While thousands of people continue to protest and demand justice and change following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans due to police violence and racism, religion publishers are supplying resources on issues related to faith, racism, and white privilege. Recently, faith-based houses have increasingly focused on racial reconciliation through books on bridging divides through biblical teachings and incorporating more diverse voices, and today, these publishers are drawing on these backlists to help support protestors, further conversations about race, and create a cultural change.
Tyndale House Publishers is providing a link from its homepage to a site titled Find Hope & Healing in Times of Social Unrest, which provides a list of books such as Under Our Skin: Getting Real About Race by NFL player Benjamin Watson and 13 Days in Ferguson by Ron Johnson and Alan Eisenstock. The publisher hosted a forum on race and faith in 2017, and in light of recent events, parts of the conversation are being highlighted once more here.
B&H has partnered with the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association on a list of "Christian Books on Racial Justice." IVP has moved up the publication of Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black from November to September 1 “because his voice and the book itself are so important right now,” a representative for the publisher told PW. Additionally, IVP is offering free access to e-books on faithful justice through a new website. And a number of recent virtual events have highlighted the work of authors such as Sheila Wise Rowe (Healing Racial Trauma), David Swanson (Rediscipling the White Church), Brenda Salter McNeil (Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0), Daniel Hill (White Awake), and Jose Humphreys (Seeing Jesus in East Harlem).
Chalice is also ramping up author events centered on the topic of diversity. The press is hosting a Justice and Hope event on June 11 with Rev. Sharon Risher, author of For Such a Time as This which describes the deaths of Risher's family members during the 2015 massacre at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church and her passion for activism. And on June 23, Chalice has planned a book launch event and conversation for Teaching Kids the ABCs of Diversity by Carolyn B. Helsel and Y. Joy Harris-Smith.
1517 Media imprints Broadleaf and Beaming are providing lists of books on race, religion, and justice through its blog. Similarly, Zondervan sent an email blast highlighting black authors as well as books on topics related to racism and racial justice in categories such as self-help and children’s. These include The Color of Life: A Journey Toward Love and Racial Justice by Cara Meredith, White Lies: Nine Ways to Expose and Resist the Racial Systems That Divide Us by Daniel Hill (Oct.), and The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby.
In addition to highlighting resources for readers, mainstream publishers have taken steps to diversify the workforce in the industry and publish more black authors. Further, many within the book business overall have pledged to take collective action against racism.
