Race, Racism, and the Biblical Narratives is a critical essay from Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation written by the project's editor, Cain Hope Felder, now in a concise stand-alone book. In this important work, Felder clarifies the profound differences in racial attitudes in the biblical world and now. The book reveals the processes at work in both the New and Old Testaments that reflect ancient ambiguity about what we call race. Felder uncovers misuses of the biblical text (such as the so-called curse of Ham) in subsequent interpretation and shows how the Bible has been used to trivialize African contributions and demean and enslave Black people. Race, Racism, and the Biblical Narratives challenges scholars and church people alike to a deeper and more honest engagement with the biblical text.

Eerie Silence is a revelatory, jolting exploration into the ramifications of justice inaction in America and beyond and how silence has destructively contributed to issues related to race, racism, education, theology, and racial identity development. The compiled scholarship and research contained within the Eerie Silence project is provoking, risky, confrontational, validating, challenging, feisty, and emotionally and intellectually vulnerable. It is a must read for every person seeking a better grasp of the historically interlocked elements of race, racism, religion, theology, authentic Christianity, and racial identity development, especially as it relates to America and its influence. Erie Silence is an amazing book! Dr. Saheli has carefully deconstructed not only biblical narratives but also global history like an artist. With every stroke of his brush, he has created a multi-layered and complete work that has direct applications in many fields and disciplines... —Jennifer Tosch, Founder, Black Heritage Tours in NY State & Amsterdam, Netherlands Member, Mapping Slavery Project Netherlands Well-researched, superbly argued, and profoundly written, Eerie Silence is all at once a history lesson, critical social commentary, autobiographical sketch, sermon, and call to action to end the silence on race/racism. Saheli does a masterful job of intersecting several areas that share the stamp of racism and injustice in common. This is a powerful read for those who are in need for a deep, thoughtful, provocative, intellectual, and empowering learning experience about race in the United States. —Sharroky Hollie, PhD Executive Director, Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning This is a wine that will not last long in the wineskins of traditionalism, conservatism, anti-ism, self-righteousness, and isolated fellowship with link minded others, it is a call to ministry to break down the middle wall of racial partition in the church and society in order that generations of women, men, and young people might go unencumbered in their full potential and development. —James L. Taylor, PhD, Professor of Politics San Francisco, California

People of color have endured traumatic histories and almost daily assaults on their dignity. Professional counselor Sheila Wise Rowe exposes the symptoms of racial trauma to lead readers to a place of freedom from the past and new life for the future. With Rowe as a reliable guide who has both been on the journey and shown others the way forward, you will find a safe pathway to resilience.

The publication of Stony the Road We Trod thirty years ago marked the emergence of a critical mass of Black biblical scholars--as well as a distinct set of hermeneutical concerns. Combining sophisticated exegesis with special sensitivity to issues of race, class, and gender, the authors of this scholarly collection examine the nettling questions of biblical authority, Black and African people in biblical narratives, and the liberating aspects of Scripture. The original volume reshaped and redefined the questions, concerns, and scholarship that determine how the Bible is appropriated by the church, the academy, and the larger society today. To the original eleven essays this expanded edition adds a new introduction by Brian K. Blount and three new chapters by Kimberly D. Russaw, Shively T. J. Smith, and Jennifer T. Kaalund. Not only does Blount's new introduction access the impact of the first edition, but the new contributions extend the implications of Cain Hope Felder's vision for the book.

Those people. Their issues. The day's news and the ways we treat each other, overtly or subliminally, prove we are not yet living in post-racial America. It's hard to talk about race in America without everyone very quickly becoming defensive and shutting down. What makes talking race even harder is that so few of us actually know each other in the fullness of our stories. A recent Reuters poll found 40% of White people have no friends of other races, and 25% of people of color only have friends of the same race. Sandhya Rani Jha addresses the hot topic in a way that is grounded in real people's stories and that offers solid biblical grounding for thinking about race relations in America, reminding us that God calls us to build Beloved Community. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter provide starting points for reading groups.

In Matthew’s passion narrative, the ethnoracial identity of Jesus comes into sharp focus. The repetition of the title “King of the Judeans” foregrounds the politics of race and ethnicity. Despite the explicit use of terminology, previous scholarship has understood the title curiously in non-ethnoracial ways. This book takes the peculiar omission in the history of interpretation as its point of departure. It provides an expanded ethnoracial reading of the text, and poses a fundamental ideological question that interrogates the pattern in the larger context of modern biblical scholarship. Wongi Park issues a critique of the dominant narrative and presents an alternative reading of Matthew’s passion narrative. He identifies a critical vocabulary and framework of analysis to decode the politics of race and ethnicity implicit in the history of interpretation. Ultimately, the book lends itself to a broader research agenda: the destabilization of the dominant narrative of early Christianity’s non-ethnoracial origins.

Racism feeds on denial. Lament moves us to tell the truth. And the truth can set us free. Stories of racial injustice fill our news feeds. Yet for too long many in the church have been hesitant to speak up about racism in its many forms. We fear offending others, of using the wrong words, of not knowing what to say. In Lamenting Racism, a team of leading pastors and theologians invite us into the transformative and motivating practice of biblical lament as a powerful way to confront racism. Through their conversations in six thought-provoking videos, they name that God’s people of every race are called to consider how we have been shaped and formed by race, and they guide us into experiencing lament as an anti-racism practice. Encouraging congregations to reclaim the lost art of biblical lament, these pastors and theologians model a powerful way to pour out the fear, shame, grief, and rage of racism as we cry out to God in prayer. In the process, we will be transformed and motivated to reclaim hope and to act for a world shaped by God’s inclusive vision of love and blessing. This six-session study invites church groups to engage in the practice of biblical lament as a powerful tool in the church’s struggle against racism.