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John M. Perkins
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Let Justice Roll Down Kindle Edition

by John M. Perkins (Author), Shane Claiborne (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 457 ratings
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His brother died in his arms, shot by a deputy marshal. He was beaten and tortured by the sheriff and state police. But through it all he returned good for evil, love for hate, progress for prejudice, and brought hope to black and white alike. The story of John Perkins is no ordinary story. Rather, it is a gripping portrayal of what happens when faith thrusts a person into the midst of a struggle against racism, oppression, and injustice. It is about the costs of discipleship--the jailings, the floggings, the despair, the sacrifice. And it is about the transforming work of faith that allowed John to respond to such overwhelming indignities with miraculous compassion, vision, and hope.
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  1. Print length
    219 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Baker Books
  5. Publication date
    December 6, 2006
  6. Grade level
    7 - 5
  7. File size
    1700 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The true story of a Civil Rights legend

Despite progress, it's no secret that when it comes to social justice, we have a long way to go. This generation is ready to roll up our sleeves and do the work! But if we don't know where we've been, it's hard to see a clear path to where we're going.

That's where this book comes in. It's the true story of Civil Rights leader John M. Perkins, and it will inspire you to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in the face of radical social change.

Despite jailings, beatings, loss of loved ones, and great personal sacrifice, John's faith allowed him to return good for evil, love for hate, and progress for prejudice as he brought hope to Black and white alike. His story shows us how we can join the fight against inequality and respond to opposition with compassion, vision, and hope.

About the Author

JOHN PERKINS has ministered among the poor for 40 years. He founded Mendenhall Ministries, Voice of Calvary Ministries and the Harambee Christian Family Center and Preparatory School and was cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association. He was the publisher of Urban Family Magazine and author of nine books. Despite dropping out of school after the third grade, he holds 8 honorary doctorates recognizing his outstanding leadership in racial reconciliation and Christian community development.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LH631WK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Baker Books (December 6, 2006)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 6, 2006
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1700 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B003156G6I
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 457 ratings

About the author

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John M. Perkins

John M. Perkins

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John M. Perkins is a sharecropper’s son who grew up in New Hebron, Mississippi amidst dire poverty. Fleeing to California at age 17 after his older brother’s murder at the hands of a town marshal, he vowed never to return. However after converting to Christianity in 1960 he returned to Mendenhall, Mississippi to share the gospel of Christ. While in Mississippi, his outspoken nature and support and leadership in civil rights demonstrations resulted in repeated harassment, beatings and imprisonment. He again was arrested in 2005 year while protesting in Washington D.C. against U. S. Government defunding of programs aiding the poor.

In Mendenhall, Perkins and his wife, Vera Mae, founded Voice of Calvary Ministries. This Christian community development ministry started a church, health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development, and training center. From this ministry, other development projects started in the neighboring towns of Canton, New Hebron and Edwards. Philip K. Reed, the previous pastor of Voice of Calvary Fellowship, has assumed the leadership of this dynamic ministry.

In 1982, the Perkins family returned to California and lived in the city of Pasadena where Perkins and his wife founded Harambee Christian Family Center in Northwest Pasadena, a neighborhood that had one of the highest daytime crime rates in California. Harambee is yet standing, running numerous programs including after school tutoring, Good News Bible Clubs, an award-winning technology center, summer day camp, youth internship programs, and a college scholarship program.

In 1983, while yet in California, Perkins and his wife, along with a few friends and other major supporters, established the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation & Development, Inc for the sole purpose of supporting their mission of advancing the principles of Christian community development and racial reconciliation throughout the world.

His many books include the memiors "Love is the Final Fight", "Follow Me to Freedom," "Welcoming Justice," the autobiography "Let Justice Roll Down", "With Justice for All", "A Quiet Revolution" and "Linking Arms, Linking Lives".

Visit www.jmpf.org for more information

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
457 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael Roach
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent review of lifes struggles, failures and ultimate success batteling prejudice and inequality in the evil "old south"
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Being born and raised in the South I am not surprised what Dr. Perkins and his Brothers and Sisters in Christ went through. Unfortunately I was raised in a home full of blind prejudice and ignorance toward anyone who was not a (W.A.S.P.) White Anglo Saxon Protestant. For some unknown reason, neither my sister nor I were like the rest of the family. We were accepting of all races, religions and creeds. I believe that had to do with our sense of fairness, treating everyone with dignity respect, and taking people for who their are in their hearts and for their personal beliefs. I thank My God in Heaven that I am not like the rest of my family.
Now we all have some prejudice, but it comes down to how each of us handles situations we are in with others different from ourselves. You always get back what you give out. I definitely believe in reciprocity. My feelings of fairness and equality were strengthened as a young man in the bush in South Vietnam. A bullet knows no difference and we all bleed red.
During my career, I reached a level of management responsibility in the service industry and had to make decisions that affected many peoples employment and livelihood. This is the part of the service industry where most employees are minorities. This is really where the rubber meets the road. Almost daily I was challenged to treat everyone with the dignity and respect they earned. Dignity and respect must be earned, it's not something that is given freely regardless of who someone is or where they come from. Many people, when confronted with something they have done wrong will play that sad old "race card". My stock answer was always, "I'm sorry you feel that way. I will pray for you". Then again, I do not believe today with all the skewed political correctness in the world, I probably could not tell someone I was going to pray for them without getting into more hot water.
What strength and fortitude Dr. Perkins showed when confronted with the evil of old southern mentality. I applaud him for taking what was probably the worst time in his life and turning it into something positive and productive. Like Jesus said, "It's not the well that need a physician, it's the sick that need help"! Truthfully, I shed many tears when reading his book and though I will never be able to relate to what young black man felt I do have compassion for him and his tenacity to make something good out of something truly evil.
I have already recommended this book to several friends. I hope the read it and get Dr. Perkins deeply moving and personal message.
MHR
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Donny
5.0 out of 5 stars A great profile.
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2020
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This book gives a picture of one man's experience growing up in the Deep South, Mississippi, in the 40's, 50's and beyond and the part he has played and the impact he has made and is still making today in the fight for racial equality and social justice. Being born in the south, myself, in the 50's, and growing up in the 60's, I can very much relate to all that he describes: 'coloreds' living 'across the tracks', 'white's only' water fountains and a separate fountain for 'coloreds', integration of the schools and all of the inequalities and injustice that was a part of this era and much of which still continues today. As a Man of God, John Perkins takes the approach that there is only one way to really achieve the equality and justice being sought, and that is walking with God. It is also an indictment of the 'Christian Church' in America and how the church has been largely MIA in this fight. And he is not wrong. I so admire him and his work and the work of so many that have given all, up to and including their actual 'lives'. If you are at all interested in true equality for all men regardless of skin color, this is a must read as a background piece. He has other books that pick up where this leaves off. Very timely and pertinent to where we are as a nation today.
5 people found this helpful
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Harvey
5.0 out of 5 stars An Education as to why some black folks are so angry, and what can be done about it.
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2017
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The first time I read this book was around 1988 while I was working on a Master's Degree in Social Work. Then, recently my cousin who is a church-planting missionary asked me to read some books for him and report back on them because he is too busy to read everything he thinks he should read. One of those books is "Generous Justice" by Tim Keller, on God's view of how we should relate justly with one another.
Reading that reminded me of "Let Justice Roll Down," so I downloaded both the Kindle and audio version so I could listen to it as I read it.
Having been raised in small-town North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska I'd had no association with anyone but white people. I didn't understand -- or appreciate -- racism because I'd never experienced it. The first time I'd ever seen a black person was when I was about three years old attending a baseball game in Omaha. Upon seeing a black man I pointed at him and said, "Look, Mom, there's a chocolate man."
So in graduate school the whole concept of racism was confusing to me. How could members of one race think they were somehow better than members of a different race? I simply saw everyone as members of the human race.
I somehow heard about John M Perkins and read his book. Of course I'd heard of slavery in early America, but I'd thought those attitudes of white superiority had long since dissipated. I was wrong.
John Perkins was writing as a Christian, so we were on the same team. As a fellow believer, I trusted what I was hearing from him. Like learning about war by watching the landing of our troops on Omaha beach by watching "Saving Private Ryan," I've learned something of racism by reading "Let Justice Roll Down." I watched the movie and read the book "at a safe distance," but that was probably as close as I was going to get to either war or racism. But that racism was a reality. It is interesting that Perkins noted near the end of the book that, had the tables been turned and blacks had been in power over white people, they would probably have treated white people just as badly as whites had been treating blacks in his experience -- because human hearts are evil. While he had every reason to hate white people (even white Christians -- who weren't acting very "Christianly" -- God gave him the ability to love white people by seeing that Jesus had been treated every bit as unfairly as he had been -- even to the point of going through a rigged trial and crucifixion, yet forgiving those who had wronged him -- that, following Christ's example, Perkins was able to love the white people who had persecuted him. Perkins built up what I call an "infrastructure of justice" by bringing education, businesses and clinics to his community and giving his community hope. He has become a leader in black/white reconciliation.
I highly encourage white folks to read this book to get some sense of where the angry blacks are coming from, and those black folks who are angry (not all of them are) to read this to learn how people can become reconciled to each other.
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Top reviews from other countries

lenny prune
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on July 24, 2020
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This book should be required reading for every white person in North America. The author describes horrific incidences of physical harm and injustices he experienced during his upbringing and later life in Mississippi. Being a man a piece and religion it is amazing how he suffers yet finds within himself the ability to forgive. This is a very timely book given the current divisive political situation in the U.S. I highly recommend it.
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Arun
4.0 out of 5 stars Questions some things you've always overlooked
Reviewed in India on April 5, 2016
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This is a book that describes how a man who believed in the gospel and applied it in the most practical way, loved so much as to bring on change in his black vs white community. He truly lived the life of justice and fairness as described in the book of Amos - something that we all need to think about
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v m quick
5.0 out of 5 stars let justice roll down
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2014
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Wonderful book and very poignant, I met John Perkins 40 years ago, so it was so good to read his story again and still feel angry and the injustice
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Oyin
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful eye-opener
Reviewed in Canada on May 28, 2017
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As one investing in understanding North American society from a cultural standpoint; this is a powerful anthropology that exposes the deep wounds that have shaped today's society especially with regards to race relations.
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JB Norwich
4.0 out of 5 stars Triumph in Adversity
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2008
Verified Purchase
This is a compelling record of a community's battle against racism in 60's America. As so much of our view of this battle is focussed unsuprisingly on Martin Luther King, we may fail to recognise the many leaders in the black communities who fought for the same cause. This account is told through the eyes of John Perkins who, fueled by his faith, helped to lead a protest against injustice and racism, and along with his friends, was then imprisoned and beaten up by the police. What made it more compelling for me was that it is focussed on a community and not a national picture. It opens your eyes to what happened to individuals and families - it makes it a human story as opposed to 'history'. I thoroughly recommend it. Shane Claiborne writes a few pages at the beginning introducing the book.
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