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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
6 reviews
random19379's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Police brutality, Misogyny, Gun violence, Classism, Abortion, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Slavery, and Grief
emmapaigereads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Violence
drusilla_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book gave me literal nightmares—and I mean that as a compliment. I tried to read it academically, but the contents of these pages refused to be so dryly categorized. An incisive historical look at how the White church has supported and perpetuated racism in the United States. This is a book that every American, and certainly every White Christian American, should read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Child death
kaitlinlovesbooks's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Highly recommended reading for anyone who grew up in or is currently a member of the white American Evangelical church. Learning about the church's messy history is uncomfortable, but so necessary for repentance and growth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Slavery
charity1313's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
An excellent overview that exactly meets the objectives set out at the start of the book - a broad history of race in the US and then placing the church and its responses within that context. The book spans a lot of years in not a lot of pages. Tisby devotes a large number of pages to the general history, not just the church history, more than I was expecting and probably more than I personally needed because I've done a lot of similar reading in the last couple of years but not something that can be assumed. It's a Must-Read for all churches who want to invest in racial reconciliation (which should be all churches). He lays out clearly why and how race both has been and continues to be problematic in the American church. He doesn't stop with just identifying the problem though. He offers a whole list of solutions that can be taken by churches and individual Christians in support of reconciliation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Hate crime, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
rubybooks's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This was a lot better than I thought it would be. Not that I thought it would be bad - I just haven't read any non-fiction books about religion before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Last year I really started consciously reading more anti-racist literature, so I was interested when I saw this available to borrow. I thought this was very informative, and it helped me view a lot of well-known events in the context of the church and its racism.
I am not religious or American, so I learned a lot from this book. The book begins with the colonisation of the USA, looking at hugely significant times/events such as the Middle Passage and the Civil War. These are heavy truths, so be aware of the discussion of racism, slavery, lynching, racial violence, murder and injustice. Tisby discusses the civil rights movement and also looks at the conflict between Black and white Christians, and the consequences of that divide. It is also discussed that while the church may not be as overtly racist as the past - such as when ministers openly celebrated slavery - that does not mean they are no longer racist. As Tisby says, racism doesn't disappear - it adapts. There is a big focus on Evangelical Christians and their role in the support of Republican politicians, Donald Trump in particular. The biggest focus is on how complicity and compromise is so present in the Church's history with racism in the USA.
I appreciated the wide survey of this book commenting not just on history but also giving solutions for the present day. Some of the action steps: diversify your social media and social networks. Watch documentaries, do research and educate yourself. Develop long-term commitments to racial justice. Join and donate to organisations. Vote. Tisby also gives action steps specific to Christians/the church, such as making Juneteenth a national holiday, having more diverse leadership, making pilgrimages inclusionary, recognising the modern civil rights movement, and publicly denouncing racism and racist people. Tisby says that the biggest factor for not acting with conviction is fear, but it is time to act.
I'd definitely recommend reading this if you want to read more anti-racist literature, and especially if you are interested in reading about how religion fits in. There are so many topics touched upon, such as mass incarceration, segregation, the great migration, and police brutality. As it's a survey, there was still a lot not covered, so I will definitely be doing more reading of my own.
I am not religious or American, so I learned a lot from this book. The book begins with the colonisation of the USA, looking at hugely significant times/events such as the Middle Passage and the Civil War. These are heavy truths, so be aware of the discussion of racism, slavery, lynching, racial violence, murder and injustice. Tisby discusses the civil rights movement and also looks at the conflict between Black and white Christians, and the consequences of that divide. It is also discussed that while the church may not be as overtly racist as the past - such as when ministers openly celebrated slavery - that does not mean they are no longer racist. As Tisby says, racism doesn't disappear - it adapts. There is a big focus on Evangelical Christians and their role in the support of Republican politicians, Donald Trump in particular. The biggest focus is on how complicity and compromise is so present in the Church's history with racism in the USA.
I appreciated the wide survey of this book commenting not just on history but also giving solutions for the present day. Some of the action steps: diversify your social media and social networks. Watch documentaries, do research and educate yourself. Develop long-term commitments to racial justice. Join and donate to organisations. Vote. Tisby also gives action steps specific to Christians/the church, such as making Juneteenth a national holiday, having more diverse leadership, making pilgrimages inclusionary, recognising the modern civil rights movement, and publicly denouncing racism and racist people. Tisby says that the biggest factor for not acting with conviction is fear, but it is time to act.
I'd definitely recommend reading this if you want to read more anti-racist literature, and especially if you are interested in reading about how religion fits in. There are so many topics touched upon, such as mass incarceration, segregation, the great migration, and police brutality. As it's a survey, there was still a lot not covered, so I will definitely be doing more reading of my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Death
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