Christian Resources on Racial Justice

Here is a list of resources I personally recommend on racial justice from a Christian perspective. Please note, this is NOT an extensive list, and it is only of Christian books. There are many books on this topic that are very important to read that aren't included on this list! I also have a to-read section below of books I intend on reading but haven't yet as I am always learning more! I attempted to list them in order of what I would give to someone who has never done any anti-racism work first, but I did not read them in this order and I'm sure my ordering could use some help: 
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1. Intensional: Kingdom Ethnicity in a Divided World by D. A. Horton
2. Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. 
3. ​The Myth of Equality by Ken Wytsma
4. Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace, and Healing by Emmanuel M. Katongale and Chris P. Rice
5. Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland
6. A Sin by Any Other Name: Reckoning with Racism and the Heritage of the South by Robert W. Lee
7. Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism by Eric Mason
8. Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up by Kathy Khang
9. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about The American Church's Complicity in Racism  by Jemar Tisby
10. Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
11. Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah
12. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
13. Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
14. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
15. The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone

For groups of people, check out the following resources: 

• Just Mercy Discussion Guide from Dominique DuBois Gilliard
• Loving the Neighbor Who Doesn't Look Like You, a small group study from The American Bible Society
• Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness, and Justice  by Brenda Salter McNeil (certainly can be read as an individual as well!! but has specific activities at the end of each chapter for group work)
• Be the Bridge Discussion Guides 
• Be the Bridge Whiteness Intensive Course 
• 16 Bridge Building Tips for White People by Be the Bridge (free download)
• Race and Belonging Discussion Guides by Reality SF
  

On my to-read list from Christian authors: 

• Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith
• Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Hope for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison
• Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin
•  Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope by Jasmine Holmes
• Can "White" People Be Saved?: Triangulating Race, Theology, and Mission edited by Love L. Sechrest, Johnny-Ramírez-Johnson, and Among Yong 
• The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race by Willie James Jennings
• America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America by Jim Wallis
• Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks
• A Sojourner's Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson
• Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation by Jennifer Harvey
• Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism by Drew G. I. Hart
• Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Express of the Jesus Way  by Richard Twiss
• Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience by Sheila Wise Rowe
• White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Means to be White by Daniel Hill
• Parable of the Brown Girl: The Sacred Lives of Girls of Color by Khristi Lauren Adams
• Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity by David W. Swanson (currently reading)
• Native: Identity, Belonging and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice (currently reading)

AND MORE FROM DAVID SWANSON

1. Leroy Barber (2016). Embrace: God's Radical Shalom for a Divided World. InterVarsity Press.
2. Brad Christerson, Korie L. Edwards, and Richard Flory (2010). Growing Up in America: The Power of Race in the Lives of Teens. Stanford University Press.
3. Frederick Douglass (2017). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and American Slave (Bicentennial Edition). Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives.
4. Michelle Ferrigno Warren (2017). The Power of Proximity: Moving Beyond Awareness to Action. InterVarsity Press.
5. J. Daniel Hays (2016). From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race (New Studies in Biblical Theology Book 14). InterVarsity Press.
6. Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart (2017). Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World. InterVarsity Press.
7. David P. Leong (2017). Race & Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation. InterVarsity Press.
8. D. L. Mayfield (2020). The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power. InterVarsity Press. (Release Date: August 18, 2020).
10. Brenda Salter McNeil (2020). Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now. Brazos Press (
11. Brenda Salter McNeil (2020). Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice. InterVarsity Press. (Release Date: June 16, 2020)
12. Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson (2009). The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change. InterVarsity Press.
13. Mark A. Noll (2008). God and Race in American Politics: A Short History. Princeton.
14. Adrian Pei (2018). The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities. InterVarsity Press.
15. Jemar Tisby (2021). How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice. Zondervan. (Release Date: January 5, 2021)
14. Miroslav Volf (1996). Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Abingdon Press.
15. Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim (2004). United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race. Oxford University Press.


​And another list from a different David Swanson: (who wrote the book Rediscipling the White Church) has a constantly-updated reconciliation bibliography. 

Use the comment section below to tell me what resources you would add. Also check out my published page to see what I have written about racial justice. 

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