White Too Long
The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity
Robert P. Jones
- “An
- indispensible
- study”
- (Kirkus
- Reviews,
- starred
- review)
- drawing
- on
- history,
- public
- opinion
- surveys,
- and
- personal
- experience
- that
- presents
- a
- provocative
- examination
- of
- the
- unholy
- relationship
- between
- American
- Christianity
- and
- white
- supremacy,
- and
- issues
- an
- urgent
- call
- for
- white
- Christians
- to
- reckon
- with
- this
- legacy
- for
- the
- sake
- of
- themselves
- and
- the
- nation.As
- the
- nation
- grapples
- with
- demographic
- changes
- and
- the
- legacy
- of
- racism
- in
- America,
- Christianity’s
- role
- as
- a
- cornerstone
- of
- white
- supremacy
- has
- been
- largely
- overlooked.
- But
- white
- Christians—from
- evangelicals
- in
- the
- South
- to
- mainline
- Protestants
- in
- the
- Midwest
- and
- Catholics
- in
- the
- Northeast—have
- not
- just
- been
- complacent
- or
- complicit;
- rather,
- as
- the
- dominant
- cultural
- power,
- they
- have
- constructed
- and
- sustained
- a
- project
- of
- protecting
- white
- supremacy
- and
- opposing
- black
- equality
- that
- has
- framed
- the
- entire
- American
- story.With
- his
- family’s
- 1815
- Bible
- in
- one
- hand
- and
- contemporary
- public
- opinion
- surveys
- by
- Public
- Religion
- Research
- Institute
- (PRRI)
- in
- the
- other,
- Robert
- P.
- Jones
- delivers
- “a
- refreshing
- blend
- of
- historical
- accounting,
- soul
- searching
- reflection,
- and
- analysis”
- (Publishers
- Weekly)
- of
- the
- repressed
- relationship
- between
- Christianity
- and
- white
- supremacy.
- White
- Too
- Long
- is
- “a
- marvel”
- (Booklist,
- starred
- review)
- that
- demonstrates
- how
- deeply
- racist
- attitudes
- have
- become
- embedded
- in
- the
- DNA
- of
- white
- Christian
- identity
- over
- time
- and
- calls
- for
- an
- honest
- reckoning
- with
- a
- complicated,
- painful,
- and
- even
- shameful
- past.
- Jones
- challenges
- white
- Christians
- to
- acknowledge
- that
- public
- apologies
- are
- not
- enough—accepting
- responsibility
- for
- the
- past
- requires
- work
- toward
- repair
- in
- the
- present.White
- Too
- Long
- is
- not
- an
- appeal
- to
- altruism.
- It
- is
- “a
- powerful
- and
- much-needed
- book”
- (Eddie
- S.
- Glaude
- Jr,
- professor
- at
- Princeton
- University
- and
- author
- of
- Begin
- Again)
- drawing
- on
- lessons
- gleaned
- from
- case
- studies
- of
- communities
- beginning
- to
- face
- these
- challenges.
- Jones
- argues
- that
- contemporary
- white
- Christians
- must
- confront
- these
- unsettling
- truths
- because
- this
- is
- the
- only
- way
- to
- salvage
- the
- integrity
- of
- their
- faith
- and
- their
- own
- identities.
- More
- broadly,
- it
- is
- no
- exaggeration
- to
- say
- that
- not
- just
- the
- future
- of
- white
- Christianity,
- but
- the
- outcome
- of
- the
- American
- experiment
- is
- at stake.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
