Witnessing and Testifying [Paperback]

Rosetta E. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

After a chapter exploring black women's religious context and presenting early examples of this work by women of the ante-bellum and post-Reconstruction eras, Ross looks at seven civil rights activists who continue this tradition. They are Ella Josephine Baker, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Way DeLee, Clara Muhammad, Diane Nash, and Ruby Doris Smith Robinson. In a fascinating narrative style that draws on biography, social history, and original archival research, Ross shows how their moral formation and work reflect both womanist consciousness and practices of witness and testimony, both emergent from the black religious context. Ross' major work is engrossing history and moving ethical challenge. Examining black women's civil rights activism as religiously impelled moral practices brings a new insight to work on the movement and lifts up a paradigm for engagement in the mountainous challenges of contemporary social life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While much attention has been paid to the role of religion in the civil rights movement, most of that has been lavished on ordained clergy and prominent male leaders. Rosetta Ross builds a strong case for women's grassroots importance to the movement in Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women, Religion, and Civil Rights. Ross examines six Christian and one Muslim woman activist, exploring how the history of black women's religious experience in America informed their sense of social responsibility. Ross, an associate professor of ethics at United Theological Seminary in Minnesota, adopts a writing style that is most suited for an academic audience, but the subject matter will have broad appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Social ethicist Ross explores the role religious African American women played in the civil rights struggle, celebrating the indelible legacy of pioneers Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, and other outspoken activists.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800636031
• ISBN-13: 978-0800636036
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #519,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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