PRESS KIT
THE STIGMA OF COLOR:
How Racism Violates the Two Great Commandments
Jacira Pontinta Monteiro, Author
Published by LIVREPRESS, Inc.
US Launch · Juneteenth Campaign · June 2026
"Black lives matter because Christ said so — not because a social movement said so."
— Jacira Pontinta Monteiro, The Stigma of Color
BOOK FACT SHEET
Title: The Stigma of Color: A Biblical Response to Racism
Author: Jacira Pontinta Monteiro
Publisher: LIVREPRESS, Inc.
Launch Date: June 19, 2026
Juneteenth Hook: Actively promoted for Juneteenth (June 19, 2026)
Original Language: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Translation: English
Formats: eBook · Print
Available At: Amazon.com · Barnes & Noble · livrepress.com
Page Count: 153
ISBN (Print): 9798904173135
BISAC Codes: REL012120 · REL012110 · SOC031000
Price (eBook): $12.95
Price (Print): $18.95
Press Kit URL: livrepress.com/authors-monteiro/presskit
Media Contact: Sandra Alex · sandra.alex@livrepress.com
ABOUT THE BOOK
Long Description (200 words):
The Stigma of Color is not a political book. It is a Gospel book.
A book for every Christian who wants to understand the roots of racism, its consequences, and how we can confront it in the Church and in society.
Although the Bible is clear that all human beings possess inherent dignity as those created in the image of God, the Church of Christ is not immune to a structural problem that afflicts society: racism — a subject still too seldom addressed among Christians.
In The Stigma of Color, Jacira Pontinta Monteiro shows, incisively, how racism violates the two great commandments of Christ — “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself” — addressing themes of slavery, colonialism, violence against women, resentment, and social inequality.
Pontinta engages these questions in the light of Scripture and argues that this is the only approach capable of avoiding extremism: “I know I will only find my footing when I am more like Jesus and less like Jacira.” The Stigma of Color is a work of solid theology that is also eminently practical — showing that it is not enough to denounce racism as sin. One must act, intentionally and integrally, in favor of human dignity. After all, it is impossible to love God, whom we cannot see, if we are incapable of loving the neighbor who cries out before our eyes.
Engaging a wide theological canon — from Esau McCaulley and Jemar Tisby to C.S. Lewis, Miroslav Volf, and Martin Luther King Jr. — Pontinta weaves a rich, multi-voiced conversation around the central claim that the stigma of color is irreconcilable with the Gospel of Christ.
“Combating racism and social injustices is part of preaching the Gospel,”writes Pontinta. “It is not a separate movement; in fact, it is part of what the Lord has called us to do.”
Short Description (50 words):
A prophetic, Scripturally grounded response to racism in the Church. Drawing on her experience as a Black woman from Guinea-Bissau, theologian Jacira Pontinta Monteiro argues that racism is not merely a social problem — it is a theological one, irreconcilable with the Gospel of Christ.
WHY THIS BOOK — WHY JUNETEENTH
Juneteenth marks the announcement of emancipation to enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It is now a federal holiday, a day of both remembrance and reckoning.
The Stigma of Color arrives at exactly this moment: a book written from outside the American context, by a Black woman from the African diaspora, addressing the American Church with the full authority of Scripture — and without the partisan framing that often limits domestic conversations on race.
Pontinta does not position the Church as perpetually guilty. She positions it as capable of profound repair — and calls it to demonstrate that the Gospel is more powerful than the stigma it has too often allowed to stand.
Key themes aligned with the Juneteenth moment:
• The Church’s historical complicity in slavery — and its path to accountability
• The exclusion of Black women from dominant models of biblical femininity
• The “Cain Syndrome”: indifference toward the suffering of one's neighbor
• The missional life as the Church's most powerful response to racism
• Practical recommendations for churches seeking racial reconciliation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Long Bio (300 words):
Jacira Pontinta Monteiro is a writer, theologian, and founding member of the Agostinhas Project — a movement of Christian women committed to promoting biblical dialogue on racism within the Brazilian Church and beyond.
Born in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, Pontinta moved to Brazil at the age of seven, where she was shaped by both the vitality and the contradictions of Brazilian evangelical Christianity. Her theological formation was forged at the intersection of the African diaspora, the Brazilian evangelical tradition, and the global conversation about the Church's responsibility to racial justice.
A member of the Evangelical Baptist Church of João Pessoa, she brings a scholar's rigor and a pastor's heart to one of the most contested questions facing the Body of Christ today: what does the Gospel demand of a Church that has too often been complicit in the stigmatization of its own members?
Her research interests extend into the history of accounting during the period of slavery and the commodification of enslaved people — a distinctive lens that informs her analysis of how economic and theological systems have historically reinforced one another.
Pontinta engages in her work with a wide theological canon — from Esau McCaulley and Jemar Tisby to C.S. Lewis, Miroslav Volf, and Martin Luther King Jr. — drawing on the full breadth of the Church's intellectual tradition to make the case that the stigma of color is irreconcilable with the Gospel of Christ.
The Stigma of Color is her first book to be translated into English, published by LivrePress — a Christian publishing house dedicated to books on spiritual abuse, theology, and restoration.
Short Bio (100 words):
Jacira Pontinta Monteiro is a writer, theologian, and founding member of the Agostinhas Project, a movement of Christian women committed to biblical dialogue on racism. Born in Guinea-Bissau and raised in Brazil, she brings the perspective of the African diaspora to one of the most urgent questions facing the global Church. The Stigma of Color is her first book published in English.
PRAISE FOR THE STIGMA OF COLOR
"For years I have sought guidance on how to confront racism in Brazil as a Christian... This book is an answer to prayer and hope. May the grace of the Father touch the hearts of each reader."
— Ana Staut, painter, journalist, and writer; member of Esperança Church, Belo Horizonte, MG
Additional endorsements pending — Esau McCaulley · Jemar Tisby
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
You were born in Guinea-Bissau and have lived in Brazil most of your life. How does that perspective — from outside the American context — shape what you say to the American Church about race?
You argue that racism is not merely a social problem, but a theological one. What do you mean by that — and why does the distinction matter?
You write about what you call the 'Cain Syndrome' — indifference toward the suffering of one's neighbor. How do you see that showing up in contemporary church life?
The book addresses the exclusion of Black women from dominant models of biblical femininity. Can you speak to what that has looked like — and what a more faithful picture might be?
You engage extensively with theologians like Esau McCaulley, Jemar Tisby, and C.S. Lewis alongside scholars like Angela Davis. How do you hold that theological and intellectual breadth together in a book written for the Church?
You end with practical recommendations for churches seeking racial reconciliation. What would you say to a pastor who wants to take the next step — but doesn't know where to begin?
PRESS RESOURCES:
All assets are available for download. Please contact us if a link has expired or a file format is needed.
📄 Press Release - The Stigma of Color (PDF)
🖼️ Book Cover High-resolution(PNG)
📸 Author’s Picture (JPEG)
📦 Complete Press Kit(ZIP)
LINKS AND RESOURCES:
Artigo no Substack — LIVREPRESS
• livrepressinc.substack.com — Leia o artigo editorial sobre o livro
Página da autora na LivrePress
• https://www.livrepress.com/authors-jacira
LIVREPRESS Social Networks
• YouTube: youtube.com/@livrepressinc
• Facebook: @livrepress
• Substack: livrepressinc.substack.com
For expedited requests, physical review copies, or speaking engagement inquiries, contact Sandra Alex at sandra.alex@livrepress.com.
ABOUT LIVREPRESS
LivrePress is a Christian publishing house with offices in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Portland, Oregon, specializing in books on spiritual abuse, theology, trauma, and the restoration of faith. We publish titles in Portuguese and English, available in Brazil and the United States, in print, e-book, and audiobook formats.
Our catalog includes works by Dr. Diane Langberg, Dr. Alison Cook, Dr. Wade Mullen, Dr. Michael S. Heiser, Dr. Shayane Lopes, and Jacira Pontinta Monteiro, among others.
LivrePress exists because we believe that people of good heart deserve tools not to be deceived by leaders who use authority to elevate themselves and diminish others. We publish books that name what was unnamed, expose what was hidden, restore dignity to those who were diminished, and sustain faith with serious and honest theology.
EXPOSE. ENLIGHTEN. EMPOWER.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Sandra Alex
Founder, LivrePress, Inc.
818-535-5697
CONNECT WITH LIVREPRESS
Press Kit: livrepress.com/authors-monteiro/presskit
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