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A review by kevin_shepherd
White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones
5.0
The provenance of White American Christianity is firmly rooted in the conviction that chattel slavery is not only biblically ethical, it is divinely ordained. And no denomination of white christianity better illustrates this certitude than the faith of my upbringing, the secessionist Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), est. 1845.
“Slavery was the main issue that led to the 1845 schism; that is a cold historical fact” -Robert Baker, The Baptist Heritage, 1987
Baptists, believe it or not, are not the focal point of Robert Jones’ White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. I only put them at the forefront because they are the faith with which I am excruciatingly familiar. I cannot personally attest to the bigotry of white Methodists or the intolerance of white Presbyterians or the prejudice of white Roman Catholics, but I can damn sure testify to the racism of 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s white Southern Baptists. If my comments here lean toward distaste for the SBC, the baggage is all mine, not the author’s.
Believing is Seeing
Like me, author Robert Jones grew up immersed in Southern Baptist culture and philosophy. Unlike me, he retains his Christian identity; his religious pronouns are still we, us, our, and ours. For this I applaud his tenacity if not his judgement. You are a better man than I, Gunga Din.
The Past
Between the years 1882 and 1968, conservative estimates put the number of African Americans lynched at 4,743. The actual number is probably much higher. Robert Jones contends that those murders weren’t just ignored or accepted by white churches, they were actually facilitated by white churches.
“…white churches served as connective tissue that brought together leaders from other social realms to coordinate a campaign of massive resistance to black equality. But at a deeper level, white churches were institutions of ultimate legitimization, where white supremacy was divinely justified via a carefully cultivated Christian theology. White Christian churches composed the cultural score that made white supremacy sing.” (pg 33)
The Present
It’s hard to pick just one example of 21st century racism committed and/or condoned by white christianity. Do I choose the assholes who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia (2017) shouting “Jews will not replace us!”? Do I choose the monster who walked into the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina (2015) and gunned down nine Black church members, including the pastor? Here’s a thought—let’s go with the quintessential example of 21st century white church racism, the 2016 presidential election:
“Trump’s own racism allowed him to do what other candidates couldn’t: solidify the support of a majority of white Christians, not despite, but through appeals to white supremacy . . . Trump’s powerful appeal to white evangelicals was not that he spoke to the culture wars around abortion or same-sex marriage, or his populist appeals to economic anxieties, but rather that he evoked powerful fears about the loss of white Christian dominance amid a rapidly changing environment.” (pg 15)
The Future
Robert P. Jones is decidedly more optimistic about America’s future than I am. He points to The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL and The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Duluth, MN as meccas of reflection and reconciliation. That may be true (I am ashamed to say I have not yet visited any of these places) but does it counter the likes of SBC preacher Al Mohler or evangelical talk show host Eric Metaxis or senate leader Mitch McConnell spewing covertly bigoted tripe every time I turn on the television or the radio? Don’t get me wrong, I hope the right people read this and we all come to terms with where we are and where we need to be, but I ain’t holding my breath.
“I will flatly say that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long . . .” -James Baldwin, 1968
“Slavery was the main issue that led to the 1845 schism; that is a cold historical fact” -Robert Baker, The Baptist Heritage, 1987
Baptists, believe it or not, are not the focal point of Robert Jones’ White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. I only put them at the forefront because they are the faith with which I am excruciatingly familiar. I cannot personally attest to the bigotry of white Methodists or the intolerance of white Presbyterians or the prejudice of white Roman Catholics, but I can damn sure testify to the racism of 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s white Southern Baptists. If my comments here lean toward distaste for the SBC, the baggage is all mine, not the author’s.
Believing is Seeing
Like me, author Robert Jones grew up immersed in Southern Baptist culture and philosophy. Unlike me, he retains his Christian identity; his religious pronouns are still we, us, our, and ours. For this I applaud his tenacity if not his judgement. You are a better man than I, Gunga Din.
The Past
Between the years 1882 and 1968, conservative estimates put the number of African Americans lynched at 4,743. The actual number is probably much higher. Robert Jones contends that those murders weren’t just ignored or accepted by white churches, they were actually facilitated by white churches.
“…white churches served as connective tissue that brought together leaders from other social realms to coordinate a campaign of massive resistance to black equality. But at a deeper level, white churches were institutions of ultimate legitimization, where white supremacy was divinely justified via a carefully cultivated Christian theology. White Christian churches composed the cultural score that made white supremacy sing.” (pg 33)
The Present
It’s hard to pick just one example of 21st century racism committed and/or condoned by white christianity. Do I choose the assholes who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia (2017) shouting “Jews will not replace us!”? Do I choose the monster who walked into the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina (2015) and gunned down nine Black church members, including the pastor? Here’s a thought—let’s go with the quintessential example of 21st century white church racism, the 2016 presidential election:
“Trump’s own racism allowed him to do what other candidates couldn’t: solidify the support of a majority of white Christians, not despite, but through appeals to white supremacy . . . Trump’s powerful appeal to white evangelicals was not that he spoke to the culture wars around abortion or same-sex marriage, or his populist appeals to economic anxieties, but rather that he evoked powerful fears about the loss of white Christian dominance amid a rapidly changing environment.” (pg 15)
The Future
Robert P. Jones is decidedly more optimistic about America’s future than I am. He points to The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL and The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Duluth, MN as meccas of reflection and reconciliation. That may be true (I am ashamed to say I have not yet visited any of these places) but does it counter the likes of SBC preacher Al Mohler or evangelical talk show host Eric Metaxis or senate leader Mitch McConnell spewing covertly bigoted tripe every time I turn on the television or the radio? Don’t get me wrong, I hope the right people read this and we all come to terms with where we are and where we need to be, but I ain’t holding my breath.
“I will flatly say that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long . . .” -James Baldwin, 1968