Liberating Black Church History

This book lays out how the lessons of the dark past shaped a people’s religious quest for liberation and their long struggle for freedom, justice, and equality. The book bears witness to the story of a liberating faith in action in three moves.

First, the book narrates the transformation of Black faith and culture in the North American context from enslavement to emancipation.

Second, it discusses Black people’s confrontation with the crisis of segregation and how it led to the culmination of the civil rights struggle in the United States and beyond.

Finally, the author focuses on the contemporary developments in the religious experience of African Americans as they moved from the Black Power era to the Age of Obama.

No serious scholar in biblical studies today can introduce students to his or her field without taking into account the contributions of African American scholarship. The long traditions of biblical interpretation in the Black Church, and the innovative research and writing performed by African American scholars in recent years are now essential components of a critical study of the Bible.

Up to now, knowing how best to introduce the fruits of African American biblical scholarship to students has been difficult. Good resources exist, yet too often they are not written with the needs of introductory students in mind. This book meets that need by providing an overview of the most important developments in African American approaches to biblical scholarship. It offers insight into the particular ways that African American scholarship has shaped the world of biblical study.