"Rich Thanks to Racism" (Jim Freeman)

TITLE: Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice
AUTHOR: Jim Freeman
PUBLISHER: Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press, 2021, (308 pages).

Mention the name "George Floyd" and immediately people would think of systemic racism, social injustice, Black Lives Matter, and protests against any form of inequality and inequity. The trouble is, when the demonstrations are active and widespread, public media pay attention and join in the chorus against hate and systemic inequity. Once the demonstrations die down, many revert to the "normal" they are used to. So, what is the point of protesting if the results are mere short-term? Is it even possible to eradicate systemic racism? Can BLM provide enough impetus to ensure all races and all ethnic groups can be treated fairly? This book aims to look at how we can join in this long-term effort at rebuilding society into a fair and just one. The phrase "systemic racism" cannot simply be left to anybody's imagination. It needs to be defined clearly and that expectations are communicated justly. More importantly, we need to know the root of it all. As a justice advocate and a long-time civil rights lawyer, author Jim Freeman learns that systemic racism that most of us are saying comes from something far more sinister: "Strategic racism." Many of the efforts to bring about greater equality and eradication of poverty fail eventually. That is because programs alone are never bigger than policies. Solutions alone are not any bigger than strategies. If reforms are only made after vigorous demonstrations and protests, such reforms too are not sustainable. The Freeman starts noticing several patterns. Behind the bad policies are the same few hands that feed the problem. These organizations are profiting from the policies that are encouraging systemic racism in the first place! These are the ultra-wealthy, the powerful, the influencers, and the profiteers. Seeing such things made the author reconsider the words of the late civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who famously said that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." After examining the contexts of systemic racism, Freeman laments that current contexts point to this moral "was being forcibly bent toward injustice." Strong words. How could that be? How is that so? What could one do about it? These questions are dealt with in this remarkable book about a perennial problem in American society, and maybe many others too. 

"Counter-Culture, Revised Edition" (David Platt)

TITLE: Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age
AUTHOR: David Platt
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream IL: Tyndale-Momentum, 2017, (320 pages).

The world we live in is increasingly anti-Christian. Many of the traditional beliefs are being challenged. Literal understanding of the Bible is being pushed back by liberal inclinations. Same-sex marriages are not only becoming a right for many, some circles even see it as the norm and marriage as something less than ideal. It creates a false impression that what is termed legal is legitimate. Those who hold on to orthodox beliefs are becoming ostracized and ridiculed for being old-fashioned. How do we speak the truth in love? What does it mean to live as believers in an increasingly unbelieving world? What do we do with split opinions and old paradigms being overturned with erroneous thinking? For author David Platt, following Christ is increasingly becoming a call to live counter-culturally. Concerned with the tendency of many believers to flee or take flight of challenging circumstances, he exhorts us to risk it because it is worth it. Platt writes that this book is about:

"helping us think through how to live out that gospel in our lives, families, and churches in an age of sexual confusion, legal abortion, rampant materialism, violent racism, escalating refugee crises, diminishing religious liberties, and a number of other significant social issues. This book is about refusing to retreat from these realities, instead choosing to face them with a fearless faith that is full of hope in Christ and free to love even those who would belittle Christian belief."