California Pastor's Book Confronts Christianity's Racial History

JP Foster, pastor of a predominantly Black church in Inglewood, California, published "The Gospel and My Black Skin: Confronting the Past, Reclaiming the Future" in May 2026, adding to a growing body of work by Black Christian leaders defending the faith to skeptical audiences.

Foster wrote the book after years of street evangelism in predominantly Black neighborhoods, where he found the most common objection to Christianity was the difficulty of reconciling Black identity with a faith historically used to justify slavery and oppression.

The book unpacks Scripture's misuse to justify slavery, including the so-called "slave Bible" that removed passages about freedom. It also examines religious justifications for white supremacy, Southern evangelicals' resistance to the Civil Rights Movement, and current calls for racial justice in churches.

Foster highlights Christianity's African origins, pointing to early theologians like Tertullian, Athanasius, and Augustine, who were shaped by African soil. "Over time, as European scholars curated the story of the church, they centered Rome and sidelined Africa," he wrote.

Christianity Today reviewer Haleluya Hadero, the publication's Black church editor, called the book critical yet hopeful. She noted that Foster argues for biblical unity while offering limited practical steps for resolving systemic issues like mass incarceration, redlining, or reparations.

Foster's personal stories add depth to the argument. He recounts his brother embracing the Nation of Islam and a tense police stop, as well as a mentor's failed inter-community reconciliation efforts.

"The danger of only seeing the bad news is this: If I let the distortion define my faith, I might miss the real Jesus," Foster wrote. "I refuse to give anybody that kind of power over my faith."