Let Justice Roll Down
by John Perkins
Published by Regal Books
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Reviewed by Debra Kiefat
Let Justice Roll Down is a powerful testimony to what can happen if one person has the courage to combine evangelism with social activism. John Perkins is one of our living heroes of the civil rights era who walked into the wilderness of racism and ignorance to minister to the poor and speak on the issues of racial reconciliation.
Growing up in a family of sharecroppers and bootleggers in Mississippi, John learned hard lessons about economic disparity and exploitation at an early age. Although these experiences were leading him toward black separatism, a total anti-white position, God stepped in and showed him the beauty of Christianity through his wife and children and his pastor at Bethlehem Church of Christ Holiness in California. It was here that a transformation of John's heart and soul occurred and he said YES to Jesus Christ.
John was led back to Mississippi to share the gospel and help black people find equality through voter registration, leadership training, church activities, Bible classes and housing co-ops. He became a lightening rod of discontent to a white community who resented his efforts to close the divide between the races. In 1970 John participated in a peaceful demonstration calling for desegregation of all public facilities, including schools, which ended with an arrest on trumped up charges. John was beaten severely for hours before bail was raised to release him. Yet it was though this experience that he saw for the first time how racism was a sickness that some people (black and white) used to feel important--as if to confirm they mattered.
The legal road of Perkins v. State of Mississippi was long and laborious. Through it all John prayed more than ever for God's strength not only for the ability to get through the legal ordeal but to do so as a man who could stand for righteousness without bitterness or vindictiveness.
Mr. Perkins writes this treasure as if he were speaking to you in your living room. I truly enjoyed reading this book as I became acquainted with one of America's profound evangelists who realized that man's solution to racism was spiritual. The mysterious truth that black or white, we all need to be born again.
Armchair Interviews says: Powerful message--a great read.