From Hate to Hallows

“Todne Thomas’s masterful work helps us understand the history and the social implications of the desecration of black sacred spaces and what that says about race and religion in America. She argues that how black people interpret the story should be central to how the story is understood, and her exceptional analysis and insights add a rare depth to our thinking about the psychic and social consequences of anti-black religious violence.” - Marla Frederick, Dean at Harvard Divinity School

“This book takes you deep. Read it. Come to understand the power of that which some try to burn down. Learn through its pages, what devotees of faith know, that from the power, mercy, and grace of God we have something in us that bullets can’t shoot out, fire can’t burn out, bombs can’t blow out.” - Bishop William J. Barber II, Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy, Yale Divinity School

“Todne Thomas has written an extraordinary book that shifts our gaze from acts of destruction to the resilient work of interpretation. Centering the voices of everyday people, From Hate to Hallows reveals Black churches as places where communities narrate catastrophe, cultivate hope, and expose enduring truths about race, religion, and America’s fragile experiment.” - Jonathan Lee Walton, President, Princeton Theological Seminary