Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love

As an ordinary high school student in the 1960s, Tom Tarrants became deeply unsettled by the social upheaval of the era. In response, he turned for answers to extremist ideology and was soon utterly radicalized. Before long, he became involved in the reign of terror spread by Mississippi’s dreaded White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, described by the FBI as the most violent right-wing terrorist organization in America.

In 1969, while attempting to bomb the home of a Jewish leader in Meridian, Mississippi, Tom was ambushed by law enforcement and shot multiple times during a high-speed chase. Nearly dead from his wounds, he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm. Unrepentant, Tom and two other inmates made a daring escape from Parchman yet were tracked down by an FBI SWAT team and apprehended in hail of bullets that killed one of the convicts. Tom spent the next three years alone in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell. There he began a search for truth that led him to the Bible and a reading of the gospels, resulting in his conversion to Jesus Christ and liberation from the grip of racial hatred and violence.

Astounded by the change in Tom, many of the very people who worked to put him behind bars began advocating for his release. After serving eight years of a 35-year sentence, Tom left prison. He attended college, moved to Washington, DC, and became copastor of a racially mixed church. He went on to earn a doctorate and became the president of the C. S. Lewis Institute, where he devoted himself to helping others become wholehearted followers of Jesus.

A dramatic story of radical transformation, Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love demonstrates that hope is not lost even in the most tumultuous of times, even those similar to our own.

To learn more about Mr. Tarrant’s story, read his article “From KKK Activism to Cruciform Politics” on The Gospel Coalition website.

Chris Morris is an accomplished executive, advisor and board member of public and private companies. He brings a unique blend of finance, strategy and business development expertise to solve complex management problems and help companies execute their strategies more effectively.

Chris is currently Executive Vice President of Bonaventure, a real estate investment firm. Chris is also Managing Partner of MPact Partners, a consulting firm that provides strategic, financial and operational advice to its clients.

Prior to his role at MPact partners, Chris was Managing Partner of the New York practice of Tatum, a Randstad company that provides executive leadership solutions to companies where leadership and subject matter expertise is critical to a successful client engagement. Prior to Tatum, Chris was an advisor to the Single Family Mortgage division of the U.S. government Office of Housing and Urban Development, where he crafted an operational plan and human capital plan for the FHA mortgage business. He also served as Vice President of Business Management and Strategy for the Single Family Division of Freddie Mac.

For the past 12 years, Chris has served as member of the Board of Directors of the C.S. Lewis Institute headquartered in Springfield, VA.

Chris is recognized as a strong leader and developer of management talent with a focus on accountability and the achievement of business results. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.