A Summer Reading List for the 250th Anniversary of the United States

Called Toward a More Perfect Union:

Where Have We Fallen Short — and Where Are We Still Being Called?

This summer, as the United States marks its 250th anniversary, we find ourselves at a remarkable and complicated moment. Across the country, communities are gathering to celebrate, reflect, and reckon with what it means to be American — and what it means to be people of faith in this nation at this time.

As your Social Justice Task Force, we believe this anniversary calls us to do both things at once: to give thanks for what is good and true in the American story, and to grieve honestly what has been broken and denied. We believe that is not a contradiction. In fact, it is one of the most faithful things we can do.

The Hebrew prophets did this. The Black church has always done this. And the United Church of Christ, standing in that same tradition of prophetic witness, is called to do this too — to hold lament and hope together, not as opposites, but as two halves of a single act of love. This summer reading list is our invitation to that practice.

Over the summer, we will read together, listen together, reflect together, and ask together: Where have we fallen short? And where are we still being called? These are not comfortable questions. But they are the right ones for a community that believes the truth sets us free — and that justice, however long it takes, is the shape that love takes in the world.

You do not need to read every book. Read what calls to you, and ask honest questions. Whether you are lifelong activists or newcomers to this conversation, there is a place for you here. When SJTF returns to our typical programming in September, we will invite you to join us for an honest and meaningful conversation around these two questions we hold in tension: As we, the United States, are called to be a more perfect union, where have we fallen short, and where are we still being called?

May this summer deepen our faith, enlarge our hearts, and strengthen our commitment to the beloved community — in our congregation, in our town, and in this still-unfinished nation we call home.

June — Setting the Foundation

The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson

Written for the 250th anniversary, Isaacson takes a single sentence from the Declaration of Independence — “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” — and unpacks it word by word, exploring its radical origins and its still-unfulfilled promise. Brief enough for everyone to read, rich enough for deep conversation.

The lament: How far we remain from the equality those words proclaimed. The hope: That the sentence still has the power to call us forward.

July — The Prophetic Voice

America Will Be!: Conversations on Hope, Freedom, and Democracy by Vincent Harding and Daisaku Ikeda

A cross-cultural dialogue between Vincent Harding — historian, civil rights activist, and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. — and Daisaku Ikeda, a globally respected Buddhist leader. Across sixteen conversations, they explore the soul of American democracy, the legacy of the civil rights movement, and the spiritual values that must guide us if democracy is to survive and expand.

The lament: How far America has strayed from the beloved community King gave his life to build. The hope: That ordinary people, rooted in deep spiritual conviction and across cultural and religious differences, are still the ones who expand democracy.

August — Democracy as a Spiritual Practice

Healing the Heart of Democracy by Parker Palmer

A Quaker educator and writer beloved in progressive faith communities, Palmer argues that democracy is not just a political system but a way of being together — and that its renewal begins in the human heart. Warm, accessible, and deeply hopeful without being naive.

The lament: The fracturing of civic and communal life. The hope: That ordinary people in ordinary communities are where democracy is saved.

September — Closing with Vision

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

McGhee travels across America asking why we can't have nice things — and finds that racism has cost everyone, not just its direct targets. She closes with vivid portraits of communities choosing solidarity over division. A hopeful, data-grounded, and deeply human book.

The lament: The ongoing cost of choosing division. The hope: The "solidarity dividend" — what we gain when we choose each other.

A Podcast Companion

Voices to walk alongside your reading, month by month

Each book on this summer's list holds together two questions: As we are called to be a more perfect union, where have we fallen short? And where are we still being called?

The podcasts below are chosen to be companions to that same practice — voices that lament honestly and hope faithfully.

You do not need to listen to every episode. Listen to what calls to you, and bring what you find into our conversation when we return in September.

Month-by-Month Listening Guide

June The Greatest Sentence Ever Written

Throughline (NPR) Traces the gap between America's founding promises and its lived reality — the same gap Isaacson examines sentence by sentence. Each episode begins in the present and follows threads back to their origins. Rich, well-reported, and accessible. Suggested episodes: "The Golden Door" (immigration), "The United States of Anxiety," "Reconstruction Revisited"

July America Will Be

On Being with Krista Tippett Holds grief and hope together without collapsing into either despair or easy optimism — the same register as Wilson-Hartgrove. Tippett has interviewed him directly, and her episodes with Ruby Sales and Vincent Harding are essential companions to the Black prophetic tradition. Suggested episodes: "Ruby Sales: Where Does It Hurt?", "Vincent Harding: Is America Possible?", "Bryan Stevenson: Love Is the Motive"

August Healing the Heart of Democracy

Everything Happens with Kate Bowler Bowler is a historian and theologian who writes honestly about brokenness while refusing despair — a close cousin to Palmer's vision of democracy as spiritual practice. Warm, rigorous, and unexpectedly funny. Suggested episodes: "What We Owe Each Other," any episode featuring civic or communal renewal themes

September The Sum of Us

Seeing White (Scene on Radio, Season 2) A landmark 14-episode documentary series tracing how the concept of "whiteness" was constructed in America — the deep historical root system beneath McGhee's argument. Thoughtful, unflinching, and beautifully produced. Best listened to in order. Suggested episodes: Start with Episode 1: "Turning the Lens" — then follow the season

Other Voices Worth Knowing

These podcasts do not map to a single month but carry the spirit of the whole summer:

The Bible for Normal People  |  Pete Enns & Jared Byas

For those exploring the intersection of honest faith and social justice. Sits in the tension between what the church has gotten wrong and what faithful practice still looks like.

The Dig  |  Daniel Denvir

Rigorous history of democratic and radical movements — where they went wrong and what remains worth recovering. More academic, but morally serious.

Democracy in Question  |  Shalini Randeria & Arjun Appadurai

Deep, cross-cultural examination of democratic fragility and what sustains democratic life across different societies. Pairs beautifully with Levitsky & Ziblatt.

May this summer deepen our faith, enlarge our hearts, and strengthen our commitment to the beloved community — in our congregation, in our town, and in this still-unfinished nation we call home.