How to Fight Racism

Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice

By: Jemar Tisby

Narrated by: Jemar Tisby

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2022 ECPA Christian Book Award for Faith & Culture

How do we effectively confront racial injustice? We need to move beyond talking about racism and start equipping ourselves to fight against it.

In this follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby offers an array of actionable items to confront racism. How to Fight Racism introduces a simple framework—the A.R.C. Of Racial Justice—that teaches listeners to consistently interrogate their own actions and maintain a consistent posture of anti-racist behavior.

The A.R.C. Of Racial Justice is a clear model for how to think about race in productive ways:

• Awareness: educate yourself by studying history, exploring your personal narrative, and grasping what God says about the dignity of the human person.
• Relationships: understand the spiritual dimension of race relations and how authentic connections make reconciliation real and motivate you to act.
• Commitment: consistently fight systemic racism and work for racial justice by orienting your life to it.

Tisby offers practical tools for following this model and suggests that by applying these principles, we can help dismantle a social hierarchy long stratified by skin color. He encourages rejection passivity and active participation in the struggle for human dignity. There is hope for transforming our nation and the world, and you can be part of the solution.

Accompanying graphics and tables are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

©2021 Jemar Tisby (P)2021 Zondervan

Two steps forward, five steps back

A few good thoughts sprinkled into a recipe for ensuring true equality of brothers and sisters of color is never achieved.

All the right points, all the wrong conclusions

I agree with the author the main points, but his answer to all the problems seems to be one word: government. He doesn’t seem to leave any room for those who consider themselves politically homeless or apolitical.

Many truths in the dialogue

There’s much to be learned from this book, especially for evangelicals like myself. We definitely need racial reconciliation. I’ve seen a good example of that at my former church in Hawaii, New Hope. It was between those of Hawaiian descent (Polynesians) and whites (haole). That example actual leads to one of my critiques of this book. It’s not holistic at all. It suffers from tunnel vision. I grew up as a racial minority in South Georgia where I was persecuted for the color of my white skin. I know I’m the exception, but if you don’t address racism in all forms then you’ll never end it. Stop all the finger pointing and self serving ideas like reparations, dig into the root causes (e.g. group psychology), come up with real solutions, sell those solutions to both sides of the political spectrum and make real progress. I admire Tisby for his stand, but like he says we all have our biases, him included. Racism is a problem in the US (and everywhere else), but it will only be changed with real solutions, like a war on poverty, better education opportunities, higher wages, etc.

“White churches” and “Black churches”

This book completely reinforces racist ideas with the “anti-racism” veil. This book discusses the ideas of churches putting on “Freedom Schools” in which participants would receive lectures, resources, tools to fight racism in the community etc. The author states that these schools should only be hosted by Black churches and white churches should instead contribute financially.

The first issue with this is that suddenly there is division in churches where only a certain color attends a certain church. Additionally, why is this author assuming that the only contribution a “white church” can make to such events is money. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12 that we all make up ONE body, each of contributing in a different way with our unique gifts. If we limit anything to only one race or people group when it comes to church functions we are only perpetuating racism and completely going against Jesus’ commandments to love our neighbors.

Invaluable Tools

I'm not religious, but have close family members and friends who are. It seems racism is often measured by them on a personal level (where they might be colorblind or "nice" interpersonally) and ignored if not manifesting on the general level. This book provides some invaluable tools for bridging this critical gap.

It seems there are powerful and financially deep pocketed forces working to maintain the status quo. Has anyone looked to modern tools lime AI or for dialing in the best recipes and accelerating the solutions?

It seems machine learning tools could be trained, employed, even pitted against each other to discover and measure social trends gaining traction (for and against racism); effective tools, markets, partners and messaging against racism; as well as, drawing impressionable and informative illustrations that help shape and perhaps reshape the meaning of long held beliefs.

It's a complex problem in need of coordination, talent mixing and modern tools.

For those seeking to do more than just be an ally

This book is for YOU! Tisby provides clear steps for those who truly want to fight racism.

must read

So simple to take in and comprehend. A must read for anyone trying to enter this conversation.

Incredibly comprehensive.

Accurate & fantastic!! I’m so grateful this resource is now available & should be required reading for all.

Great Perspective

Tisby helps you see Tatiana issues from many viewpoints. He has a great balance of calling sin out and grace to help us on our way to Tatiana justice. I found this book very helpful.

Excellent: so needed!

Jemar Tisby provides a great overview of some specific events in history that give helpful context and also provides concrete next steps for people at any level of willingness to move forward.