Government Book Bans in America: AAR Webinar with Recently Banned Religion Scholars [video]

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As wrote last week, I was shocked to learn that my book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, along with six other prominent books in religious studies, were among the 381 books that were banned and removed from the shelves at the US Naval Academy.

“This is the first college-level library banning we have seen,” noted Jennifer Finney Boylan, president of PEN America and also author of a book that was banned. “It reflects the steep escalation of government censorship we are seeing under the Trump administration, which continues its unrelenting efforts to control what Americans can read, learn, and think.”

Yesterday, I was proud to join my fellow banned authors—Anthea Butler, Michael Eric Dyson, Bryan Massingale, and Jim Wallis—for a webinar denouncing the bans and supporting academic freedom, hosted by the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the largest scholarly society dedicated to the academic study of religion. (Note: Eddie Glaude Jr.’s book, Democracy in Black, was also banned but he could not attend because of a scheduling conflict). The full video of the sobering but hopeful conversation is below.

I am grateful that the AAR, an organization of which I’ve been a member for nearly 30 years, is placing itself among the courageous institutions taking a stand against these attacks on academic freedom and our civil liberties. The AAR board acted quickly in response to this news, passing a resolution unequivocally denouncing book bans and threats to academic freedom.

In solidarity with my fellow authors and all of you-
Robby

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Government Book Bans in America: AAR Webinar with Recently Banned Authors

PARTICIPANTS:

• Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.

• Michael Eric Dyson, University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University; author of Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America.

• Robert P. Jones, President and founder, Public Religion Research Institute; author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.

• Bryan Massingale, Professor and James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics, Fordham University; author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church.

• Jim Wallis, Chair in Faith and Justice and the founding Director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice; author of America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America.

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Three Ways to Support the Authors of Banned Books and Academic Freedom

1. Buy their books. I’ve set up a special bookshelf over at bookshop.org to highlight these books. (Note: A portion of the proceeds from books bought using those links at bookshop.org go to support this newsletter.)

   

2. Sign up for their newsletters. Here are links to the three other authors who are on Substack:

3. Support the American Academy of Religion (AAR) by becoming a member, making a tax-deductible donation to their work, or dropping AAR Executive Director Claudia Schippert a thank you note at membership@aarweb.org.

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Related at #WhiteTooLong