Finding the Helpers in Perilous Times

PLUS, upcoming events in June!

Dear #WhiteTooLong readers,

With the daily doses of chaos and destruction we’ve been dealing with this year, it’s been a while since I’ve shared some updates. So here we go….

I have a new publisher!

As many of you know, I was saddened to lose my long-time agent and friend, Roger Freet, who died earlier this year after a bout with cancer. And last year, my editor at Simon & Schuster, where I’ve published my last three books, retired. I’m happy to share the news that I’ll be moving over to St. Martin’s Press for my next two books (details coming soon!). I miss Roger, whose funeral I attended last month, but I’m grateful to be working with his colleague Claudia Cross at Folio Literary Management and with Elisabeth Dyssegaard, executive editor at St. Martin’s Press. Elisabeth also works with many of the authors whose books are likely on your shelves, including my friends Diana Butler Bass, Michael Eric Dyson, Bryan McClaren, Brad Onishi, and Jim Wallis.

Most of the banned books, including my book White Too Long, are back on the shelves at the US Naval Academy.

As I noted in April (see story below), I was surprised to learn that my book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, which won a 2021 American Book Award, appeared as #46 on the list of 381 books that Pete Hegseth ordered purged from the academic library at the US Naval Academy. In response, I helped organized a webinar with the American Academy of Religion, featuring fellow banned authors Anthea Butler, Michael Eric Dyson, Bryan Massingale, and Jim Wallis, to denounce the bans and support academic freedom.

I am thrilled to report that, as a result of the public pressure, most of the banned books have recently been returned to the shelves at the Naval Academy. My new friend Jinny, co-owner of Old Fox Books in Annapolis, who worked with Naval Academy alumnus Commander William Marks (ret.) to make the banned books available to midshipmen, sent me the photo below showing my book back on the shelf, nestled next to books by the great religion scholar Martin Marty.

ICYMI, here’s the original post about my experience of having White Too Long banned, which has now become the most read article ever on my Substack newsletter.

My Book, "White Too Long," Banned from US Naval Academy

The Convocation Unscripted podcast—with fellow travelers Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, and Jemar Tisby—launches a new phase.

This week, a reporter asked me an unusual question. He didn’t ask me to explain, analyze, or quantify the daily destruction we are witnessing to our democracy. He instead asked how I was feeling. Many negative emotions immediately rushed to mind: helplessness, anger, sadness, embarrassment, and exasperation just to name a few. But I also realized I am still hopeful.

I found myself thinking about a simple thing Mr. Rogers once said: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping'... Because if you look for the helpers, you'll know that there's hope.” You can watch him offer this one minute of simple wisdom below.

Here in DC, my hope has come from watching the helpers. I’ve witnessed the quiet dignity of federal workers and contractors who are trying to minimize harm to their co-workers and to the nation as their departments and contracts have been violently gutted by the Trump administration. Hope has also come from being with my stalwart coworkers at PRRI, who are leaning in to focus our work around religion and protecting democracy.

But a particular bright spot for me has been the weekly conversations I’ve had with my friends Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, and Jemar Tisby, who I see as fellow travelers. They are also the kind of helpers Mr. Rogers talked about, the ones trying to pick up the pieces, bind up the wounds, and restore a sense of order amid the disaster.

We’ve come together over the last year to create a weekly podcast, The Convocation Unscripted, originally designed to go through Trump’s first 100 days. Two weeks ago, we had an all-day retreat to think about where we go from here. We’re all scholars, so we’ll always try to bring historical and sociological lenses to help see what really matters amid all the chaos. But we’re also trying to provide a weekly dose of sanity to ourselves and our listeners, while working to hold onto the best of our faith and our democracy. We decided that work was still needed, so we’re back on camera and the mic for at least the rest of the year. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll join us.

The Convocation Unscripted Team at National Harbor: Diana Butler Bass, Jemar Tisby, Robert P. Jones, and Kristin Du Mez.

If you haven’t tuned in to the podcast, check out the latest episode on our YouTube channel. You can also listen weekly on Apple podcasts. And you can join the more than 10,000 subscribers we have on our Substack newsletter, where we also post the show and give other updates. It’s all free.

I’d love to see you at any of five upcoming events in June.

This summer, I’m focused mostly on writing my next book. But I have four upcoming events in June. I’d love to see you at any of them!

• June 8, 10am - 2pm ET (Takoma Park, MD): Local Author Bazaar at People’s Book. Come say hello and get a book signed.

• June 10, 7pm ET (virtual event for paid WTL subscribers only): #WhiteTooLong Author Salon with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. This event is for paid WTL subscribers only. Registration details coming in separate email.

• June 26, 7:30 am CT (St. Louis, MO): Speaking in conversation with Lewis Brogdon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship national assembly.

• June 26, 5:30 pm (St. Louis, MO): Speaking in conversation with Reggie Williams at Left Bank Books. I’ll also be signing books.

• June 28, 12 pm ET (free virtual event): Speaking in conversation with Bryan Massingale on the topic, “Faith or Fascism?” Public webinar sponsored by NETWORK Lobby for Social Justice. Free registration here.