A frank and unflinching discussion of racism, bigotry, and white supremacy in America, distilled through the crucible of biblical teachings, Making It Plain: Deconstructing a Fictitious and Vicious Story About Racism by Ronald S. Bonner offers an essential and thought-provoking perspective on America’s original and most persistent sin.

Regularly drawing on the established wisdom and poignant arguments of thinkers, activists, martyrs, and religious leaders, Bonner’s booming voice joins a chorus of discontent that has rung out for centuries. Beginning with a blunt assessment of the problem, its origins, and the mechanisms by which white supremacy is preserved, the book lays out the historical, anthropological, political, legal, spiritual, and cultural practices that allow racism to flourish uninterrupted. Bonner then focuses on how white Americans are most responsible for solving this problem, given that they are the unconscious beneficiaries and perpetrators.

To eliminate this “cancer of the soul,” he argues for greater awareness and acknowledgment of white privilege, along with active participation in increasing equity and equality, while eliminating judgmental concepts, such as “playing the race card.” He goes on to dismantle notions of color-blindness and a “post-racial America,” identifying these as passive means of accepting the status quo, in addition to exposing other linguistic artifacts and insidious tools that maintain systems of racial oppression.

While there have been freshly published books since the Black Lives Matter movement, few texts have examined America’s perennial inequality through such a compelling religious lens. At the core of Bonner’s argument directed at people of the Christian faith is this simple truth: “Racism, White supremacy, and bigotry are antithetical to Jesus’s teachings about love.” Expounding on that simple fact without proselytizing or linking every argument back to Scripture, the book effectively bridges the gap between faith-based communities and the rest of American culture.

Later chapters offer particularly contemporary critiques and insights, such as Chapter 13’s condemnation of the subjective erasure of non-white existence in emerging AI applications. The numerous references to parallels between LGBTQ and BIPOC experiences also indicate the author’s cutting-edge comprehension of intersectionality and the interlinked nature of marginalized struggle. Pulling back the curtain on the black experience, the author even shares personal struggles and anecdotal examples of bigotry that he encounters, despite being an educated man of the cloth, grounding this entire book in harsh reality.

By highlighting the need to address bigotry in all its forms, rather than focusing on racist missteps of individuals or groups, the text offers a more practical and root-cause strategy for finally eradicating the foundations of white supremacy, which is based on the fictitious premise of superiority, as the subtitle of the book makes clear. Throughout his writing, Bonner’s bold assertions are equally candid, leaving little room for evasive platitudes from readers who might initially bristle at the author’s uncompromising honesty.

As a whole, the book presents a comprehensive case for individual examination and communal accountability regarding supremacist thinking and empowers readers to implement tangible changes in themselves and their communities to overcome America’s enduring national shame.

Book review by Self-Publishing Review

Ron Bonner has brilliantly captured the crux of the matter in his differentiation between racism, White supremacy, and bigotry.  He has, as his title suggests, Making It Plain.  The truth Ron shares is both painful and liberating.  I highly recommend this book for any and all who are interested in deconstructing White supremacy, dismantling racism, and exposing bigotry for what it truly is in this country. 

Anyone ready to have open and frank conversations about the misnomer of race and to begin the difficult work of healing, this book is a tool that can help you on your journey.  It is a must read for White allies.

The Rev. Dr. M. Wyvetta Bullock (She/Her), Executive for Administration, Office of the Presiding Bishop, ELCA

Bonner confronts and analyzes racism and white supremacy through the lens of Scripture.

The author, a Black pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, makes use of biblical references and quotes from other thinkers to make familiar points about the dangers of bigotry, racial segregation, and white supremacism. He describes ways in which white supremacist concepts enchant their adherents by making them feel superior to their neighbors, and notes that even those who don’t subscribe to such ideas may be averse to talking about bigotry and the effects of slavery: “A common thought about slavery by those who don’t want to discuss racism is that it was a long time ago, and there is nothing that we can do about it now.” Nevertheless, he asserts that it’s imperative to have frank conversations on such subjects to search for common ground. He refers to this process as “restorative harmony”: recreating balance in the world by risking present-day stability to make future improvements.

He calls for readers to break down social barriers by pursuing friendships with people unlike themselves and argues that notions of colorblindness or a “post-racial” America are signs of complacency, or merely an illusion in a society whose power structures are firmly grounded in white supremacist ideology. He also makes a case for financial reparations for descendants of the enslaved, arguing that slavery played a profound role in transforming the United States into an economic juggernaut. Bonner also touches on contemporary examples of police brutality and the impact such incidents have had on Black people.

Overall, the book’s heavy reliance on direct quotes from famous figures and appeals to authority may make it difficult for readers to discern the author’s voice from those of the thinkers that have inspired him. However, the key ideas in the book are standard talking points in contemporary progressive Christian theological writing; they’re likely to be well-received by a readership already attuned to mainline Protestant social teaching, and, to that end, the book is arranged for church discussion groups with review questions at the end of each chapter.

An earnest, biblically informed critique of racism that will appeal to a Christian readership.

Kirkus Review

Making it Plain by Ron Bonner, does just that in defining racism and offering a means to its demise! His reflection on institutional racism was extremely helpful, specifically the role that pedagogy plays in undergirding racism. “One of the major ingredients in the formation of white supremacy is enabling a pedagogy of systems of beliefs that concluded that White people were superior to other people”. 

This may be seen in the current revolt regarding teaching the Critical race theory to students and removing Black contributions from museums.  The author has presented in clarity examples of how the current White leadership has profited from the emergence of overt racism. 

This book is valuable for those who want to move from conversation towards action, by offering a concrete way to end racism. It could be used in anti-racist classes in seminaries, universities, and colleges, as well as in small groups as a foundation to begin the work of creating a non-racist nation, which would be the greatest gift we could leave for future generations.

Dr. Rev. Julia Brown Karimu, Former President of the Division of Overseas Ministries and Co-Executive of Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

Reading Making It Plain was like finding water to drink in a desert.

At this moment of our national life, where white supremacy and racism have become the guiding principles that are driving national policy, Dr. Bonner has provided a gift for how to navigate through this ugly morass.

This is a Book for everyone who lives in a nation impacted by white supremacy and racism.

And as challenging as these twin evils are we are not without a solution.

The solution lies in building friendships across racial lines; the author describes these friendships as heretical. You’ll have to read the Book to find out what he means by that term.

As I was reading, I found myself engaged in deep conversation with every chapter.

It is well written, anecdotal, scholarly, and challenging.

Read this Book with an open mind and find the courage to enter into the work of becoming an anti-racist.

Kenneth W. Wheeler, retired ELCA pastor, Author of US: The Resurrection of American Terror

Ronald Bonner’s Making it Plain is a clear, powerful exploration of racism, bigotry, and white supremacy from the intersection of faith with justice and a lived experience.

Bonner’s prophetic witness calls a thing what it is and doesn’t stop there. Naming bigotry as our “spiritual heart disease” and challenges, while equipping readers to take up the urgent gospel work of dismantling racism and bigotry.

This resource is the tool kit that provides for common ground communication that is crucial to we are as the people of God and needed now more than ever in this deeply polarized culture.

The Rev. Dr. Kevin L. Strickland, Bishop of the Southeastern Synod, ELCA

Ron Bonner’s latest work (Making It Plain) is a both helpful and hopeful addition to recent literature on America’s long struggle with racism. It is helpful in that in this volume, Bonner continues, deepens, and expands our thinking about racism, bigotry, White privilege, equity, equality, reparations, and the like. Using his own personal experience as well as

American history, current events, and the words of myriad authors and leaders, he helps open the White reader’s eyes to the reality of the Black experience in America in a way that is thorough, honest, and open.

The book is hopeful in that Bonner leads us beyond the normal name-calling and denial toward building a community of mutual truth-telling, honesty, integrity, and respect that, he assures us, leads to a place of trust and, ultimately, to what he calls “restorative harmony,” the place of healing we have long needed.

The Rev. Dr. H. Julian Gordy Bishop Emeritus, of the Southeastern Synod, ELCA