This book for Gen Z helps young Christians talk about race

A powerful new guide from Ben Lindsay reimagines his bestselling book for younger readers – equipping them to face racism with faith, courage and compassion, says our reviewer

Ben Lindsay’s We Need to Talk… About Race: Christian Faith and Racial Justice – A Young Person’s Guide (SPCK Publishing) delivers fully on the promise of its title, and beyond. Building on his 2019 book We Need To Talk About Race: Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches Paperback (SPCK Publishing) which explored the intersection of Christianity and racial justice for a general audience, this edition reimagines that message for a younger generation. It is a pastoral hand extended to the next wave of readers, balancing hard truths with the spiritual nourishment and fortitude needed to confront a highly racialised world.

This book is not just for young people of colour. Lindsay’s approach is refreshingly inclusive, inviting all readers to see the realities of institutional, structural, interpersonal and internalised racism not as abstract concepts, but as forces at work in schools, churches, youth clubs and everyday encounters.

His framework, “The Four Dimensions of Racism”, is particularly helpful in breaking down how prejudice operates: from individual acts of bias to structural systems that perpetuate inequality. The clarity with which Lindsay defines these terms makes the book accessible to newcomers while still offering depth for seasoned readers.

Lindsay places lived experience at the centre, offering personal accounts alongside historical, theological and scientific insight. Through interviews with young Black Christians — MOBO-winning rapper and author Guvna B, drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso of Ezra Collective (Brit Award Group of the Year 2025), and footballer Eberechi Eze, recently signed to Arsenal — Lindsay places lived experience at the centre, grounding theological, historical, and scientific insight.

These stories make the theory tangible. Guvna B’s recollection of being harassed by three white men, one of whom threw coffee in his face and