Living in the Tension: The Quest for a Spiritualized Racial Justice (Signed!) [B0487]

2016 signed PB with some underlined text and marks. For many, spiritual and racial justice principles go hand in hand. Yet, although seemingly compatible, tensions often arise when people try to live out their associated values and strategies. Further, there are those who sit solidly on one side of either spirituality or advocacy and fail to see the connection between the two. Spiritually-oriented people often say: People focused on politics and social justice activism are angry, wounded, unhealthy individuals who sabotage their own efforts by using antagonistic and divisive language, including terms like oppression, privilege, and supremacy. On the other hand, racial justice advocates often say: People focused on their spirituality as part of their personal growth are trying to escape into transcendence or a false "kumbaya" experience and deny their ongoing role in continuing personal and institutional racism, privilege, and the reinforcement of an unjust status quo that operates through interlocking systems of oppression. Why do these tensions matter? There is a vast potential of untapped transformative power waiting to be released if activists and spiritual people of various racial backgrounds build and strengthen bridges between their differing principles and expectations. How can this book help? Each chapter tackles one tension-filled theme and asks: What happens if one side of the tension is ignored? How can a both/and approach allow spirituality and racial justice efforts to support one another?

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "An interesting presentation of the tensions and polarities that can occur between a pursuit of spirituality and a pursuit of racial justice. I think this could be a really good study guide for folks in mostly white liberal religious or spiritual settings."; "We need this perspective now more than ever. For anyone invested in antiracism and social justice, this book is absolutely necessary as we continue to work towards liberation."