Undivided

The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church

De: Hahrie Han

Narrado por: Vivienne Leheny

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

The inspiring story of evangelicals in Cincinnati struggling to bridge racial divides in their own church, their community, and across the nation

In 2016, even as Ohio helped deliver victory to presidential candidate Donald Trump, Cincinnati voters also passed a ballot initiative for universal preschool. The margin was so large that many who elected Trump must have—paradoxically—also voted for the initiative: how could the same citizens support such philosophically disparate aims? What had convinced residents of this Midwestern, Rust Belt community to raise their own taxes to provide early childhood education focused on the poorest—and mostly Black—communities?

When political scientist Hahrie Han set out to answer that question, her investigations led straight to an unlikely origin: the white-dominant evangelical megachurch Crossroads, where Pastor Chuck Mingo had delivered a sermon the prior year that set in motion a chain of surprising events. Raised in the Black church, Mingo felt called by God, he told Crossroads parishioners, to combat racial injustice, and to do it through the very church in which they were gathered.

The result was Undivided, a faith-based program designed to foster antiracism and systemic change. The creators of Undivided recognized that any effort to combat racial injustice must move beyond recognizing and overcoming individual prejudices. Real change would have to be radical—from the very roots.

In Undivided, Han chronicles the story of four participants—two men, one Black and one white, and two women, one Black and one white—whose lives were fundamentally altered by the program. As each of their journeys unfolded, in unpredictable and sometimes painful ways, they came to better understand one another, and to believe in the transformative possibilities for racial solidarity in a moment of deep divisiveness in America. The lessons they learned have the power to teach us all what an undivided society might look like—and how we can help achieve it.

©2024 Hahrie Han (P)2024 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The book serves as a portrait in miniature of the American religious landscape . . . Undivided offers a refreshingly complex portrait of an institution and its members on the rocky path to change.”—The New York Times

“A short, sensitive account of four congregants in a single church in Cincinnati . . . Undivided is a careful close study . . . Compelling . . . Han found Crossroads to be filled with something that looked like hope.”—The New Yorker

“Combining rigorous research with relatable real-life characters whose stories are told in straightforward sentences . . . An insightful book about faith, race, and the failures of communication that often plague us.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Real people—real courage

In this book, Hahrie Han addresses racism—a topic that, while some white people may be tired of hearing about it, most Black people are tired of experiencing it in real life at almost every level of society. The characters presented are real people, with lives that come alive before your eyes—thus Han uses pseudonyms to protect the subjects from being trolled or otherwise harmed, a factor that indicates how disruptive their actions are to those who are offended by their efforts to make life better for our fellow humans. The quest of the Undivided initiative differed from corporate DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training programs in several key ways—one of those key objectives was to actually help people see each other as fellow humans, instead of just checking lawyerly boxes by a company's general counsel.

Han describes the visceral effects on relationships from confronting documented systemic racism, in both the persons chronicled and the pushback they encountered as they sought tangible remedies for it. Real people struggle to determine the appropriate way forward for them individually, even though there is clear right and wrong in front of them. The choices aren't easy, and there's a larger reason for that in the form of general societal norms. Much of the source of the problems with amplification of embedded fascist propaganda lies with billionaire funding of media outlets that purposefully cultivate hatred between groups of people. Evidence points to the profitability (for some) that results from fanning inter-cultural hate—and the resultant incentive to manipulate poor people to turn on their fellow humans for artificially constructed reasons.

As long as such profitability exists, persons engaged in genuine anti-racist efforts will have an uphill climb—although not an unattainable one, even as some find they've lost friends, jobs, status, and even spouses in the process. Although the people and events in this book are in the context of a specific branch of Christianity (i.e. Evangelicalism), the issues addressed span all of humanity regardless of religious or secular environment—underneath the sectarian orientation lies a foundation that is universally human. All church denominations are limited to some degree by restrictions placed on them by donors, whose funding is essential for infrastructure and programs, and who are often from the same class of the wealthy who profit the most from racist systems—this includes self-proclaimed progressive churches as well.

The successes of Undivided that Han documents are amazing, considering the headwinds they faced. Even so, everyone who has awareness of the racism that's been embedded in society since the Colonial era has some means at their disposal within their area of influence to advance universal human dignity—and no area of influence is too small or too large to engage. The larger areas of influence will require that racist propaganda in the media (including the mainstream and fringe) be debunked both publicly and individually with solid logical and emotional counterpoints. Much of that progress will be attained to the degree that racist systems become unprofitable—let us help that business case proceed.

Excellent and accurate storytelling

Wonderfully told and thoughtful provoking read. Han paints an accurate view of the ppl involved, many of whom I've met. The book shares is balanced story of the hardships they endured and the glory that emerged on the otherside. While the work continues, I pray for God to strengthen them all, including Mrs Han in her continued support of the work.

Very good ethnography study

Undivided in an ethnographic study of an antiracist training program in an evangelical megachurch. Hahrie Han became aware of it because of its involvement in passing a ballot initiative to provide free preK to Cincinnati students. She was told that the ballot initative was heavily influenced by a local megachurch. As she investigated she became intrigued because most DEI programs are not particularly effective at changing long term behavior. Han embedded herself in the church for nearly seven years to understand how the church and the program, which was eventually spun off to its organization, worked and what made it effective. Eventually the book discusses how it responded to the backlash to the program and the larger cultural backlash to antiracism programs within the US culture.

Undivided by Hahrie Han predominately traces four people while exploring the Undivided antiracism training program at Crossroads Church in Cincinnati. Han’s skill as a writer and researcher is evident throughout the book. Her four central characters are a Black male pastor (Chuck Mingo) who was the public face of the program. A white male participate in the initial program (Grant) who at the time worked for the Ohio Department of Corrections, eventually leading their social media team. Grant came to understand how much he didn’t understand about race, despite working in a racially diverse setting and having an adopted brother who was black. The third and fourth character are a Black woman (Sandra, a pseudonym) and a white woman (Jess). Undivided tells the story of these four characters of time and how they were changed by the program and by their relationships with one another. It is in large part the stickiness of the relationships with brought about the change within the characters.

I am a big fan of good ethnographic studies. Good ethnographic studies follow a group of individuals over a fairly long period of time to understand a context deeply. One of the best ethnographies I have read was Gang Leader for a Day, where a sociologist embedded himself in a Chicago housing project and local gang for years to understand how the culture and pressures of living in public housing and being within a gang worked. I was turned onto the model of ethnographic study after reading Slim’s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity by Mitchell Duneier. I think I picked it up in the late 90s (it was published in ‘92) in part because I lived about two blocks from the restaurant at the center of that ethnography. Ethnography is inherently controversial because the act of embedding yourself into a community well enough to be able to report on the community impacts not just the community being studied (the observer effect) but also the researchers themselves are often changed because of the long term impact of the relationships. (At the end of the book, Hahrie Han say that her work with Undivided program and the people profiled and Crossroads church where the program was set drew her back to faith.)

The real draw to the book Undivided is how much the writing is centered on the characters. The reader learns about the program and about the issues of race within the evangelical world as the characters come to understand themselves and one another through the program and their relationships with others. These are not simply stories. As I hinted above in introducing the characters, each of them had significant changes in their life as a result of their connection to the program and one another. In many ways those changes were positive, but not all of them were. Undivided is in part about the cost that it takes to address race in a system that discourages the directness.

One of the difficulties of discussing race or economics or other topics that are “just in the water” is that language is difficult. For instance, Han occasionally uses the word “Whiteness” to describe the cultural belief in a system of racialization and hierarchy. Some readers view “whiteness” as meaning “all white people,” but the sociological definition does not mean all white people. Jonathan Walton likes to use the phrase “White American Folk Religion” instead of Christian Nationalism even if they have overlapping meanings because he wants to use language that is less fraught. The two different approaches of using whiteness to specifically name a problem with a name that can be misunderstood, or using a name like “White American Folk Religion” which needs to be defined but has less initial baggage is a topic that repeatedly comes up in Undivided. Studying the culture, something that people don’t directly talk about because it is assumed to be understood, is necessary in a pluralistic world where people do not necessarily mean the same thing when using the same language.

The idea of ethnography centers the experience of the focus characters both as particular people, but also models who stand in for larger groups. The pastor, Chuck, grew up in the Black church and intially left Crossroads because of frustration over racial issues. But he came back and was hired and the social capital he earned through long term relationship with the church leadership allowed him some leeway to press in on difficult issues. But the tension on maintaining those relationships means that he was always wondering if he was not pushing enough or was pushing too much and if he was self censoring so that he could maintain relationship. Grant was a young white man who thought he knew it all because he had a black friend and a black brother. As he explored racial issues and the way that race played a role within his work at the Department of Corrections he became an activist. He started a prison ministry group at the church. And he work in his role as a social media manager to profile inmates through podcast interview and written profiles. But eventually he left the Department of Corrections because of backlash against his activism. Becoming a church staff members who continued his activism around racial issues there.

Sandra was a Black woman who was married to a white man. She grew up being taught by her father to not trust white people. After an early divorce and a young child, she was brought back to faith through Crossroads church. She eventually remarried a white man and had three additional children. Again, the book skillfully tells the story of how racial identity matters not just to white racism, but also the racial identity of those who are not black. It takes years and many small steps, but he comes to find her voice and understand how gender and race both play a role in her marriage struggles.

Jess is the youngest character in the book. She grew up in a family that was overt white supremacist, her father (who died when she was 11) had “White Power” and other similar tattoos and her uncle had a swastika tattooed on his chest while in prison. Jess also spent time in prison after a felony conviction and a serious drug addiction. While in prison she became a Christian and upon release she found Crossroads, regained custody of her son, and was just getting settled when she started participating in Undivided. She eventually completed college and becomes a social worker and presses back against the racism of her family and the systems she works and lives in.

It is very clear in Undivided that struggle is central to growth. The point is growth, not a particular destination. Even as the book is very clear about the struggle I think it may be too positively framed. The backlash, which is clearly the focus of the second half of the book I think is stronger than what just what is talked about. The book was published in September, 2024, which means it was largely finished in 2023 and written about events that were mostly 2022 or before. The reelection of Trump, the continuing overt Christian nationalism within the christian community and the backlash against DEI, immigration, and other topics I do not think have reached their zenith yet.

I think Undivided made the very good point that to help people changes over time requires relationship. And that withdrawing from relationship precludes the ability to speak into people’s lives. Undivided talks about how Jess’ continued involvement with her uncle led to him having his swastika tattoo removed. And that she was able to discuss the problems of race within policing with officers who she regularly worked with in her role as a social worker. But the book also talks about how eventually Sandra and her husband divorced in part because of issues of race and his attraction to Christian Nationalism and how that impacted their relationship. There just are not simple solutions and what works in one case will not work in another.

The key to where Undivided was effective was building relationships. For those relationship to withstand pressure, there has to be ongoing commitment so that people do not walk away from them. One of the very common complaints about racial reconciliation in the evangelical world is that white people in particular tend to walk away when there is tension. Many racial reconciliation or DEI programs are rooted in information sharing. Information is important because a shared history and shared narrative of how race works is important to ongoing relationship. But the information informs the relationship, it does not create the relationship. The second part of what made Undivided effective is those relationships were committed to understanding race as a systemic reality not just an individual reality. Race impacted the prison system, and the education system, and economics and more, and understanding that meant that people impacted by Undivided was taught to address race in both the interpersonal and institutional realms. After the initial six week program, there were ongoing groups and programs that allowed the Undivided participants to find expression for what they learned. Those participants were involved in community organizing or prison ministry, not just bible study and church meetings.

What is helpful about Undivided, the book, is that is shows how slow on-going change through relationship matters. It also show why the context of a program matters as much as the program. It was not the six weeks as much as the context of putting people in settings where they can both build relationship and workout the ideas and context of what they were learning in settings where that matters. But the systems of white evangelicals and megachurches are not long term conducive toward addressing either race or broader justice issues. Isaac Sharp’s The Other Evangelicals is in part about how choices have been made and are hard to unmake.

I do have some issues with some of the framing and there are some things that are mistakes more than framing problems. But I do think this is a very helpful book that I want to recommend to be read widely.

Particularly about the audiobook, I think the narration is largely fine. But similar to the way that Han is writing as an outsider, the narrator also mispronounces a few things, ironically saying "two corinthians" just like Donald Trump did when speaking at Liberty University.

Great analysis, compelling storytelling

Thoughtful analysis of “rooted” racial justice program with super individual stories. I learned a lot! Thanks!