Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey

I recommend this book highly for church discussion groups around issues of race and ethnicity. I have looked at several other books in this genre, and they don’t come close to this one in terms of overall fairness. The discussion questions at the end of the chapters, and Author Shin’s consistently peaceful tone, make it ideal for this purpose. Her desire for real reconciliation also shines through, often movingly. She is also to be commended for sincerely asking us to consider not just the weaknesses, but also the strengths of people from all ethnic backgrounds.However, by discussing how people from diverse ethnic backgrounds tend to behave in different social and regional settings, it raises larger questions of culture. These are handled with less skill, perhaps due to some of the author’s understandable and predictable biases. (These do not detract from its usefulness, they just need to be held in the mind of the reader and discussion group member.) She mentions her residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also the election of 2016. Cambridge reported a Democrat to Republican vote ratio of 14:1 in that election, while the nationwide ratio was nearly even at 1.05:1. Working and thinking in such a context (living between Harvard and MIT, as she puts it, and having a graduate degree from the latter institution) should have made her more aware of her biases. For example, she mentions banks and “redlining” as a lamentable form of racial discrimination, but fails to mention suppression of charter schools and school choice, an arguably greater barrier to minority success in the 21st century. The bibliography strongly reflects this bias, with no mention of black conservatives and moderates such as economist and author Thomas Sowell, Ph.D., or the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Surely a renowned economist with degrees from Harvard, Columbia and Chicago deserves some mention in a book that makes bold claims about the persistence of economic injustice. . . yet the author only mentions her own Masters in Urban Planning.Nonetheless, I’m glad I read this book, and hope to update my review after our church finishes its discussion, using this helpful and hopeful book.

As a Korean American who grew up in the US hearing plenty of “Konichiwa” (hello in Japanese), “What’s up Jackie Chan” and “Where are you really from?” while also recognizing my own prejudices and biases in my day-to-day life, I’ve felt that it is oftentimes easier to disengage with the topic of race especially in today’s political and racial climate. As I grew up I came to realize that this temporary solution of becoming “colorblind” is actually the dominant culture today.In “Beyond Colorblind” Sarah Shin points out the danger of following this flow and challenges us to follow God’s heart of recognizing the beauty that lies within every one of our heritages. We need to understand how to highlight and cherish our identities yet be sensitive and gracious at the same time in order to love each other fully and be reconciled through and with God.The book highlights numerous conversations and situations that we all have experienced (or probably will sometime) in the context of our churches, campuses, or work settings, which easily drew me in to examine my own gut reactions and thoughts. There is a large amount of historical context given in the book along with instruction on navigating the topic of race and justice, yet the book is also firmly rooted in the scripture. The author notes the multiple times in the Bible that highlights racial tension between the many nations (the Samaritan woman at the well, early church's possible split in Acts 6, etc) and the ways God uses his covenant in the Old Testament and Jesus and the early church in the New Testament.I particularly enjoyed Chapter 3 “The Cracks in Our Ethnicity” as it laid out the need to recognize our brokenness to confess, lament and repent so that we can name these cracks and start the healing process, even if it may be a difficult one. Chapter 6 "Trust-building with Ethnic Strangers" was also insightful as it went through the concrete ways to converse with others about their ethnic identities in appropriate and empowering ways.It’s clear through the author’s numerous personal stories that she’s been a bridge-builder to those around her. I’m thankful that this book exists not only to share those testimonies with the reader but also to equip and encourage us to do the same whoever and wherever we are. I hope to be part of this healing movement as well.