Robert Chao Romero on Non-Innocent Histories of Christianity

In part two of our conversation with Robert Chao Romero, Fiel Sahir talks to Robert about his academic journey and reflections on non-innocent histories of Christianity that includes the Brown Church, Asian American Christianity and other marginalized Christian communities. He also discusses the story of the Chinese in Mexico and theological musings on the Brown Church. If you haven't listened to part one, it might be worth taking a look at that as it'll give a deeper context into everything we'll be discussing throughout this episode

Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero is "Asian-Latino," and has been a professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA since 2005. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley. Romero has published more than 30 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the Latina/o Studies book award from the international Latin American Studies Association. His book, Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (2020), received the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Award for best academic title. Romero is a former Ford Foundation and U.C. President's Postdoctoral Fellow, as well as a recipient of the Louisville Institute's Sabbatical Grant for Researchers. Robert is also an ordained minister and community organizer.

This interview was recorded on January 27, 2025.

Dr. Robert Chao Romero, Professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA

This season of Pearl Dive was brought to you by the Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI) at the Fuller Theological Seminary’s Asian American Center and with the support of the KT Foundation.

With this episode, the Pearl Dive podcast will take a brief break. Look out for new and different kinds of episodes this summer and fall!

In the meantime, if you have questions about previous episodes or suggestions about topics that you’d like to see us cover, please email us at aachi@fuller.edu. We also welcome audio recorded questions and comments of less than 30-seconds. Please say your name and tell us where you’re from.

LINKS AND REFERENCES

• Robert Chao Romero books:

  • Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (IV Press Academic, 2020)

  • The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940 (University of Arizona Press, 2011)

  • Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation (Baker Academic, 2023). With Jeff M. Liou.

  • God's Resistance: Mobilizing Faith to Defend Immigrants (New York University Press, 2023). With Brad Christerson, Alexia Salvatierra, and Nancy Wang Yuen

• Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (2 volumes).

• Justo L. Gonzalez works on Amazon.

• Hugo Wong, America’s Lost Chinese: The Rise and Fall of a Migrant Family Dream (2023).