The Church is very good at saying all the right things about racial equality. But the reality is that the institution has utterly failed to back up these good intentions with demonstrable efforts to reform. It is a long way from being a place of black flourishing. Through conversation with clergy, lay people and campaigners in the Church of England, AD France-Williams issues a stark warning to the church, demonstrating how black ministers are left to drown in a sea of complacency and collusion. While sticking plaster remedies abound, AD France-Williams argues that what is needed is a wholesale change in structure and mindset. Unflinching in its critique of the church, 'Ghost Ship' explores the harrowing stories of institutional racism experienced then and now, within the Church of England. Far from being an issue which can be solved by simply recruiting more black clergy, says France-Williams, structural racism requires a wholesale dismantling and reassembling of then ship - before it is too late.
