Resource Roundup

Back in the days of blogs, I would occasionally post a list of resources that I thought readers might find helpful, including books, online essays, other people’s blog posts, etc.

I thought I’d do this here on Substack, at least occasionally. In that spirit, here are some things you might want to check out on Juneteenth:

• Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” I’ve used this in some of my classes over the years. There is a passion for God’s kingdom, for justice, and for the flourishing of all human beings in this rightly famous and prophetic letter.

• “What Is Juneteenth?” Jemar Tisby.

• Fortune, by Lisa Sharon Harper. A heartbreaking, hopeful, and wonderful book.

• Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus, by Reggie L. Williams. I recently read this book, and learned so much about the influence of the Black church on Bonhoeffer, in particular Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. This church informed his opposition to Hitler and the Nazis, which ultimately led to his execution in a concentration camp.

• Passing, by Nella Larsen. A novel that takes place mostly in 1920’s New York, mainly Harlem, during the Harlem Renaissance. We teach this book every year in the first semester Honors classes at EKU. It leads to good discussions among the students and is a window into a time and place that I knew little about before I first read this book many years ago.

• I just started The Anti-Greed Gospel by Malcolm Foley. From what I’ve read, and what others have said, it is well worth your time to read. The primary claim is that it is greed, rather than hate, that drives racism. I’m interested to see how he makes his case.