Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation

by David P. Leong, Soong-Chan Rah (Foreword by)

Overview

Geography matters. We long for diverse, thriving neighborhoods and churches, yet racial injustices persist. Why? Because geographic structures and systems create barriers to reconciliation and prevent the flourishing of our communities. Race and Place reveals the profound ways in which these geographic forces and structures sustain the divisions among us. Urban missiologist David Leong, who resides in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, unpacks the systemic challenges that are rarely addressed in the conversation about racial justice. The evening news may deliver story after story that causes us to despair. But Leong envisions a future of belonging and hope in our streets, towns, cities, and churches. A discussion about race needs to go hand in hand with a discussion about place. This book is a welcome addition to a conversation that needs to include both.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830841349
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	01/07/2017
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David P. Leong (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is associate professor of missiology at Seattle Pacific University and Seminary, where he also serves as the director of the Global and Urban Ministry minor. He previously served in churches in urban Seattle through ministries focused on community groups and neighborhood involvement. As a scholar and practitioner, Leong examines the theological meaning of the city in an increasingly globalized and urbanized world. At the intersection of intercultural and missiological discourse, he sees the city as a rich context for theological reflection about topics ranging from hip hop and the built environment to multiculturalism and missional ecclesiology. He is the author of Street Signs: Toward a Missional Theology of Urban Cultural Engagement, and he lives in Seattle's Rainier Valley with his wife and two sons.

Soong-Chan Rah (ThD, Duke Divinity School) is Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He and his family live in Chicago. His books include The Next Evangelicalism and Prophetic Lament.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Soong-Chan Rah
Introduction: Street Signs and Color Lines

Part I: Race and Place: Beginning the Journey
1. Theology and Geography
2. Colorblind?
3. From the Garden to the City

Part II: Patterns of Exclusion: Structures That Divide
4. Walls of Hostility
5. Place, Parish, and Ghetto
6. Gentrification

Part III: Communities of Belonging: A Strange Family
7. Reconciliation: A Beautiful (and Disruptive) Story
8. Getting Practical: Action and Reflection

Conclusion: Back to a New Beginning
Acknowledgments
Notes

What People are Saying About This

Daniel White Hodge

"Leong brings the overdue conversation of race to the forefront and begs of us to engage, act, and get involved—something much more than what many Christians have been doing for quite some time: nothing. Leong has created a text that is accessible yet offers rigor in the fields of race, religion, and mission. It is time for Christians to take up the mantle of racial awareness and justice."

Soong-Chan Rah

"Race and Place offers the needed work of cultural and social exegesis and also offers the potential positive power of the Christian imagination. Allow David Leong—a scholar, a pastor, an urbanite, a deeply spiritual and thoughtful follower of Jesus—to guide you through this important theological journey."

Jude Tiersma Watson

"Place matters. Race and Place adds to our understanding about race by showing us that this dialog does not happen in a vacuum but in geographic places and spaces. Jesus came to break down the dividing walls between us. It is in specific locations we work out what it means to walk through those dividing walls."

Tim Soerens

"Joining God's dream for our neighborhoods compels us to answer the clarion call of racial justice and reconciliation. But for way too long, conversations about race haven't included place, and vice versa. With the insight of a scholar and wisdom that only comes from putting ideas into practice, Dr. Leong offers an invitation to the belonging, solidarity, and hope we so desperately need today. If you believe we need each other, you need this book. If you don't believe we need each other, you need this book. I'm so grateful for this timely contribution."

Amos Yong

"Race is neither a white/black issue nor is it merely one of political correctness. Rather, it's about ghettos, ethnic enclaves, suburbia, and gentrification. David Leong helps us see how racialized our cities have been historically and how we continue to suffer under these decisions from decades ago. But Race and Place also provides us with concrete steps to live out the good news of justice and shalom in our neighborhoods and communities. There is plenty here for theorists to mull over and much for activists to work for as well."

Editorial Reviews

"Leong's Race and Place is a one of the most graceful and optimistic takes on race in the United States in recent memory."

Baptist Standard

"Although race has been a focus of public conversation in the U.S., not many people are talking about the way geography has fueled the racial divide and continues to fragment us. David Leong introduces us to the tangled history of race and geography with a keenly theological mind that imagines reconciliation for God's people."

Jan-Feb 2017 Relevant

"Race is neither a white/black issue nor is it merely one of political correctness. Rather, it's about ghettos, ethnic enclaves, suburbia, and gentrification. David Leong helps us see how racialized our cities have been historically and how we continue to suffer under these decisions from decades ago. But Race and Place also provides us with concrete steps to live out the good news of justice and shalom in our neighborhoods and communities. There is plenty here for theorists to mull over and much for activists to work for as well."

Amos Yong

"In drawing connections between race and place, Leong's book is a welcomed addition to the literature surrounding urban ministry and racial reconciliation. Race and Place has the potential to push the conversations surrounding Christian Community Development in fruitful directions. Hopefully, it will encourage readers and practitioners to further explore the theological issues at play in the intersection of race and place."

Andrew T. Draper

"Leong brings the overdue conversation of race to the forefront and begs of us to engage, act, and get involved—something much more than what many Christians have been doing for quite some time: nothing. Leong has created a text that is accessible yet offers rigor in the fields of race, religion, and mission. It is time for Christians to take up the mantle of racial awareness and justice."

Daniel White Hodge

"Race and Place offers the needed work of cultural and social exegesis and also offers the potential positive power of the Christian imagination. Allow David Leong—a scholar, a pastor, an urbanite, a deeply spiritual and thoughtful follower of Jesus—to guide you through this important theological journey."

Soong-Chan Rah

"Place matters. Race and Place adds to our understanding about race by showing us that this dialog does not happen in a vacuum but in geographic places and spaces. Jesus came to break down the dividing walls between us. It is in specific locations we work out what it means to walk through those dividing walls."

Jude Tiersma Watson

"Joining God's dream for our neighborhoods compels us to answer the clarion call of racial justice and reconciliation. But for way too long, conversations about race haven't included place, and vice versa. With the insight of a scholar and wisdom that only comes from putting ideas into practice, Dr. Leong offers an invitation to the belonging, solidarity, and hope we so desperately need today. If you believe we need each other, you need this book. If you don't believe we need each other, you need this book. I'm so grateful for this timely contribution."

Tim Soerens

"Leong's Race and Place is a one of the most graceful and optimistic takes on race in the United States in recent memory."

--Baptist Standard, November 2, 2016

"Place matters. Race and Place adds to our understanding about race by showing us that this dialog does not happen in a vacuum but in geographic places and spaces. Jesus came to break down the dividing walls between us. It is in specific locations we work out what it means to walk through those dividing walls."

--Jude Tiersma Watson, associate professor of urban mission, Fuller Seminary

"Race is neither a white/black issue nor is it merely one of political correctness. Rather, it's about ghettos, ethnic enclaves, suburbia, and gentrification. David Leong helps us see how racialized our cities have been historically and how we continue to suffer under these decisions from decades ago. But Race and Place also provides us with concrete steps to live out the good news of justice and shalom in our neighborhoods and communities. There is plenty here for theorists to mull over and much for activists to work for as well."

--Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Race and Place offers the needed work of cultural and social exegesis and also offers the potential positive power of the Christian imagination. Allow David Leong--a scholar, a pastor, an urbanite, a deeply spiritual and thoughtful follower of Jesus--to guide you through this important theological journey."

--Soong-Chan Rah, from the foreword

"Although race has been a focus of public conversation in the U.S., not many people are talking about the way geography has fueled the racial divide and continues to fragment us. David Leong introduces us to the tangled history of race and geography with a keenly theological mind that imagines reconciliation for God's people."

--Relevant, Jan-Feb 2017

"In drawing connections between race and place, Leong's book is a welcomed addition to the literature surrounding urban ministry and racial reconciliation. Race and Place has the potential to push the conversations surrounding Christian Community Development in fruitful directions. Hopefully, it will encourage readers and practitioners to further explore the theological issues at play in the intersection of race and place."

--Andrew T. Draper, Englewood Review of Books, Lent 2017

"Leong brings the overdue conversation of race to the forefront and begs of us to engage, act, and get involved--something much more than what many Christians have been doing for quite some time: nothing. Leong has created a text that is accessible yet offers rigor in the fields of race, religion, and mission. It is time for Christians to take up the mantle of racial awareness and justice."

--Daniel White Hodge, director of the Center For Youth Ministry Studies, North Park University, author of Hip Hop's Hostile Gospel

From the Publisher