Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Few Reviews

My book has received a couple of reviews over the last few months. Back in November, Books & Culture carried a long review by Robert Elder. He also wrote a review in Journal of American Studies.
HomeMore recently, Joseph Reiff wrote a review article which appeared in the March 1 issue of Christian Century. Both men are white southerners, a group notorious for its suspicion of outsiders inflicting their opinions; however, Reiff wrote:
"As a Mississippi exile who grew up in the 1960s in Jackson and served a United Methodist pastor their in the mid-1980s, I can say that though this is, as Slade admits, 'a white Englishman's study of a Christian racial reconciliation movement in Mississippi,' he gets the story remarkably right, with all the nuances."

Taking a Class to Jackson, MS.

In March, I took a group of students from Ashland University down to Jackson, MS, as part of my class   Religion and the Civil Rights Movement. We worked with Voice of Calvary Ministries, met with veterans of the movement and those currently engaged in issues of justice and reconciliation.
We attended a Mission Mississippi prayer breakfast and Dolphus Weary and Neddie Winters both spent time with the group. As the week progressed I discovered that questions I raised in my book about justice and reconciliation have generated some discussion within Voice of Calvary and Mission Mississippi.

Ashland University students with Rev. CJ Rhodes, Mt. Helm Baptist Church, Jackson, MS.

Lecture Series at Covenant College

Back in February, Covenant College invited me to give three lectures based on my book -- two of these were talks in the chapel to the whole student body. This was an exciting opportunity as Covenant College is the undergraduate college of the Presbyterian Church in America: a denomination which gets some attention in my book. I had a wonderful time in meeting with students, faculty, and staff.
Covenant recorded my chapel talks and you can listen to them here.
Talk 1 - Open Friendship
Talk 2 - Race, History and Cultural Captivity


The Christian liberal arts college of the PCA