The Myth of Colorblind Christians: Evangelicals and White Supremacy in the Civil Rights Era

by Jesse Curtis

By challenging Christian colorblindness, black evangelicals held up a mirror to the evangelical mainstream, exposing its investment in whiteness.

While most black evangelicals described racial justice as the foundation of racial reconciliation, white evangelicals appropriated the rhetoric of reconciliation, discarded the vision for social justice, and doubled down on their colorblind commitments.

While black evangelicals often advocated unity in Christ as the foundation of social equality, white evangelicals often described unity in Christ as a substitute for equality.