“As the drumbeat for racial justice reverberates throughout the United States, Willie Francois charts a course for faithful followers of Christ to move from silent complicity with racism to prophetic resistance. Weaving historical facts, communal witness, and personal experience, Francois calls us to ready our hearts, hands, and minds to usher in a new rhythm for our nation—a rhythm that moves us faithfully toward liberty and justice for all.”—Leah Gunning Francis, vice president for academic affairs and dean, Christian Theological Seminary

“With analytical clarity, powerful prose, and a moral-theological vision from which the reader cannot look away, Willie Dwayne Francois III offers Christians and, indeed, the church a book that wakes us up and cuts through the static. Silencing White Noise is as practical and clear as it is prophetic and courageous; it provides next steps to get—and keep—us moving in the direction on which our lives depend.”—Jennifer Harvey, associate provost of equity and inclusion, Drake University; author of Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation

“Willie Francois III is one of the brightest and most exciting intellectual lights of his generation. In Silencing White Noise, he delves into the morass of racial myths that serve to obscure the destructive everyday effects of white supremacy on the lives of Black folks. But just as important, he proposes humane, well-informed solutions to America’s racial dilemma. Utilizing insights ranging from contemporary philosophy to theological ruminations to commonsense street logic to well contextualized biblical wisdom, this is a brilliant contribution by a brilliant man of biblical faith to the struggle to make America a truly just and humane society.”—Obery M. Hendricks Jr., author of Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith

“An unflinching look at how the white noise of racism keeps us stalled out on the road to a true multiracial democracy and a call to cultivate practices that can get us moving. Francois carefully unpacks how to unlearn racialized habits of mind and replace them with habits of imagination, introspection, and advocacy: the very habits he exemplifies as a preacher, a writer, and a Black church leader. An exquisite blend of theology, storytelling, and history, Silencing White Noise is a necessary book.”—Stephanie Paulsell, Susan Shallcross Swartz Professor of the Practice of Christian Studies, Harvard Divinity School

“Calling us home to an ethic rooted in the transformative love of inclusion, this work shows us what is possible when we dream a world with goodness and mercy as its core. In Silencing White Noise, Francois demonstrates why he is one of the most important pastoral voices of our generation.”—Candice Marie Benbow, author of Red Lip Theology