Tisby's work is thorough and well-written. He gives us a needed historical account of Christianity in America. As a white pastor, I have a responsibility to understand our past and how it has brought us to today. Some of the material is heavy and may make one uncomfortable, but we can't move forward well without reckoning with our past. This book, however, is not to beat up white Christians, but to help us move forward with purpose and a renewed (or new-found) love for one another. He leaves us with some hope and guidance.

I cannot commend this book enough. Such a troubling and important education within these pages. i have a seminary degree, have read Church History in Plain Language, and more, and never have I learned the history of complicity of the American church in upholding slavery, racism amd white supremacy in era after era. I have known bits and pieces but that is it. The language shifts, the concepts get a bit less brazen, but the effect is the same. This book is no threat to the teachings of Jesus. but it is a threat to white supracist ideas dressed in spiritual clothing. Thank you Mr Tisby for your fine and unsettling contribution. The Body of Christ ought not shy away from this difficult history and recyling of the same racist ideas in dog whistle language that are with us today. I am better equipped to recognize subtly racist beliefs, speech and practices for having read this volume.

this book needs to be read

Tisby says, The goal of this book is not guilt. Yes it is. His whole enterprise depends on white people feeling guilty. The question is whether Christians today ought to feel guilty.

He gets into this in Chapter 9. A repeated refrain in this book is racism never goes away; it adapts. Racism today looks like conservatism. He asserts various conservative positions are racist without ever proving why, things like concern for law and order and federalism or opposing welfare abuse or communism. Trump is a racist because reasons and so was anyone who voted for him. Black people saw how racist Trump was, so 88 percent voted for Hillary. Of course that's been the case for every election since Bill Clinton. It's almost like black people tend to vote Democratic.

His cure for our racism is largely to vote Democratic and support Democratic causes.

He does have a few good ideas, things I think rich churches should do for poor churches no matter what races they are made up of. But mostly he wants to beat you up with a history of evil things you had no part of and use that to convince you to become a Democrat. Pretty ingenious, really.