January 18, 2021
In this persuasive debut, Kwon, lead pastor of Grace Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C., and Thompson, research fellow at Lincoln University, argue that white supremacy’s “enduring effect” in America is the theft of Black wealth and power, and that Christians must respond by participating in reparations. Christians, in their estimate, have a unique capacity to contribute to the project of reparations because the ideas at its core—the ethics of restitution and restoration—are a part of Christian beliefs and practices, specifically the stories of Zaccheus and the Good Samaritan. The authors present these scriptural models alongside theological treatises on theft that have informed Christian practice for centuries and firmly assert that “restitution for the thefts of White supremacy” is a goal “older than America itself,” often explicitly rooted in Christian beliefs, as with the abolitionist movement. At the end, Kwon and Thompson provide “practices of repair” directed toward churches, including acknowledging and memorializing history; bolstering “vocational, relational, and financial power to our Black neighbors”; working with economic institutions to remove barriers to wealth; and transfers of wealth to “Black households, institutions, and communities.” Kwon and Thompson’s eloquent reasoning will help Christians broaden their understanding of the contemporary conversation over reparations.