John Perkins Has Hope for Racial Reconciliation. Do We?

The civil rights hero delivers his “final manifesto” on race and the church’s call to unity.

In this 50th year since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., some argue that our nation is more racially divided than it has been in decades. Others are quick to suggest the divisions are merely being exposed: They were always there, like fault lines hidden beneath a manicured landscape, visible only to those with eyes to see. The church is hardly exempt from these racial rumblings; indeed, to our shame, it has proven to be the cause of some of them. There are encouraging signs of racial repentance in the church; there are also signs that younger Christians of color, wearied by the fight for belonging, are beginning to make an exodus from “evangelical” churches. The fault lines run through our pews, too.

John Perkins—the civil rights activist, herald of biblical justice and reconciliation, famed author, and founder of numerous organizations, including the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA)—addresses this situation in his latest book, One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race. “We’re at a unique moment in our history,” he writes. “We’ve come through—and in many ways are still in the midst of—great upheaval. The soul of our nation has been laid bare. When I talk to people all over the country it seems like everyone is looking for an answer.”

With this book, Perkins seeks not only to provide some answers but also to pass the torch to a new generation of Christian leaders who are ready to take up the mantle of reconciliation. At 87 years old, Perkins offers One Bloodas his “last words” to the church. He describes it as his final “manifesto,” by which he means “my most earnest attempt to put down in ...

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