MAKING IT PLAIN

Bonner confronts and analyzes racism and white supremacy through the lens of Scripture.

The author, a Black pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, makes use of biblical references and quotes from other thinkers to make familiar points about the dangers of bigotry, racial segregation, and white supremacism. He describes ways in which white supremacist concepts enchant their adherents by making them feel superior to their neighbors, and notes that even those who don’t subscribe to such ideas may be averse to talking about bigotry and the effects of slavery: “A common thought about slavery by those who don’t want to discuss racism is that it was a long time ago, and there is nothing that we can do about it now.” Nevertheless, he asserts that it’s imperative to have frank conversations on such subjects to search for common ground. He refers to this process as “restorative harmony”: recreating balance in the world by risking present-day stability to make future improvements. He calls for readers to break down social barriers by pursuing friendships with people unlike themselves and argues that notions of colorblindness or a “post-racial” America are signs of complacency, or merely an illusion in a society whose power structures are firmly grounded in white supremacist ideology. He also makes a case for financial reparations for descendants of the enslaved, arguing that slavery played a profound role in transforming the United States into an economic juggernaut. Bonner also touches on contemporary examples of police brutality and the impact such incidents have had on Black people. Overall, the book’s heavy reliance on direct quotes from famous figures and appeals to authority may make it difficult for readers to discern the author’s voice from those of the thinkers that have inspired him. However, the key ideas in the book are standard talking points in contemporary progressive Christian theological writing; they’re likely to be well-received by a readership already attune to mainline Protestant social teaching, and, to that end, the book is arranged for church discussion groups with review questions at the end of each chapter.

An earnest, biblically informed critique of racism that will appeal to a Christian readership.