Jemar Tisby is a historian, author, and public speaker whose work examines the relationship between Christianity, racism, and American history. Through his writing, he challenges readers to reconsider the role religious institutions have played in shaping racial attitudes and social structures. His widely recognized book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, explores how Christian churches have participated in, accommodated, and sometimes resisted racial injustice throughout American history. Tisby’s work encourages readers to examine the past honestly and consider what meaningful change requires today.

One of the central arguments in The Color of Compromise is that racism in America cannot be understood without examining the influence of religious institutions. Christianity has often been associated with messages of love, justice, compassion, and equality. Yet churches and Christian leaders have sometimes supported systems that denied African Americans their freedom and dignity. Tisby examines this contradiction, demonstrating how religious beliefs and institutions could be used to justify racial oppression rather than challenge it.

The book takes readers back to the era of European colonization and slavery, when religious arguments were frequently used to defend the enslavement of Africans. Some Christian leaders claimed that slavery was compatible with biblical teachings, while others used Christianity to encourage resistance to the institution. Enslaved Africans developed their own spiritual traditions, drawing strength from their faith while enduring violence, separation from family, and the denial of basic human rights. Tisby highlights the importance of understanding how Christianity became intertwined with the development of American slavery.

Tisby also explores the role of churches during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Although emancipation ended legal slavery, it did not eliminate racial prejudice or the struggle for equal citizenship. Some religious communities supported efforts to educate formerly enslaved people and establish independent Black institutions. Others tolerated or defended segregation and white supremacy. The period demonstrates how Christian institutions faced a choice between challenging racial injustice and preserving existing social arrangements.

Another important subject in the book is the relationship between Christianity and Jim Crow segregation. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, racial segregation became deeply embedded in American society. Many churches reflected the same divisions, maintaining separate congregations and unequal opportunities for worship and leadership. Tisby argues that compromise occurred not only when Christians openly defended racism but also when they remained silent or accepted discriminatory practices to avoid conflict. This distinction is essential to understanding the book’s central message.

The civil rights movement provides another significant chapter in this history. Black churches played a vital role in organizing demonstrations, supporting community leadership, and providing spiritual encouragement to people fighting racial discrimination. Figures such as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. drew upon Christian teachings to challenge segregation and demand equal rights. However, not all white Christian congregations supported the movement. Tisby examines the difference between those who actively opposed racism and those who hesitated to challenge the racial status quo.

A major strength of Tisby’s writing is his attention to the difference between individual prejudice and institutional racism. A person may believe in treating others fairly while participating in organizations or traditions that produce unequal outcomes. Similarly, a church may preach love and acceptance while failing to confront discriminatory practices within its own community. Tisby encourages Christians to look beyond personal intentions and examine the consequences of their actions, their institutional policies, and their willingness to address injustice.

The book also challenges contemporary Christians to consider how the legacy of racial compromise continues to affect American religious life. Questions about church leadership, worship communities, racial representation, education, and public policy remain important. Tisby argues that acknowledging historical wrongdoing is not about assigning personal guilt to every modern Christian. Rather, it is about understanding how past decisions shaped the present and recognizing the responsibility to pursue greater fairness, accountability, and inclusion.

Tisby’s work has become an important contribution to conversations about race and religion because it asks readers to move beyond comfortable narratives about American Christianity. His historical approach encourages people to examine uncomfortable evidence, listen to the experiences of African Americans, and recognize the difference between professing moral principles and practicing them. The book also raises questions about what genuine reconciliation requires, emphasizing that meaningful progress involves more than expressions of goodwill. It requires a willingness to confront injustice and make changes that reflect the values Christians claim to uphold.

Ultimately, The Color of Compromise is a call for historical honesty, moral reflection, and meaningful action. Jemar Tisby challenges churches and individual believers to understand how Christianity has been used both to support oppression and to inspire resistance against it. His message is especially relevant in a society still wrestling with racial inequality and the consequences of its history. By examining the past with courage and integrity, readers can better understand the responsibilities of faith in the present. The book reminds us that the true test of religious conviction is not simply what people profess to believe, but whether their actions reflect justice, compassion, and respect for the dignity of every human being.

Based on reporting by The Positive Community.

Maxine Bryant, Ph.D., creator and founder GriotSpeaks, is sharing the history of the African diaspora through her new board game.

Bryant often quotes the African proverb: “Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero.” She said for the hunter has been telling the story of the African diaspora for “far too long.”

The game is based in African culture. The spaces on the board feature the countries of the African diaspora and it uses gold bars and cowrie shells as currency while special game spaces showcase symbols such as the Sankofa bird, a pyramid and an Ankh.

Bryant, a culture keeper and educator, created the game to add a bit of fun to her ongoing mission of dispelling myths and sharing accurate history. She used the history lessons she taught over the years as the foundation for the game’s trivia questions. Bryant said she is even more motivated to correct the inaccurate narratives due to recent book bans and efforts to minimize or omit the contributions of Black people.

“We can’t tell our story if we don’t know our story,” Bryant said.

History buffs may start the game with a slight advantage, but even players with limited knowledge have a chance to win with some strategic play. During one game demonstration, she said, an 11-year-old beat her with the clever use of one of the game’s wild cards.

Bryant’s goal is for people to learn new information while having a good time with one another. She sat down with the Recorder to share her inspiration for the game and how she hopes it will influence the culture.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What was the inspiration for creating a game?

Maxine Bryant: In all honesty, God gave me the vision for the game.

I put that board game together the way God showed me in in this vision, if you will, it was to be educational, informative, and entertaining. And so, I knew I wanted it to encompass all of the diaspora and with the educational part of it. Since I am a professor, it needed to encompass the critical areas of our history.

So, it’s geography; it’s the resistance, the protest — all of that. It’s … literature, music, the Gullah Geechee culture, storytelling, the whole gamut, and then Black people.

What are some of the things people are surprised to finally learn while playing the game?

Bryant: The genius of Black people.

Many people know Madam C.J. Walker, although I’m finding out that not everybody does. But one of the questions (asks about) who invented the hot comb? Everybody thinks Madam C.J. Walker, but no, that was not her thing. Her thing was hair care and strengthening hair. It was a man (Walter H. Sammons) who created the hot comb. So, people are amazed at what they’re learning.

How do you hope that this new knowledge helps people see the world?

Bryant: So, what I hope people learn is our true history, the history of our struggle, and our resistance, the history of our greatness, and information about our culture. That positions us then to be able to stand tall in knowledge of self.

One of the things I wholeheartedly believe in is that little Black boys and little Black girls who grow up with the message that you are nothing because you are Black … it’s easy for me to take you out. But if I look at you and I know that you’re great and I’m great, I may just have a different kind of level of respect for you.

I think that having a sense of self can impact how I look at myself and how I look at people who look like me.

Is there anything else you want to share?

Bryant: In my mind, this game is a must-have. It is so unique. Now, within the culture, we have trivia games and usually they’re trivia about sports or about entertainment and some about history, right? And usually, it pertains to people in the United States or events in the United States, culture in the United States.

This game contains movement around a physical board like Monopoly, but it also encompasses the entire African diaspora so it’s not just the United States. People who played this game tell me … they’ve never seen anything like it.

GriotSpeaks: The Game is best suited for players 17 and older. The game is available for purchase through Amazon or at the GriotSpeaks website.

Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at 317-762-7850.

The post Learn Black history and win your next game night appeared first on Indianapolis Recorder.

Based on reporting by Indianapolis Recorder.

By Tamara Shiloh

Long before African Americans could freely tell their stories, Michael G. Shiner was quietly documenting history.

Born into slavery in 1805 in Piscataway, Maryland, Shiner became one of the most remarkable eyewitness chroniclers of nineteenth-century America. His writings preserved more than five decades of Washington, D.C., history, providing an extraordinary perspective on slavery, freedom, labor, and the nation’s transformation.

He was born to William Pumphrey Jr., whose family owned property in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Around 1812, Shiner was brought to the nation’s capital, where he eventually worked at the Washington Navy Yard. Although denied the educational opportunities available to White Americans, he learned to read and write, likely through religious instruction at Washington’s First Presbyterian Church.

His literacy became a powerful instrument of historical preservation. Beginning with recollections of events in 1813, Shiner recorded significant happenings in a handwritten journal he called his “book.” His observations included the British invasion of Washington during the War of 1812, particularly the burning of the Capitol and other government buildings in August 1814. His descriptions captured the fear, destruction, and confusion surrounding one of America’s most devastating wartime attacks.

However, his writings extended far beyond military events.

In 1828, Thomas Howard, chief clerk of the Washington Navy Yard, acquired Shiner and hired out his labor. He worked in the Navy Yard’s paint shop, observing the everyday experiences of enslaved and free workers. His diary documented ship launches, workplace accidents, labor disputes, racial discrimination, and political developments.

One of his most heartbreaking experiences occurred in 1833 when slave traders threatened to separate his family. His wife, Phillis, and their children faced the possibility of being sold away. Through determined intervention and assistance from influential individuals, Shiner obtained their release from enslavement.

He petitioned for his own freedom in 1836 and subsequently lived as a free man. By 1850, census records identified him as free, living with his second wife, Jane, and their children.

His writings continued through the Civil War, documenting the changing political landscape and the struggle for African American freedom. His manuscript also revered the Emancipation Proclamation, demonstrating the importance of this historic declaration to someone who had personally experienced enslavement.

Following the Civil War, he became active in Republican politics and advocated for African American rights. His remarkable memory and detailed observations made him a respected figure throughout Washington.

Shiner died of smallpox on January 16, 1880, at approximately seventy-five years old.

Today, his 186-page manuscript, The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard, 1813–1869, is preserved at the Library of Congress.

What makes his achievement extraordinary is that an African American laborer, once considered property under American law, became an invaluable recorder of the nation’s history.

Shiner never achieved fame during his lifetime as a writer. Yet his determination to document the world around him ensured that future generations could understand American history through the eyes of someone who experienced both slavery and freedom.

After more than 35 years as a pediatric surgeon, Deborah Burton retired but didn’t give up one of the most rewarding aspects of her career—connecting with young people.

Burton used writing and her imagination to create a young adult sci-fi fantasy mystery novel, Invisible Cages: The Alynthia Quest, under the pen name MD Burton. Her debut novel launched in early October, and Burton said she’s been delighted with the responses so far.

The novel follows Jade Babington who leads a team of resourceful friends as they join an elite organization to crack a spy network and embark on a high-tech adventure to find answers. Her quest is complicated by powers that surge through her body, and to be successful, she needs to understand her family roots, embrace her emerging talents, and step into her legacy, according to a press release.

Through the book, readers are introduced to a range of characters who work in STEM and healthcare careers which Burton hopes will inspire readers to consider pursuing careers in some of those areas.

Burton moved to Dunwoody in 1995 and ran a successful pediatric ear, nose, and throat practice in Marietta. She retired in 2021 but missed the educational moments she shared with her young patients.

“I talk to kids all the time,” said Burton, adding that she likes to share insight into the many career paths in healthcare. “I love to educate and empower.”

She said she worked on the book for five years, researching coding, microchips, and satellites.

“It was a learning journey,” she remarked.

The book explores themes of self-acceptance, girl empowerment through strong female characters, the importance of family, and STEM exposure, states the press release. Set on a fictional health complex, the novel introduces readers to healthcare careers, as well as engineering and computer science.

The author also had to delve into unique aspects of her main character.

“Jade has powers and sees auras,” she explained. “So I spent a good amount of time learning about auras, telepathy and magical realism.”

In addition, to providing insight to STEM and healthcare careers, Burton hopes the books help her teen female readers dealing with insecurities to better understand and appreciate what makes them unique and the power they possess. She also hopes it will build self-confidence.

“You have to accept who you are,” she said. “Whatever your differences are, everybody’s got them, embrace them.”

Burton said she originally planned the book to be a seven-part series but on the advice of her edit changed it to four parts.

“I know what my end goal is,” said Burton noting that she’s included Easter eggs in the first book to entice readers throughout the reading process and has a completed outline for the other books in the series. After completing an audiobook of Invisible Cages: The Alynthia Quest by the end of the year, Burton plans to start writing the next book in 2027.

On Nov. 15, a book signing is scheduled at the Politan Row food hall in Dunwoody.

The self-published book is available in eBook, paperback, and hardback formats, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.

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Based on reporting by The Champion Newspaper.

A new photography book is giving readers a rare look inside one of the most important buildings in Black media history.

820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon, published Tuesday by MW Editions, features photographs by Chicago photographer Barbara Karant documenting the former Johnson Publishing Company headquarters at 820 S. Michigan Ave., the longtime home of Ebony and Jet magazines. Pasted markdown

The 240-page book preserves the building’s striking interiors, many of which no longer exist in their original form, while also examining the larger cultural legacy of Johnson Publishing Company and its influence on Black media, design, photography and American culture.

Designed by architect John W. Moutoussamy and completed in 1972, the building was the first, and remains the only, high-rise in downtown Chicago designed by an African American architect. Built for publisher John H. Johnson, the headquarters became a physical expression of the ambition and influence of one of the nation’s most important Black-owned media companies.

While the building’s exterior reflected Moutoussamy’s restrained modernist style, the inside told a very different story.

Designers Arthur Elrod and William Raiser filled the headquarters with bold colors, geometric patterns, mirrored surfaces, rich textures and dramatic materials across 11 floors. The result was a workplace that looked unlike the traditional corporate offices of its era. Pasted markdown

Karant began photographing the building after Johnson Publishing sold the property in 2010 and relocated in 2012. Between 2013 and 2015, and again in 2018, she documented the largely vacant interiors after employees and much of the furniture had been removed.

What remained were the colors, patterns and architectural details that had helped define the company’s visual identity.

Her photographs capture spaces ranging from the cafeteria’s orange, purple and gold designs to Eunice Johnson’s cream-and-honey office, mirrored dressing rooms and the executive floor’s expansive views of Lake Michigan and Grant Park. Pasted markdown

Among the building’s most memorable spaces was the famed Ebony Test Kitchen.

Known for its vivid colors, psychedelic patterns and distinctive cabinetry, the kitchen became a visual reflection of Ebony magazine’s influence on food, lifestyle and Black culture. Karant photographed the kitchen as part of the larger architectural story of the headquarters. Pasted markdown

“The building was almost like a portrait of Johnson Publishing Company itself,” Karant said. “Even after the people and furnishings were gone, the colors, patterns, textures and spaces still conveyed the creativity, confidence and extraordinary cultural presence of the company.”

The photographs have taken on even greater significance because much of what Karant documented has since disappeared.

Following the building’s conversion, substantial portions of the original interiors were removed. The Ebony Test Kitchen was dismantled and preserved separately, making Karant’s images one of the most extensive visual records of how the headquarters looked during Johnson Publishing Company’s decades on Michigan Avenue. Pasted markdown

The book also includes photographs of sculptor Richard Hunt’s Expansive Construction, a work commissioned for the building’s lobby, as well as images of the company’s in-house photography studio and archival views of the original interiors.

But 820 Ebony/Jet goes beyond architecture.

The book includes a foreword by photography historian Deborah Willis, six scholarly essays and personal reflections from former Johnson Publishing Company employees. Together, the contributions explore the company’s role in Black visual representation, media, photography, art and design, while offering firsthand accounts of what it was like to work inside the building. Pasted markdown

For generations, Ebony and Jet helped shape how Black America saw itself and how the country saw Black America.

The magazines documented everything from politics and the civil rights movement to fashion, entertainment, family life and culture. Johnson Publishing Company also became an influential force in photography, beauty, design and popular culture.

That legacy extended well beyond the pages of its magazines.

The new book examines Johnson Publishing Company’s continuing influence on artists including Theaster Gates, Hank Willis Thomas, Kwame Brathwaite, Lorna Simpson, Martine Syms and David Hartt. Pasted markdown

For Chicago, the book serves as both an architectural record and a cultural archive. It preserves a place where Black entrepreneurship, media, art and design converged at a scale rarely seen before or since.

820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon is available now from MW Editions. The hardcover volume includes 150 photographs and is priced at $65. Pasted markdown

Karant is also scheduled to present the book during Modernism Week at the Palm Springs Art Museum on Feb. 15, 2027, where she will discuss the connection between the Johnson Publishing Company headquarters and the design legacy of Arthur Elrod and William Raiser.

The post Inside 820 S. Michigan: New Book Captures the Lost World of Ebony and Jet appeared first on Chicago Defender.

Based on reporting by Chicago Defender.

Music mogul Percy Miller, better known as Master P, visited Norwood Elementary School on Friday with his mascot sidekick, Captain Ace. (Birmingham City Schools) ”

The sounds of students singing filled Norwood Elementary School Friday morning as teachers dressed in camouflage and students wearing their school colors of green welcomed a special guest whose career has been built on music, entrepreneurship and perseverance.

Before taking the stage at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) Friday night, music mogul and entrepreneur Percy “Master P” Miller spent the morning with Birmingham students, sharing lessons about education, consistency, networking and the importance of refusing to let circumstances determine their futures.

Miller was joined by Captain Ace, the blue-dog mascot and educational character associated with his school visits and assemblies. Together, they turned the celebrity appearance into a lesson centered on positive choices, learning, and believing in one’s potential.

The visit also brought together Birmingham city and school leaders, including Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan and members of the school system’s staff and leadership.

At the conclusion of the assembly, Woodfin and Sullivan presented Miller with a proclamation honoring his visit to Norwood Elementary.

For Miller, however, the morning was less about recognition and more about the children sitting in front of him.

“I love the kids,” Miller told the students. “Even though I got a show, I’m like, no, I got to come and touch the kids because that’s the future.”

Miller said his focus is on what he described as “saving the next generation” and educating young people so they can recognize their potential.

“I want these kids to know that they can fly over all this negative,” he said.

That message became personal when Miller reflected on his own childhood.

He told students he grew up living with his grandparents, who had 12 children. His family lived in a three-bedroom housing project, but Miller said he refused to allow his circumstances to define what was possible for him.

“I didn’t let my condition stop me, and I don’t want you guys to let your condition stop you,” he told the students.

Miller repeatedly returned to the idea that dreams require action.

“There’s no limit to your dreams,” he said, emphasizing that success requires work and that students cannot “cheat the game of life.”

He then asked the students how many of them wanted to be successful. The room responded.

Miller used a familiar example to explain one of his central lessons: McDonald’s.

After asking students what the restaurant sells, he shifted the conversation from hamburgers to consistency.

“McDonald’s is selling consistency,” Miller said.

He explained that a Big Mac is expected to taste the same wherever it is purchased, using that familiarity as an analogy for persistence.

“Keep doing something, not giving up,” he told the students. “Keep chasing your dreams, doing something every day to get that, even when it don’t look like it’s gonna happen.”

“Somebody’s gonna make it big.”

Miller also challenged the students to think about the relationships they are building now. He asked whether they understood what networking means before explaining that the people sitting beside them today could become important figures in their lives tomorrow.

Miller shared a story about a girl he knew when he was in school — someone he said other people did not like or treated negatively. Years later, she became a bank president. When Miller needed a loan, he said, she remembered how kind he had been to her when they were younger.

“You never know who’s gonna be what in here,” Miller said.

He encouraged students to introduce themselves to others, learn their names and treat people well.

“That’s networking,” he said.

For Miller, the lesson went beyond professional connections. He encouraged students to recognize the possibility within one another.

“Who’s gonna be a doctor? Who’s gonna be a lawyer? Who gonna be a teacher?” he asked. “Who gonna be the president of the bank? Who gonna be the mayor? Who gonna be the superintendent?”

Miller said students cannot know where their classmates will end up, which makes how they treat one another today important.

“Somebody’s gonna make it big,” he said. “And it could be all you guys.”

Moments of Celebration

The visit was also filled with moments of celebration. Before Miller addressed the students, Norwood teachers and scholars welcomed him with a robust singalong to “The Affirmation Song,” creating an energetic introduction to the morning’s message.

The appearance of Captain Ace added another layer to the program. The character is part of Miller’s educational work with children, with school assemblies and musical programs addressing topics including anti-bullying, stranger danger and mental health awareness.

Miller said he has spent years making time for young people because he sees them as the future.

The message aligned with the presence of Birmingham’s education and civic leadership throughout the morning. Woodfin and Birmingham City Schools leadership have increasingly emphasized connecting children with educational, enrichment and career opportunities across the city. Earlier this year, the city announced its Children and Youth Commission’s Cradle-to-Career Roadmap, a strategy designed to connect the systems and resources influencing children from early education through adulthood.

For Norwood students, however, the morning offered a more immediate lesson: the opportunity to see someone who built a career from a childhood that did not necessarily predict the future he ultimately created.

As Miller prepared to leave, he encouraged students to keep working, keep learning and keep believing in themselves.

“I kept going,” he told them, reflecting on the people who once told him he would not succeed. “That’s what I want you guys to do. Keep going, no matter what your conditions is. No matter what your environment is.”

Based on reporting by Birmingham Times.