Baylor Libraries Author Series Features New Books on James Baldwin and White Supremacy

Greg Garrett, the Carole Ann McDaniel Hanks Chair of Literature & Culture at Baylor University, and Robert P. Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, will converse about race, history, and James Baldwin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5 in the Schumaker Flex Commons on the first floor of Moody Memorial Library on the campus of Baylor University. This event is free, open to the public, and will also be broadcast via Zoom Webinar. A light reception and book signing will follow.

During their conversation Garrett and Jones will engage their latest publications, which both release in September, as they discuss issues of religion, race and identity in America.

“Robert P. Jones is one of the most important voices in America on white supremacy,” Garrett said. “We hope that talking together about our two new books might inspire more attention to the roots of white supremacy, to the importance of telling the truth about America’s past, and to faithful possibilities for racial healing.”

Garrett has served as a professor of creative writing, film, literature, and theology at Baylor since Fall 1989. His latest book, “The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us About Life, Love, and Identity,” focuses on the writings of James Baldwin and his themes of equity, social justice and reconciliation.

“As Baylor seeks to be a national thought-leader on racial reconciliation, programs like this one and the February Racism in the Church event are essential markers,” Garrett said. “Robert P. Jones was one of our keynotes for the first racism program, and it’s a joy to bring him back to Baylor to discuss his latest research.”

Jones regularly writes on politics, culture and religion. His new release, “The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future,” focuses on Christianity-related white supremacy in the United States dating back to 1493. While examining modern cases in Mississippi, Minnesota and Oklahoma, he looks toward these communities as models of racial repair in the church.

This conversation is the third event in the Baylor Libraries Author Series, which features recent publications selected by the Dean of Libraries, Museums, and the Press at Baylor University, Jeffrey Archer, that are written by Baylor faculty or others affiliated with the university.

“The Baylor Libraries are pleased to welcome Greg Garrett and Robert P. Jones as part of our ongoing author series,” said Archer. “Their works model the academic and public conversations we must civilly engage in, embracing the difficulties in American history in regard to race, together finding shared pathways forward toward reconciliation.”

Visit library.web.baylor.edu/authorseries for more information, publicity materials to help spread the word, and a link to register for the Zoom Webinar for those unable to attend in person.