen!

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

"History and Scripture teaches us that there can be no reconciliation without repentance. There can be no repentance without confession. And there can be no confession without truth."

Tisby's book gives a historical overview of how the white Christian church has been complicit in the promotion of racism in America from 1619 to the present day. Most of the history will be familiar to you if you are already knowledgeable of Black history. The individual stories were new to me, such as how some church leaders did not allow slaves to be baptised, or that white and black churches became a phenomenon after the Civil War, or the defense of segregation by white preachers in the Civil Rights Movement era. The latter chapters (8-11) are the strongest in my opinion, maybe because it focuses on the modern period.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly don't know how to properly review this book and I've been trying to find words to describe what I just read. Here is my pitiful attempt.

OVERVIEW

I remember when I first read Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. I was horrified. I knew some of racism in some of its blatant forms (KKK, etc), but didn't grasp racist ideas and the influence, power, and history they hold. While Ibram Kendi's book covered religion, I longed for a Christian companion book that could come aside Kendi's work (among others) to talk about the racist ideas and the complicity with racism that the church has participated in. This is that book in many ways. Tisby gives the reader a short general survey of the church's complicity (a keyword in this book) with racism. By the end Tisby gives some practical advice on how to begin fixing these problems, which I found personally helpful.

THE GOOD

This book left me speechless. It's a really good and well-structured book. Tisby also states in the beginning that, due to the large swatch of history and the shortness of the book, he only covers certain events, people, and ideas within these pages. It's almost a primer for a longer study. But this "primer" will wreck you.

After reading this book I wonder how, as the American church, we are still using the exact same words and thoughts that we were using during slavery and Jim Crow times. I know the reason: we're still racist.

Whenever I've talked to people face-to-face about racism and racial reconciliation, I often get the same few comments or questions:

-- Everyone is equal now. Slavery is gone and the Civil Rights era has past. We're a post-racial society now.
-- That's "social marxism" (or generic terms like that)
-- Ok, so what should we do? What do they want?

Tisby, through history and present events, eviscerates these comments and questions. Honestly, after reading this book, I don't know how anyone (without willing denying the truth) could keep saying or asking the same things. Tisby is clear and pointed. He doesn't beat around the bush. In fact, when he gets to our present time/history (1950-2018), he brings the fire.

I've watched the racial reconciliation movement in person and online and Tisby and his colleagues have been subject to much hatred, false facts, claims of heresy and turning away from the gospel, among many other hateful things.

These people made one big mistake (among many).

They tweeted.

Jemar Tisby wrote a book.

It's not revenge or a call-out. Tisby writes facts, the histories, and the documented conversations of many racist people that are still alive and working. From Bob Jones University to the Graham family (I think he handled Billy Graham masterfully). From Phil Johnson to the SBC, Tisby doesn't hold back showing how the church is still complicit in racism.

Again, I found the final chapters very helpful. He gives good and hard practical information to combat racism and to grow into being an anti-racist.

THE CHALLENGES

I don't really have any problems with the book. If anything, I wish it was longer so it could be more detailed. There were moments where I wish he talked more about a situation but I understand the purpose of a general historical survey.

I do wish for a book that focused on all forms of racism in America, but (1) I don't think a singular person could write that book and (2) I, again, understand the focus and restrictions the author takes.

-------------------------------

I will need to read this book again and again.

Until current "anti-social-justice-warriors" start writing books showing how the words and arguments they use don't come from racists then I'm not sure they have a leg to stand on. Anyone can tweet. Few have the courage & persistence to research and write something that will endure more than 16 hours. Sadly, most of them won't even take the time to read this book.

5 stars.

Side-note to my Reformed followers: How many books do we have to read before we realize that there are certain beliefs and connections in our reformed theology that allow for abusers and racists to stay hidden and thrive?

[Chase Dunn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here are some bullet point thoughts that could expanded A LOT more. The influence of this book is seminaries is appalling to me.... here are some thoughts;


1. Racism behind every bush, EVERY bush.

2. An anti-biblical view of “justice”. Justice is always connected to righteousness in the Bible, however this view of justice elevates social change and equity to the place of preeminence. This sets aside true, biblical justice in the name of “social” justice. It should be noted that Scripture never uses a modifier for the concept of justice such as “social”. The only exception are two cases when the word “righteous” modifies justice. Justice is inextricably linked to the character and nature of God, therefore justice cannot be manipulated to mean social equity.

3. Presents a skewed view of history that makes racism the motive for everything. Ie the confederacy was nothing but racists who fought the civil war for no other reason than love of slavery and devaluing of blacks. Support of Robert E. Lee and others therefore equals racism, no matter the reason. This applies to any historical monument, theologian who didn’t directly oppose racism, and basically anything the whole crowd agrees upon. This is an extremely biased view of history that forces a narrative on every event and see’s silence as being complicit with sin.

4. Bashing of America and the ideals it was founded on. To them: racism only. The so-called “Christian nation” is nothing but racial bigots and therefore cannot be truly Christians or have Christian ideals. No one is saying America is a utopia, however even the claim that the Constitution reflects biblical ideals is denied because of the “stain” of racism.

5. Excusing the sins of black people in the name of reparations for racism and the Marxist view that the oppressor, and not the oppressed, can be racist. This worldview completely sets aside Christian morality and ethics and elevates an anti-biblical form of justice. In an effort to achieve “social” justice SJW actually mar and deface true justice by committing sins in the name of justice. Remember, justice is no longer justice when it is devoid of righteousness. Sin is not righteousness...

6. Embracing heretics in Christianity; ie MLK Jr and James Cone, while bashing conservatives like Billy Graham, Phil Johnson, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, etc. Theology matters, enacting social change cannot be elevated over biblical doctrine. For example, MLK Jr enacted great social change that we can all celebrate, however his morality, affairs with multiple women, coverups, and heretical theology should be scrutinized. A Christian cannot simply excuse these actions and false theology because he was a SJW and led a movement. At the same time, we should also scrutinize men like George Whitfield who did own and advocate for slavery. However, evaluating men like this in light of their time period, cultural conditions, and wholistic view of their life and theology. Unbiased understanding of history is what we should be seeking!

7. Chapter 10: WOW!!!! Total support of BLM. No reasonable criticism of CRT or the Marxist backgrounds of founders and organization itself. The only reason a white Christian doesn’t support BLM is racism. The most shocking justification for downright sin and a completely inadequate look at a movement that by very design is destructive and completely antithetical to a biblical worldview. Moreover, the author scoffs at the “conservative” Christian perspective that says the primary objective of a Christian is to preach the gospel and have the Holy Spirit work to the end that a soul is saved. The author posits that physical “salvation” from circumstances, inequity, and racism is equally important as their salvation from the eternal wrath and punishment of God in hell. This is like rearranging the furniture on the Titanic and sets earthly concerns above eternal concerns.

8. Pulls racism from categories of visible sin, either individually or in laws, policies, or group positions and converts racism into systemic categories where racism is the reason for everything. When equity is the desired outcome, true equality is dead — equality of outcome is now promoted. This is an unbiblical concept that does allow God to sovereignly control temporal blessings of one more than another. There is a chasm of difference between equality and equity. If you seek equity, equality no longer exists.

9. ZERO proof or evidence of all of this “systemic racism”. Either you accept the narrative or you are a racist. DiAngelo’s concept of “white fragility” is at play here. Presenting an event and simply stating the motive was racism does not make it so... (hello postmodernism!) No one denies that racism exists, however we cannot make ourselves the motive police and judge events, actions, people, etc through racist spectacles alone. On the other hand, a black person cannot be racist, since in their view, to be racist you must have power. Therefore, the oppressed can never be racist, only oppressors can. This again is anti biblical to the core. The Bible does not exonerate whole groups of “oppressed” people’s from sin. God does NOT love the poor and weak above all others, but demands justice both for the poor and rich, slave and master, wise and fool.

10. The only reason a white person could have voted for Trump was racism. The only reason a black person voted for Trump was ignorance and being duped by white oppressors. Once again, drink the Kool-Aid or your either a racist (if white) or duped (if black).

11. Large scale view — everything is broken down into oppressor and oppressed. I smell Marxism and it wreaks…

12. A defining mark of this book is an inability to wholistically look at any movement, person, action, event, etc. For example, since Robert E Lee was a Confederate and fought as a general in the Civil War, then he must be a racist. Even though in his own writings and many others slavery was not the main reason they were fighting. However, this wholistic view of history might dismantle the narrative of systemic racism, so of course these types of facts are never mentioned. Excuses are given for SJW and everyone else is vilified. Disagree? That’s because your a racist. Once again, on a worldview level this antithetical to a Christian worldview. Pick up and actually read your Bible people!!

13. Repentance is nullified. Repentance and faith in Christ is not enough, one must pursue racial reconciliation. Where does this end? Who determines when you have done enough? This adds racial reconciliation to the gospel and thereby is another gospel and falls under the condemnation of Galatians 1:8. These are works being added to the simplicity of the true gospel preached to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and preached by Jesus, Peter, Paul, and saints from the death of Christ to the present!

14. Systemic injustice and sin is confused with individual guilt and reconciling for an individual sin. These are not the same concepts at all and the author makes a botched attempt to link this sort of reconciliation to Daniel and his prayer for the sins of Israel (God’s covenant people). However, if the author practices what he preaches about understanding the grammatical and historical interpretation of this passage, he would know that the chosen nation of Israel and a promise to restore them (which Daniel recognized) describes WHAT happened, it is not a formula that we must immolate. Narrative is not normative and narrative is descriptive not prescriptive.

A final biblical principle to consider… a good root produces good fruit; a bad root produces bad fruit. Good roots don’t produce bad fruit and bad fruit cannot product good fruit. Simple right? Indeed, now apply that the SJW movement as a whole. What fruit does it produce? Let’s consider… does the SJW movement product biblical unity? Repentance leading to faith? Glorification of Christ? Promote the sovereignty of God? Exercise forgiveness seventy times seven? Restore one another in brotherly love? Put others above themselves? Sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron? Serve one another in love? Display a 1 Corinthians 13 type of love (“keeps no records of wrong” hint hint)? Live as aliens of this world with their citizenship in heaven? Focus on eternal rather temporal concerns? Keep Christ as the cornerstone of theology? Seek to glorify God whether you eat or drink? Produce godly preachers who are warriors for Christ (not the oppressed)? Recognize slavery to SIN? Hello?!?!?! Is anyone thinking from monolithicly biblical worldview here?! Open your eyes and see this movement for what it truly is — an aberration from historic, biblical Christianity. The gospel is enough. The Lord Jesus Christ is enough. The glory of God is enough. Let us proclaim that man is Abe’s by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, according to the Scriptures ALONE!

Soli Deo Gloria.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done chronicle about Christianity complicity in upholding white supremacy. short rtc

4+ Stars

Listened to the audiobook. The author, Jemar Tisby also narrated to great effect!

[Josh Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical survey is fair and heartbreaking, which is why I rated the book a three instead of a one. The application is quite troublesome and overshadows, for me personally, almost everything good that Tisby has done in this work.

Now, the reason why I find it troublesome is because Tisby uses explicitly biblical terms in his application like Jubilee and Restitution, but divorces it from its historical context and entirely redefines them.

At a glance, you may be tempted to say application doesn’t seem like a big deal considering it only takes up a small portion of the book. However, I’m I find the application that concerning. I’m convinced that it’s not all that far off from Marxism. Also, Tisby anticipated this objection. However, anticipating it doesn’t make it any less true.

I have no issues with seeking biblical justice. However, in order for for it to truly be biblical justice, the Bible has to serve as the foundation.

[Leandra Askew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rated this so low bc it’s not what I expected. A long tour of the history of racism with interspersed info on the church. Lots of emphasis placed in politics and the gruesome details of the atrocities Black people endured. Alot felt like recycled info if you read enough race books. I wish the author would’ve really zeroed in on the church and given more definitive info on how the church was complacent...

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good, and so needed. I can see how this would be hard to take in, but everything this book says is true. How the white church responds will say a lot about us. The verse that keeps popping into my head is Proverbs 27:6 - “Wounds from a friend can be trusted”. This book might wound us, but it is trustworthy and necessary. I pray we humble ourselves and take his words to heart.

[Lydia Gahafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The refusal to act in the midst of injustice is itself an act of injustice. Indifference to oppression perpetuates oppression."

Deeply convicting, this book serves as a wake-up call to complicit, tepid Christianity. Tisby walks the reader through a survey of American history starting in 1619 and going all the way up to 2017. Drawing from a plethora of Christian and secular sources, he notes how much of history is white-washed—down-playing the real injustices: black Americans were robbed of economic opportunity and, even more heartbreaking, acknowledgement of their innate worth as an image-bearer of God.

If you think you know a good bit about the history of black Americans, this book will humble you real quickly. It saddened me to see the many ways that individuals used the Bible itself to justify slavery and justify segregation. A few chapters in this book were particularly hard to read as they focused on the violence and terror that white people mercilessly unleashed upon black Americans. Moreover, I was affronted with the fact that many American figures that we revere in our nation's history were staunch segregationalists. (Why do we not mention the fact that Abraham Lincoln was not in favor of social equality??)

This book merges historical context and Biblical truth to point out the ways that American Christians are complicit in racism towards our brothers and sisters of color--even in 2020. Tisby speaks truth in love, but he doesn't excuse our actions: "The American church has tended to practice a complicit Christianity rather than a courageous Christianity." He ends his book with a call to be "strong and courageous"—to rely on God to give us the strength and courage to rid racism from our hearts, our churches, and our country.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars is not enough...y'all should see the amount of underlining and highlighting and tabbing I did throughout this book! I completely agree with Lecrae that Tisby has done a service to the church through this insightful, well-researched, and well-written work. (And Chapter 11, which presents practical ways to address racial injustice, is alone worth the price of the book.) I will likely reread it, and am looking forward to discussing it with friends and fellow book-clubbers. #ColorofCompromise

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful contribution to an ongoing and important conversation about the church and racism. The Color Of Compromise is a survey of the American church and the evolution of racism and racialization, but also includes some thoughts about how to respond.

[Shayla Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Divided by Faith was helpful. This is even better.

[Kaytee Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

INCREDIBLE. I learned so much. Required reading for all Christians. Learn your history. Change the present and the future.

[Lauren Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been following Jemar’s work on the podcast Pass the Mic for a while and eagerly looked forward to his first book. This book went above and beyond my expectations. It is challenging, convicting, and at times, hard to read, but it’s impossible not to be moved to feel SOMETHING when reading this book. As someone who lived overseas for a number of years and who completed graduate work in intercultural studies, I like to consider myself someone who is an advocate for the vulnerable in other cultures. This book was a sobering realization that I have been all-too complicit in the injustices and prejudices that occur right in my own backyard. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in how the realms of social justice and faith interact within the history of the US, as well as for those questioning where the American church goes from here in pursuing racial reconciliation and reparations.

[Todd Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard book, but a good book, to read. Confronting a past that one is blissfully unaware of is not easy, but "the wounds of a friend are trustworthy" (Prov 27:6). Throughout, Jemar Tisby writes as a faithful friend, a true brother, in bringing to light an embarrassing and shameful past. One may not agree with all of his recommended applications, but we at least have to listen and consider. By my reckoning, Tisby has gone a long way in understanding the way that I think and has written a book primarily addressed to me (a white Christian in America). We owe it to Christ and to all our brothers in Christ to reciprocate in kind.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, the first five chapters, I felt like I wasn't really learning much new stuff. Those were talking about the history of slavery in the US from the early days of colonialism through the onset of the Civil War. And I've read a lot of books about race relations pre-Civil War, slavery, and life in the USA in that era, so... what Tisby was saying made sense, but it also wasn't new to me. If that's not an era or subject you've read and studied about, then you'll learn a lot from those first few chapters.

But the chapter where I really started to learn new things was the sixth one, called "Reconstructing White Supremacy in the Jim Crow Era." And boy, did that open my eyes to things. Not to how bad Jim Crow was, because I've read a lot about that too. But to the way that, after the Civil War, some people in the South started rewriting the collective memory of the South, as to what the Antebellum era was like. And how much of that has trickled down to today.

I learned many things from it besides that, but that's the lesson I'm going to be carrying with me forever. That you can't separate reality and history and current life the way that has been done so much, because you will just perpetuate hatred and hurting, and prevent healing.

[Megan Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book walks through the history of slavery and racism in the United States beginning with the colonization of the east coast to present day. It shows the complicity of the church and Christians in the country's establishment and perpetuation of racist policies after slavery was abolished. It lists steps that can be taken presently to move toward and possibly bring about racial reconciliation.

It was a very informative and challenging book. I was sickened by the actions and decisions made throughout our country's history toward people of color, especially African Americans. I learned a lot and appreciate the list of action steps I can take in my sphere of influence to potentially make a positive impact.

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that will stretch and challenge white Christians. This scholarly look at historical events where Christians were, and are, complicit in racism, is not light reading. Learning from history is important for understanding the mistakes of the past, and avoiding them in the future. Racism has not gone away, it is more subtle in 2019 and without a clear understanding of where the church came from, we won’t recognize how we have enabled systemic oppression. Jemar Tisby is not afraid to speak truth to power. The content is sure to draw sharp criticism, but Tisby addresses the topic with courage and eloquence. This book must become required reading for pastors.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could make every white christian person I know of US nationality read this book!!! So heartbreaking, gut punching, enlightening, and helpful while maintaining a positive voice that it is not too late for change and that we can hope for AND TAKE STEPS TOWARDS a better and healthier future. Highly recommend, even if you don’t fall into the demographic above as this book is powerful and helpful. I am thankful that the author took the time and effort and risk to share this, and I echo the words written down in the bible hoping that those that have ears hear, and as a result of hearing hopefully add action and change to our listening. Please read this book.

[Thomas Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an important book. Very difficult to read but not in a bad way. Tisby convincingly demonstrates the complicity of the American church (specifically the mainline and evangelical variety of the church) in racism throughout American history. Many object that Tisby blames the church for the failures of society as a whole which in my view is kind of the point. The American church has always styled itself as a prophetic voice to the culture and our failure to carry that prophetic voice into matters of race and justice is inexcusable. If the church is to live out the call to be a "light to the nations," we must lament and repair our own complicity with darkness. I also really appreciated Tisby's practical suggestions of a way forward (ARC).

I had some minor quibbles with a couple of his arguments but I think it's more important to sit with what convicted me rather than picking it to pieces because it makes me uncomfortable.

[Gregory Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a life long Christian and scholar of US history, I was quite impressed by the work done by Jemar Tisby in this wonderful synthetic work. Tisby incorporates a lot of what I learned in history, political science, and sociology classes into a tidy narrative that helps to explain the "truth about the American church's complicity in racism."

But let me be clear --- this book is about the church and the nation, not about individuals. The book goes chapter by chapter following a chronological and thematic development. The tone is thoughtful without being condemning. It helps to connect the policies of the 19th century, like slavery and later segregation, to the major defining moments of the 20th century with school desegregation and urbanization. If you've ever wondered how the nation moved from the Civil War to the 21st century in terms of race, you should read this book.

There are a lot of good chapters and moments in the book. What I appreciate about it most, though, is that it doesn't focus on one region or subset of the population. Instead, it provides a synthesis of other good history that has been written by reputable scholars. Throughout the book you'll see references from esteemed historians as well as theologians and church leaders. Tisby does a remarkable job of coverage without making the reader feel too steeped in details.

This is a book that is hard to read at times because of how brutal this history is. It is a terrifying story about how racist people were able to be so horrifically violent in the name of God. It is also a story of truth and justice winning in other contexts. It's not the kind of book that ends with a bow on it about how the world is all good now. There's no post-racial society in Tisby's book, but that's exactly the point.

I really appreciated the final chapter that is full of practical suggestions. This book was written with change in mind. It's not just a "woe is us" book. It focuses on how everyone, especially evangelicals, can work to reverse some of the hateful damage that permeates the legacy of the American church.

I recommend this book for scholars of American religious history, scholars of race in the US, and small groups of people interested in engaging with thoughtful writing. I think the proverbial "Sunday school class" setting would be perfect for this book. The chapters are approachable and quite engaging. Each chapter would be plenty of discussion fodder for its own weekly conversation. I would highly, highly recommend the book for college courses on race and the church. Every ministry major should be required to read this book.

[Esther Nevener · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book completely shook my understanding of church history as well as the church's influence in politics. This is a sad reality to learn about but it has shifted my worldview and I'm thankful for that.

I would say this book is an informative history book for the first 10 chapters with minimal opinions and commentaries. The recounting of the historical relationship between racism and the Christian Church seemed unbiased, thorough, and well researched.

Once you get to the 11th chapter there is a sharp shift to opinions and personal political beliefs that he believes all Christians should adopt. I had a hard time stomaching the last chapter. Anytime I hear someone say "Every Christian should..." I have a hard time getting on board with whatever it is that comes next. I find this type of rhetoric, especially in the Christian context, can shut down discussion and discourage critical thinking before letting ideas develop (not to mention it feels manipulative). I find it somewhat ironic that he ends his book this way when the main reason the church has been stuck in a repetitive cycle of racism for so long was because of similar rhetoric styles coming from church leadership and denominational conventions.

I really appreciated this book and all that I learned from it. I would have given 5 stars if I stopped at chapter 10.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aligns with the accuser

Jemar does warn you early in this book that this is a very selective survey of history. The book details American history of interactions between people's. This is mostly between the state and the majority of blacks. There is frequent misuse of the word complicit which he seems to redefine thorough the book.

Jamar is excellent at bring out the events of history and often judges based in the standards of 21st century morality without providing critically important context. This is to accuse the 'white' church of sin.

Often little cutting comments pepper the text and is not supported by scripture, orthodoxy, theology, or historical context.

Take this opportunity to keep moving in the Amazon store and find a book by a more edifying author.

Critical theory is not compatible with the Christian faith.

[Catherine Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely and important read. Jemar Tisby is a prophetic voice for the church, and he writes in a way that is both accessible and brutally honest. Every white evangelical church congregation should dig into this book. It is a gracious gift to the white church that he would write it, and it is a call to both repentance and action. I appreciated the practical steps to move forward that he addresses at the conclusion, and would love to attend his vision of a new seminary. Grab a friend or book club and read this together.

"History and Scripture teaches us that there can be no reconciliation without repentance. There can be no repentance without confession. And there can be no confession without truth."

[Bernie Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"History demonstrates that racism never goes away; it just adapts."

This is a must-read for every white American Christian. Tisby is a historian, with keen insight into the history of the Church in America as it relates to race. No white Christian is going to be comfortable with this, nor should they. But this book helps put a framework on everything that is happening in the US (and the world) right now as I write this review (June 2020).

This book is required reading.