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by Dominique DuBois Gilliard (Afterword by), Michelle Ferrigno Warren (Author), Latasha Morrison (Foreword by)
An awakening has been happening across our society. People increasingly recognize how long-standing, systemic issues have prevented many from flourishing. But often Christians are not sure how best to engage. Does it help to marchand hold signs? What can we do to contribute and not further complicate things?
Faith-rooted justice advocate and activist Michelle Ferrigno Warren equips Christians to join Christ's restorative work in the world. In nearly three decades of experience, she left much of her privilege to work alongside the poor and marginalized in the restoration of individuals and communities, collaborating with community leaders, marching in streets, and meeting with and speaking truth to power. She says, "How you show up is just as important as showing up." From the grassroots to the grass tops, Warren invites us to understand our place in this moment and learn from those who have gone before: the poets and prophets who call us to resist oppression and injustice.
Biblical, historical, and contemporary examples give us ways to walk in God's righteousness, truth, and peace. We can better understand our shared solidarity, persevere in the midst of struggle, bring people along, and remain rooted in joy as we continue the good work of kingdom justice.
Author Biography
Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the director of racial righteousness and reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He serves on the boards of directors for the Christian Community Development Association and Evangelicals for Justice. In 2015, he was selected as one of the ECC's "40 Under 40" leaders to watch, and the Huffington Post named him one of the "Black Christian Leaders Changing the World." An ordained minister, Gilliard hasserved in pastoral ministry in Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. He was executive pastor of New Hope Covenant Church in Oakland, California and also served in Oakland as the associate pastor of Convergence Covenant Church. He was also the campus minister at North Park University and the racial righteousness director for ECC's ministry initiatives in the Pacific Southwest Conference. With articles published in the CCDA Theology Journal, The Covenant Quarterly, and Sojourners, Gilliard has also blogged for Christianity Today, Faith & Leadership, Red Letter Christians, Do Justice, and The Junia Project. He earned a bachelor's degree in African American Studies from Georgia State University and a master's degree in history from East Tennessee State University, with an emphasis on race, gender, and class in the United States. He also earned an MDiv from North Park Seminary, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Christian ethics, theology, and reconciliation.
Michelle Ferrigno Warren is the president and CEO of Virago Strategies, a consulting group that provides strategic direction and project management for civic engagement campaigns alongside communities impacted by racial and economic injustice. Shehelped found Open Door Ministries, a community development 501(c)(3) corporation in downtown Denver, to address poverty, addiction, and homelessness through social programs. With policy expertise in economic justice and human service issues, she hasserved as advocacy and strategic engagement director for the Christian Community Development Association and done coalition work with the National Immigration Forum. Warren is a senior fellow with the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute and adjunct faculty at Denver Seminary. She and her husband live in Denver's Westside neighborhood and have three adult children. She is the author of The Power of Proximity.
