With Liberty and Justice for Some: The Bible, the Constitution, and Racism in America - Exploring Historical Perspectives on Race Relations for Book Clubs & Academic Studies

With Liberty and Justice for Some is an excellent history of how the Bible, Church, and the US Constitution can subvert the very values to which they claim to aspire. Dr. Smith lays out a well-researched treatise illustrating how these cornerstones of America have been used to further white supremacy and oppress people of color. She shows how the American democracy, economy, and culture have had these injustices built in from the earliest European colonies right up until today. While it is an eye-opening, sober read, it also forced this white male to imagine how great our country would be if we truly had "Liberty and justice for all".I recently had the chance to read the materials from the 1619 Project. And while that work is very important, I believe that I learned more about how and why things are the way they are from Dr. Smith. Notably on how the Bible was used to subvert both Christianity and democracy, and the Project's limited discussion of whether the reforms of the Civil War and Civil Rights movement represent progress in more fully realizing the ideals of America.