The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism

by Jemar Tisby

The effort to exercise due diligence and gather accurate information may delay a response, but it should not preclude one.

disassociating with racists.

person should not enjoy continued credibility and attention.

Large segments of the American church have lost all moral authority to speak prophetically against racism because they continue to practice it. This tends to happen in subtle ways—sharing the works of people who practiced slavery without any context or criticism; continually hosting panels, conferences, and other events that feature only white men; Christian schools making peace with the presence of buildings named after racists or featuring their statues on campus grounds; harboring an uncritical opinion that Republicans represent the “Christian political party” in spite of increasingly overt racist rhetoric from the party’s elected officials and other leaders. The list goes on.

When it comes to racism, the American church does not have a “how to” problem but a “want to” problem.