Published 3 Mar 2026
Karen J. Johnson: Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice
A conversation about learning our way through history.
A blog post Women Scholars and Professionals
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Read on for our latest from The Women Scholars & Professionals Podcast
“Can you have reconciliation in the present if you are not acknowledging what has happened in the past?” — Dr. Karen J. Johnson
Historian and professor Karen J. Johnson joins us on the podcast to discuss how the practice of history draws us forth into courage and action.
How can the study of history teach us to grow in our skills of courage and hope? Historian and professor Karen J. Johnson joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice: A History of Christians in Action. Karen’s calling as a history professor shines through as she teaches us about the tools of doing history and how this work can inform our everyday lives. Karen shares her thoughts on the way history can impact on our experience of faith, which we see firsthand through Karen’s own integration of scholarship and faith. Her book highlights four important stories of racial justice work in 20th century America, and Karen draws out some lessons from these stories that we can take along with us. In addition — I’m pleased to tell you that InterVarsity Press is offering a discount on Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice for listeners of this podcast. Just use the code IVPWSAP25 for 25% off and free shipping when you purchase the book at ivpress.com. You can find a link to the book and the discount code in the show notes. And if you listen to the end of the credits you’ll hear an excerpt from our conversation where Karen offers her thoughts on not waiting for the perfect time to have kids.
So jump right in! We're so glad you're here.
— Ann Boyd
You can listen on iTunes or at The Women Scholars and Professionals Podcast. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Listen on your favorite podcast platform, or click through to listen to our interview with Karen on:
If you'd like to support the work of InterVarsity's Women Scholars and Professionals, including future podcasts such as this episode, you can do so at givetoiv.org/wsap. Thank you for listening!
Further resources for this interview:
Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice: A History of Christians in Action by Karen J. Johnson
Karen’s website, where you can find her mission statement: “My passion is to bring to light the knotty problems of religion and race in American history to help foster flourishing for all people.”
One in Christ: Chicago Catholics and the Quest for Interracial Justice
by Karen J. Johnson
“Seeing Things: Knowledge and Love in History” by Beth Barton Schweiger
Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong-Chan Rah
Karen mentions Christine Jeske and her recent book Racial Justice for the Long Haul (and you can hear our conversation with Christine here).
Karen mentions historian Tracy McKenzie.
Karen mentions historian Shirley Mullen (and you can hear our conversation with Shirley here).
Karen J. Johnson (PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago) is professor of history and chair of the history department at Wheaton College. Her expertise is in the history of religion and race in America. She is the author of One in Christ: Chicago Catholics and the Quest for Interracial Justice and coeditor of Understanding and Teaching Religion in US History.