A Profound Contradiction: A Racial Autobiography

(Paperback)

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W. Mark Wallis has spent years researching his family history and building his family tree. He grew up hearing he was a descendant of Texas pioneers and a "true Texan." His heritage in the Church of Christ movement went back to the early 1800's. His status as a sixth-generation Texan, a descendant of Dallas County Pioneers, and a seventh-generation member of the Church of Christ filled his upbringing with a rich sense of history. Amidst the 2020 pandemic, Wallis began formal research on two of his third great grandfathers: John B. Floyd and Moses Fuqua Mackoy. This book examines his grandfathers' mixed histories of slavery, church founding, and surviving young America.
"A Profound Contradiction" takes a detailed look at the history of slavery in Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas dating back to 1619. Wallis includes long newspaper articles about both John B. Floyd and Moses Mackoy that tell contrasting stories regarding their views of slavery. This forthright look at the Church of Christ's history with racism and slavery examines the contrasting teachings and beliefs of two significant church founders: Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell. It is a story of history, family, and faith that deals with the persistence of racism and calls for reflective lament.

Author Bio

W. Mark Wallis is a native Texan who has lived in the Denver Metro area for the past 22 years. After graduating from Harding University, he began his professional career as a CPA before moving to commercial real estate. He has served on the Board of Trustees at Harding University and the board of The Heritage 21 Foundation. He has been married to his best friend and partner in the faith, Susan Setliff Wallis, since 1974. Mark has served as an elder, with Susan by his side, for the Prestoncrest Church of Christ and the Littleton Church of Christ. Susan and Mark are incredibly proud of their daughter Amy Wiley and her husband, Kent; their daughter Katy Byrne and her husband Tim; and their grandchildren Brett Wiley, Anna Kate Wiley, and Taylor Byrne. He enjoys exercise, convertibles, books, Formula 1 racing, stand-up comedy, time spent with Susan on Blue Mountain Beach, and maintaining a golf handicap of 25.