Book Review: Reconciliation Blues

Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity by Edward Gilbreath
My rating:  3 of 5 stars

I finished this book, but I couldn't decide what to write for the review so it has taken me some time to click the "finished" button. This book was a look at a whole new aspect of Christianity I have barely explored: the issue of race. I didn't know what to do with some of the things I read, that is until I went on the Civil Rights bus tour sponsored by my University. We spent 4 days traveling through Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee learning about the civil rights movement and having discussions about racial reconciliation in the church. Two things struck me: first, how little this issue is addressed, and second, how defensive and "political" people immediately get about this issue. No, I'm not a liberal because I believe that racial diversity and helping the poor are important, nor am I Republican because I believe that welfare is the wrong way to help ethnic minorities stricken by poverty. Thanks to this book and the wise words of many friends both black and white, I have discovered that I don't have to consult politics to love people or support affirmative action to make a difference. Issues of race are complex, but shouldn't the church - supposedly the finger that helps point a moral compass in society - be at the forefront of trying to solve these issues and provide reconciliation? I believe so.


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