Overview

Human beings tend to romanticize history or idealize historical figures. This is nowhere more apparent than the civil rights era of the twentieth century. The problem is that when we idealize history, we fail to learn from it. The result is that history repeats itself along with its sins and atrocities. The January 6 Capitol insurrection and the current racial reckoning we are experiencing is unoriginal to the American experience. We have been here before. This book seeks to humanize people we have idealized. Readers are invited to challenge racial hatred and injustice in their own context by looking to the lives of historical figures who have faced the challenges we currently face. By examining the self-care practices of personalities like Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, Benjamin Elijah Mays, and Martin Luther King Jr., this book examines the practices of introspection and self-work these historical figures engaged in that enabled them to fulfill the body of work they are celebrated for today. By humanizing these historical titans, we can emulate similar practices of self-care and introspection in our own lives that can equip us in continuing the ongoing work of dismantling structures of racial hatred and oppression, and promoting freedom, love, equity, and justice to redeem the soul of a nation.

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9781725284210

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Reviews

"""Danjuma Gibson gives a sobering analysis of how some of this country's most courageous and misunderstood leaders for justice held in tension their aspirations and visions with the disappointments that accompanied their pursuits. Gibson lays bare the conundrum that emerges from the realization that the support desired and needed from other black leaders was often marginal at best. This clarifying assessment will assist present day leaders in their own perspectives in racial justice work."" --Anthony L. Bennett, lead pastor, Mount Aery Baptist Church ""In contrast to the usual, white-washed narratives idealizing civil rights titans, Danjuma Gibson offers a nuanced understanding of the 'beautiful but arduous' spiritual and psychological work undergirding the titans' courageous lives. In his distinctive and poetic voice, Gibson both challenges and inspires readers to move beyond silence and complicity in the face of white supremacy. This is timely and vital reading for Christians and others who want to see 'what love looks like.'"" --Mary Clark Moschella, professor of pastoral theology and care, Yale Divinity School"

Author Information

Danjuma Gibson is the professor of pastoral care at Calvin Theological Seminary, and a licensed psychotherapist in private practice. In addition to exploring psychological trauma, Dr. Gibson's current research includes exploring the intersection of urbanism, black religious experience, psychoanalytic thought, and socioeconomics.

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