The new book Anglican Slavery in New Jersey: An Initial Accounting, based in part on the research of the Diocese of New Jersey Racial Justice Review, is now widely available for purchase. Here are some of the endorsements:
Most Rev. Michael Curry (27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church; Author of Love is the Way): “Jolyon Pruszinski’s sobering, well-researched work is timely and much needed today as the church continues to grapple with its part in the sin of slavery. While we cannot undo the incalculable harm that has been done, the Way of Love to which Jesus calls us impels us to, as the author aptly puts it, do justly, and love mercy, Now.”
Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook (Professor, Claremont School of Theology; Historiographer of the Episcopal Church; Editor, Anglican and Episcopal History): “This meticulously researched and highly accessible study is a must-read for scholars and a general church readership alike. Pruszinski’s expert and innovative account not only fills a gap in the historiography but also traces the implications of enslavement in the contemporary Episcopal Church. The author’s interpretation of Anglican slavery in New Jersey is nuanced and challenging: the scholarship is expert and evocative. This book is a model for other Anglicans exploring institutional complicity with slavery.”
Cn. Annette Buchanan (Chair, The Episcopal Church Foundation; Past President, Union of Black Episcopalians; Co-Convener, Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission): “In the Diocese of New Jersey, we were intentional in ensuring that any reparations work was grounded in our comprehensive history as Episcopalians. As our historian, Jolyon fulfilled that mandate with extensive research culminating in this impressive book Anglican Slavery in New Jersey. His clarity of presentation surfaced challenging content which will critically direct our collective repentance, healing, and restitution.”
Historical Self-Study Sponsored by the Reparations Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of NJ
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Monday, December 22, 2025
EVENT: “Charting a Legacy” at St. Thomas’ Chicago
In addition to the upcoming presentation at the American Historical Association on January 10, 2026, the Reparations Commission historian, Jolyon Pruszinski, will be presenting about the New Jersey work later that day at “Charting a Legacy: African Americans in the Episcopal Church, Past and Present” at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Chicago. Dr. Pruszinski will be joined by fellow historians Rev. Dr. Valerie Bailey and Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC), and Diocese of Chicago anti-racism trainer Rory Dean Smith. St. Thomas’ was the first historically Black Episcopal church in the Chicago area and has a rich history of advocacy. Admission is free. More details about the event can be found on the HSEC website.
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