Below is a reading list that I compiled. The books that are on this list are not perfect, and I do not agree with everything that any author says. It’s important to note that not all of these books listed are written by Christian authors, but they have all been helpful to me for different reasons. Also, many of the Christian authors that I list differ from me in second and third-tier theological issues. Each book on the list adds some value to the African American experience in America or the subject of “race.”

With that being said, if you are not accustomed to reading Christians who have different doctrinal beliefs then you, I suggest you read a couple of reviews of the book and short bios about the author.

With the inclusion of some non-Christian authors, I want to be clear that I am not implying that reconciliation amongst races can happen without the gospel. Rather, I’m simply pointing out that these authors contribute to a social, historical experience that can be helpful. Also, many other books could be added which deal with ethnic reconciliation in different cultures, however, this reading list focuses explicitly on the divide between white and black America. Note, books with asterisks next to them are great places to start under each category. May the Lord continue to allow us to grow in our understanding of the gospel and allow the church to model Unity as one new man (Eph. 2:11–22). Happy Reading.

- Jamaal Williams

Christian Works on Justice and the Church

• A Testament of Hope
• Aliens in the Promised Land - Anthony B. Bradley
• Beyond Racial Divisions - George Yancey*
• Black Man’s Religion
• Can Christianity Be Afrocentric? - Glenn Usry and Craig Keener
• Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church
• Faithful Antiracism - Christina Edmondson and Chad Brennan
• Heal Us, Emmanuel - Alexandar Jun
• How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind - Thomas C. Oden*
• How to Fight Racism - Jamar Tisby
• Let Justice Roll Down - John M. Perkins
• One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race
• Oneness Embraced - Tony Evans
• One New Man - Jarvis J. Williams*
• The Blessing of Africa: The Bible and African Christianity - Keith Augustus Burton
• The Color of Compromise - Jamar Tisby*
• The Elusive Dream - Korie Edwards
• The Gospel in Color for Kids - Jarvis J. Williams and Curtis Woods
• The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation (Gospel for Life Series) - Russell D. Moore & Andrew T. Walker
• The HD Leader - Derwin Gray*
• The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity - Soong-Chan Rah
• Redemptive Kingdom Diversity - Jarvis Williams*
• Reviving the Black Church - Thabiti Anyabwhile
• Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope - Esau McCaulley
• Removing the Stain of Racism - Kevin Jones, Jarvis Williams
• United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity - Trillia J. Newbell
• White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White - Daniel Hill

History

• 12 Years A Slave - Solomon Northup
• At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–68 - Taylor Branch
• Doctrine and Race - Mary Beth Swetnam Matthews*
• Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church - Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
• Slave Religion - Albert J. Raboteau
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America in 2016 - Ibram X. Kendi
• The Collected Works of Phyllis Wheatley - John Shields
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Fredrick Douglass*
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X - As told by Alex Haley
• The Black Church in the African American Experience - C. Eric Lincoln
• The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein*
• The Cornel West Reader - Cornel West
• The Faithful Preachers - Thabiti Anyabwhile
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration - Isabel Wilkerson
• Through the Storm Through The Night: The History of African American Christianity - Paul Harvey

Literature & Fiction

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou*
• The Hate U Give] - Angie Thomas (some explicit language)
• The Souls of Black Folk - WEB Dubois*
• The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes - Editor David E. Roessel
• The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin

Social Sciences

• Adam! Where Are You?: Why Most Black Men Don’t Go to Church - Jawanza Kunjufu
• Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America - Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith*
• The Elusive Dream - Korie L. Edwards
• The Mis-Education of the Negro - Carter Godwin Woodson
• The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
• United by Faith - Michael O. Emerson and Curtiss Paul DeYoung
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria*

Preaching & Worship

• Doctrines that Dance
• Preaching in Black and White - EK Bailey and Warren Wiersbe
• Learning From a Legend: What Gardner C. Taylor Can Teach Us About Preaching - Jared E.
• Reading While Black - Esau McCaulley
• The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World – Sandra Van Opstal
• The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best - Irwyn L. Ince Jr.
• Say it! - Eric Redmond
• The Heart of Black Preaching - Cleophus James LaRue

Commentaries Written by African American Scholars

• Africa Bible Commentary: A One Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars
• Exalting Jesus in Luke (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) - Thabiti Anyabwile
• Galatians (New Covenant Commentary) - Jarvis Williams
• True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary

Sermons

• Charlie Dates at MLK 50
• Tom Skinner: US Racism and World Evangelism (Urbana 1970)

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