In liberation movements, stories shape our stamina. They remind us who we are, from whom we come, and why the work matters. Today’s Belief Behind the Book celebrates Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love: Reflections on Blackness and Teaching Peace by the brilliant Regina Shands Stoltzfus.
Shands Stoltzfus is a scholar and truth-teller whose life’s work sits at the intersection of anti-racism, peacebuilding and faith-rooted justice.
Belief Behind the Book is a feature that gives readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the beliefs behind books written by progressive spiritual leaders. Inspired by the Ministry from the Margins Books program, Belief Behind the Book shines a spotlight on why authors write the books they write, offering practical tips readers can apply to their own belief systems.
How do we sustain resistance to oppression and the work of liberation in a world marked by longstanding anti-Blackness and unrelenting injustice? Writing from the lens of a Black woman and drawing on decades of teaching and scholarship in peace studies, theology, and ethics, Regina Shands Stoltzfus reflects on what it means to remain engaged for the long haul.
Attentive to history, trauma, and the sustaining power of community, she names both the weariness and the hope that shape justice work. This book invites readers to consider how resilience, care and collective vision can make transformation possible.
Regina Shands Stoltzfus is an academic, author, and advocate focusing on social justice and peace through an anti-racist lens. She is a professor at Goshen College, teaching in the Religion, Justice, and Society department. Her work centers on anti-racism, conflict transformation, restorative justice and the intersections of faith and social change.
Shands Stoltzfus has contributed to various publications addressing racial justice from a faith-based perspective. She is also a public speaker and workshop facilitator.
When asked why she wrote this book, Regina responded, “This book was born from my lived experience as a Black woman shaped by many streams of struggle and imagination. My mother and teachers raised me on the voices of liberation traditions like Black Freedom movements, the Harlem Renaissance, feminist thinkers, and others. I began integrating practices of self- and community-preservation into my peace and justice studies classes, and this book is also an outgrowth of those practices.”
Continuing, she added what practical steps readers can find within the pages, saying, “I want readers to know and remember that justice work stretches across generations, and we need to be grounded in community and practices that help us stay the course.”
In a society shaped by generations of anti-Blackness and ongoing injustice, Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love offers more than reflection. It provides a roadmap.
Shands Stoltzfus calls us to remember that work for liberation is collective work. It is sustained by history, imagination and communities committed to care. Her words challenge us to stay rooted, to refuse despair, and to practice a love robust enough to transform the world.
May we receive this book as a companion for the long journey—one that honors the weariness, nurtures resilience and grounds us in radical hope.
And as we read, may we ask ourselves: What practices will help us stay the course? Whose liberation are we committed to? And how might we embody a love fierce enough to resist and tender enough to rebuild?
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Award-winning author of ten books, including The Authorpreneur Handbook. Founder and CEO of Tehom Center Publishing, a nonprofit press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. Rev. Dr. Yarber’s work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, NPR, The Advocate, Ms. Magazine, the television show Tiny House Nation, and more. She travels the world speaking, preaching, publishing, and writing, but she can always be found at www.tehomcenter.org
