Beyond Racial Division - by George A Yancey (Paperback)

About the Book

We have struggled to effectively address racial tension in the United States. While colorblindness ignores our history of injustice, antiracism efforts have often alienated people who need to be involved. In his model of collaborative conversation and mutual accountability, sociologist George Yancey offers an alternative to racial alienation where all seek the common good for all to thrive.

Book Synopsis

We have struggled to effectively address racial tension in the United States. While colorblindness ignores our history of injustice, antiracism efforts have often alienated people who need to be involved. In his model of collaborative conversation and mutual accountability, sociologist George Yancey offers an alternative to racial alienation where all seek the common good for all to thrive.

Review Quotes

"Dr. George Yancey argues that the two paths of colorblindness and antiracism have not worked and will not work to solve the country's problems and heal its pain resulting from a racialized society. Dr. Yancey contends that the path of colorblindness ignores racialized problems, and the path of antiracism causes a racially hostile society to be even more hostile and polarized instead of bringing ethnically diverse people together. Dr. Yancey argues for a third path that he calls 'mutual accountability/responsibility' or 'collaborative conversations.' This approach invites ethnically diverse image-bearers to be proactive and take personal responsibility to enter into collaborative conversations with the intent of working together with all ethnically diverse image-bearers of goodwill to solve racialized problems. For those interested in getting off the paths of colorblindness and antiracism, Dr. Yancey's book offers a third path to help God's image bearers get closer to the promised land of both racial healing and a racially fair society."

"Our racial division and inequality are extreme. In the midst of such challenges, we shout, we accuse, we point fingers, we divide into camps. And we get nowhere. Dr. Yancey proposes an alternative, rooted deeply in Christian understanding and sociological knowledge. He offers hope and clarity for our times. A must-read."

"Race relations in the United States are mired in acrimony, tribalism, and polarization. What is really needed as a key first step is the pursuit of better listening to one another. Yancey's Beyond Racial Division is a sensitive and sane proposal for how to go there while assessing current options with care and balance. It presents a distinctive third way. If you read one book on issues tied to race, this is it."

"There is not a more theologically sound, empirically informed, well-reasoned, or rational voice addressing the complexities of race, class, and culture in America today than that of Dr. George Yancey. In Beyond Racial Division, he navigates nuance and effectively challenges readers to get beyond rhetoric to results in their engagement of diverse others. As did Christ with arms outstretched, Yancey herein seeks to unite motivations and to hold Christ-followers in tension so that we might walk a more productive path for the sake of the gospel, and in so doing lead others away from painful polarization, beyond the crippling distinctions of this world that otherwise divide."

"Race relations in the United States are mired in acrimony, tribalism, and polarization. What is really needed as a key first step is the pursuit of better listening to one another. Yancey's Beyond Racial Division is a sensitive and sane proposal for how to go there while assessing current options with care and balance. It presents a distinctive third way. If you read one book on issues tied to race, this is it."

--Darrell L. Bock, executive director for cultural engagement at the Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement, senior research professor of New Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

"There is not a more theologically sound, empirically informed, well-reasoned, or rational voice addressing the complexities of race, class, and culture in America today than that of Dr. George Yancey. In Beyond Racial Division, he navigates nuance and effectively challenges readers to get beyond rhetoric to results in their engagement of diverse others. As did Christ with arms outstretched, Yancey herein seeks to unite motivations and to hold Christ-followers in tension so that we might walk a more productive path for the sake of the gospel, and in so doing lead others away from painful polarization, beyond the crippling distinctions of this world that otherwise divide."

--Mark DeYmaz, cofounder, president, and CEO of the Mosaix Global Network, author of Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church

About the Author

George Yancey (PhD, University of Texas) is a professor at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, specializing in race/ethnicity and religion. He works to promote collaborative communication as a solution to racial unrest. His books include Compromising Scholarship, One Faith No Longer, Hostile Environment, Beyond Racial Gridlock, and Transcending Racial Barriers.