Racism is a hot topic in our times (as if it ever really cooled down). And a historical perspective helps us better understand the very concept of race.
Katharine Gerbner provides such a perspective in her book Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World.
Gerbner details the efforts to give Christianity to African slaves brought across the Atlantic, and how a shared religion brought about some ethical gymnastics: how can a Christian person maintain bondage over a fellow Christian?
Slaveholders, slaves, and missionaries are all followed in the book. The author joins us to unfold this dark chapter in human history.