About White Too Long
Welcome to the White Too Long newsletter, a space for those dedicated to the work of truth-telling, repair, and healing from the legacy of white supremacy in American Christianity.
The stack is hosted by me, Robert P. Jones. I’m the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). I’m also the author of three books that take up the themes discussed in this newsletter:
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023), a New York Times bestseller.
White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (2020), winner of a 2021 American Book Award; and
The End of White Christian America (2016), winner of the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
Here’s why I wrote my most recent book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy:
The phrase “White Too Long” comes from a searing New York Times op-ed James Baldwin write in the months following the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he saw the muted response coming from white Americans, and white Christians in particular.
I will flatly say that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long; the effect on their personalities, their lives, their grasp of reality, has been as devastating as the lava which so memorably immobilized the citizens of Pompeii. They are unable to conceive that their version of reality, which they want me to accept, is an insult to my history and a parody of theirs and an intolerable violation of myself.
These pages are intended to be a space for responding to this indictment honestly with an eye toward repentance and repair.
White Too Long publishes weekly. What you’ll get each week:
Commentary on current events at the intersection of religion, racial justice, and politics
Conversations with other authors and thought leaders
You’ll also get the following along the way:
Previews of my work-in-progress
Invitations to occasional Zoom chats
Office hours: Ask Me Anything (AMA) threads
Book recommendations, special guest posts from authors
Reflections from speaking engagements and connections with congregations across the country.
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Speaking Inquiries
If you’d like to inquire about a speaking event, you can reach me at robertpjones.substack@gmail.com.
