Never Bow to Racism / A Personal Account of the Ecumenical Struggle

"We owe a great deal to Baldwin Sjollema's dedication and unswerving opposition to injustice. His life story recalls the heroisms and tragedies that accompanied that work of solidarity and social change. I invite readers to hear his story and to share his deep commitment never to bow to racism." -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu ** "Baldwin Sjollema's life, dedicated to combatting racism, holds precious lessons for how and why Christians and Christian churches should be engaged today in the ongoing struggles for justice and peace." -- Isabel Apawo Phiri, Associate General Secretary, World Council of Churches ** A high point in the impact of the ecumenical movement was the World Council of Churches' "Program to Combat Racism," centered on its decades-long struggle to abolish apartheid. At once a most controversial and yet most prophetic activity, the battle against apartheid mobilized the ecumenical movement and churches around the world. In this honest and engaging memoir, a key actor in the apartheid struggle, Baldwin Sjollema, offers an absorbing eyewitness account of the churches' attempts to alert and mobilize the world against the evils of apartheid, revealing the depth of commitment and also of moral questioning that accompanied the struggle, the triumphs, and the long road since. Baldwin Sjollema grew up in the Netherlands during World War II and then embarked on a lifetime of international work for the World Council of Churches and the International Labor Organization. In 2004, he was enlisted in the Order of Companions of Oliver R. Tambo by the government of South Africa. [Subject: Memoir, Religious Studies, Christianity, African Studies, Apartheid Studies, Social Justice]

Baldwin Sjollema grew up in the Netherlands during World War II and then embarked on a lifetime of international work for the World Council of Churches and the International Labour Organisation and their actions for social change. In 2004 he was enlisted in the Order of Companions of Oliver R. Tambo by the government of South Africa.