Our Trespasses at 6 Months
I was hoping to piss more people off
Today marks six months since the release of Our Trespasses, and, for what it’s worth, my 45th birthday. Over the last six months, I’ve presented the work more than two dozen times in person and on Zoom, been on 10 podcasts, and preached half a dozen sermons. Fine, I’ve preached one sermon six times, but it’s a good one. We’ve sold out two printings of the book. It’s all been pretty incredible, and there’s still much more to come. My fall calendar is full to the point I’m not sure I can manage it. I have two short books tours planned in October, about which more below.
There are plenty of places for growth as well. Most of the book sales have been local to Charlotte, as have all the reviews been. Author friends and my editor keep reminding me that books have long lives. There’s plenty of time, and reason to be hopeful. The reviews will come. Folks outside Mecklenburg County will take notice.
At this marker since the book’s release, I’m mostly grateful. So much good has happened. A couple of times, people have approached me with copies of the book looking like this:
A number of congregations are doing deep dives into their own histories, in part motivated by my work. I’ve gotten a slew of text messages and emails from people talking about their personal conversions, and how Our Trespasses has encouraged and troubled them along the way.
But there’s something I’ve been waiting for that has not arrived: angry emails and irate phone calls. The closest I’ve come is this one Amazon review:
I started researching and writing the work that became the book out of intense curiosity. I was driven to dig into my city, especially one seemingly unremarkable spot on the map that I think helps to explain America. I wanted to understand something about myself and the faith that won’t let go of me, even when I’ve sometimes wanted to let go of it. I want some measure of justice for my neighbors, and for myself, a city to live in that’s not so terribly bland.
In other words, I was not aiming to make enemies. But the process included resurrecting old ghosts. When you do that, folks get upset. If you do it well, some people get really upset. So, I was hoping to really piss more people off. I was anticipating more than a few upset emails and phone calls, which I would have taken as a sign of good work. Healing is not a painless process. Our Trespasses goes to great lengths to outline the scars across the American landscape. The only hope for healing comes through remembering the scars.
As Chanequa Walker-Barnes writes in the foreword, “There are no easy solutions here, and… Greg doesn’t pretend to offer any. What he does offer is an example of how to remember. And somewhere in the memory, there is hope. It is tempting to look at the sin of urban renewal and to throw our hands up in despair, thinking that the sin is too big and the wound too deep to repair. But the story of the Brooklyn community shows us the power of Whiteness to literally move an entire neighborhood. If that can be done in the name of injustice, surely it could be done in the name of justice.”
For now, I’ve been ignored in a lot of places I hoped to get a hearing. There’s still a lot of silence where there could be memory. But books have long lives; there’s still time.
Fall Schedule and Book Tours:
I’ve noted a few gaps below. If you know folks in those areas, connect me!
September 8: Preaching and Presenting at Holy Covenant UCC, Charlotte
September 10: Redress Movement presents “Lineages of Displacement, Legacies of Power” at Friendship Missionary Baptist, Charlotte.
September 15: Preaching at Caldwell Presbyterian Church, Charlotte
September 15: Jazz and Justice with Carolina Social Music Club, Elkin, NC
September 22: Carolina Social Music Club at Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte
September 29: Charlotte’s Haunted Future Walking Tour. Email me for details and potential space.
September 30: Preyer Lecture, Queens University of Charlotte
October 3-4: Christian Community Development Association Conference, Portland, OR
October 4-5: Space available in Portland and surrounding area - contact me for booking.
October 6: Preaching at Fremont UMC, Portland, OR
October 20: Preaching at Woodbrook Baptist Church, Baltimore
October 20 (evening): Forum with Rev. Mia McClain, Riverside Baptist, Washington, DC
October 21: Available in Northern VA/DC/Maryland
October 22: Snug Books, Baltimore
October 23: Philadelphia, with University City Historical Society
October 24: Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, NY
October 25-27: Available in Greater NYC area.
One Last Note: This wild mixed-meter big band chart has been back in rotation at my house lately. It was a highlight of my music school days at Appalachian State.