Augustan’s Book is a Meditation on Darkness, Activism, and Christianity

Augusta activist, pastor and father, Danté Stewart is now also the author of a meditation on Darkness, activism and Christianity. “Shoutin ‘in the Fire: An American Epistle” was published on October 12 by Penguin Random House and was mentioned as an Outstanding Book by The New York Times. Stewart met The Chronicle of Augusta on ZOOM recently to discuss the book’s inspiration, the lessons it aims to teach, and its target audience.

Q: What is your book about?

A: At a level of 30,000 feet, the book asks me, “What does it mean to be black, American, and Christian?” And just me, in a way, you know, telling part of my story, the way I remember, the way I’ve struggled the last few years, in the hope that those who look like me will experience something to love and liberation by reading my work.

Q: You mention in your book that a turning point for you was in 2016 when you saw Alton Sterling get killed. You were heading to your church, Crawford Avenue Baptist Church in Augusta, after watching the video. What was their reaction?

A: One of the biggest failures of this church community, and I think it’s one of the biggest failures of white Christians in general, is that whites have been socialized and trained, in a sense, to believe that their pain is the only type of pain that matters and needs to be treated. It’s so sad that we live in a country where whites have almost exclusively all the power, but believe they are going through all the pain.

As I write this we were taught to be a Christian, but we weren’t told how to be American, and I think in a way we were taught to be American, but we were taught to be the type of ‘Americans who believe in pure narratives, who believe religion should be relegated, that the only people who could talk about religion and society and justice can be white people when they talk about abortion, and when they talk about, you know, their neighborhoods and their schools and their curriculum and things like that.

Q: There are parts of your book that go on and on, with lines like “and win, and lose, and learn, and heal, and accept us …” When you were writing and thinking, was it a bit like opening up mental valves?

A: It’s a very intentional read, and this type of writing was intentional, and I meant that for me, I wanted people to feel the traditions of black writing that I come from, whether it’s James Baldwin or Toni. Morrison… and all those brilliant black writers, I wanted them to feel my approach to the writing profession and the writing genre.

In a sense, the structure of this book was that I took the wounds and turned my wounds into worlds. As a writer, I wanted to write something that feels good as a writer, so when you read these words they are particularly chosen for a reason and they are particularly structured that way to think, to make people read. people close to the text and see what I’m doing.

Q: So who did you create these worlds? for and what do you hope readers get out of it locally?

A: I write especially for black people. Black people like me. Black youth who feel like, you know, they’re under so much pressure, who feel like they’re not being heard, who feel like they’re not seen, inspired and protected, who have the feel that Christianity is so exhausting for them.

There will be people who will be able to read this book and resonate with it. Even though I don’t write to whites, there are so many sections that whites can benefit from this book. Even though I don’t write to those who are LGBTQ, there are so many places that those who are LGBTQ can read and benefit from this book.

Locally, in particular, I want people, when reading my book, to pay attention to black life in Augusta and not treat black life in Augusta as if we don’t matter. I am not from Augusta. I come to Augusta through the military. There are black people here in Augusta who deserve redress for the damage that has been done to our community, our schools, our bodies and our dreams. There is a big repair that needs to be done. There must be some way to cherish black people more here. There has to be, as many people would say, an investment in our dreams and our worlds, not just “What do we think they need?” but there are so many people here who have so much to offer the world, and i just want to be someone to walk with them.

Stewart’s book is available now. He will read and sign copies at The Book Tavern on Broad Street in Augusta on Saturday, October 16 at 5:30 p.m.