Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons, 1850-1979 (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ALTHOUGH A NUMBER OF African American women preached in the nineteenth century, only fragments of their sermons have survived..." (more)
Key Phrases: black preaching women, black male clergy, black women preachers, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Though religion and the church have always played an important role in the lives of black Americans, the role that black women have played in the church is not as well known. Daughters of Thunder, a collection of 38 sermons by 14 black women preachers from the 1850s to the 1970s, is thus an important resource: it offers the voices of black women on matters both theological and political. As editor Bettye Collier-Thomas, an associate professor of history at Temple University, tells us, these women are "representative of a great American tradition heretofore largely unknown and untapped." In addition to the sermons, Collier-Thomas gives readers a historical summary of the work of black women preachers, as well as a chapter on black women preachers for whom she was able to find no sermons. There are also brief biographies for each of the 14 women whose sermons are included.

Review

"This book is hard evidence that the churches have been deprived of a rich resource by their reluctance to receive women preachers. . . . These messages ring with passion and sincerity . . . they break through our narrow limits and speak generously about things that matter most." (Samuel D. Proctor, Martin Luther King, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

"An original, distinguished, and matchless contribution to a greatly neglected study." (Ella Pearson Mitchell, former dean of the chapel at Spelman College and mentor with the doctoral program at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio)

"Daughters of Thunder is a singular event in women's history, particularly African American women's history. . . . A priceless reference work in the history of Christian preaching that will revitalize the preaching of the twenty first century." (Cheryl TownsAnd Gilkes, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur associate professor of African American studies and sociology, Colby College)

"A sensitive, well-researched reevaluation of the contributions of African American women to the spiritual development of our culture." (C. Eric Lincoln, William Kenan Rand Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture (emeritus), Duke University)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (October 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787909181
• ISBN-13: 978-0787909185
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #344,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful stories & sermons of powerful, inspiring women, December 7, 1998

By	Thomas White-Hassler (Connecticut) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ms. Collier-Thomas has written a flowing commentary on the tribulations of people called by God to preach and then battered in their odysseys to fulfill that calling because of their gender as well as their race. Ms. Collier-Thomas' prose is a joy to read. She sets the background in which each of these remarkable women worked, as well as recounting fairly and evenly the issues of contention they lived through. The book is worthwhile for the sermons alone -- the biographies and history make it a "must read" for feminists, historian, spiritual seekers, and Christians alike.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sister Power, May 25, 2005

By	Simon Lewis (Bangor, Maine) - See all my reviews

The African woman's American experience was born with the Atlantic slave trade. Bartered for cheap trinkets or outright stolen they were viewed as disposable commodities in the world of commerce. Their American experience effectively disintegrated their concepts of reality and rendered all chaotic. To survive in the Americas it was necessary to re-examine, re-construct and or replace their sacred cosmos which had given order and purpose to their lives. The Christianity that became their own allowed them identity and redefinition. It was this faith of compassion born of the experience of suffering that sustained and nurtured their souls. The response to the power of the Gospel was the ignition of a fire to preach. Historically, Black men who preached filled a role that was, at least a traditional male one, but Black women preachers experienced cultural conflict within their own black society. Mothers, wives, and bearers of the word, African-American women faced a hostile pulpit. Initially, their call to preach the gospel was not recognized by the churches they served.

Bettye Collier-Thomas presents in her work, Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons, 1850 - 1979, a remarkable account of both the historical/biographical struggles and the contextual content of the work of fourteen African-American women called to preach the gospel. These women address the social and theological concerns of a people mired in the degradation of racial and gender inequality. They exhort their listeners to hear the social gospel inherent in the good news. Many of the sermons concern themselves with the welfare of children, of the role of strong families in the community of faith and the role of women in the church. These sermons are timeless in their appeal to building a stronger community of faith. My only concern is that Collier-Thomas while giving an excellent overview of the history of African-American women and the call to preach and wonderful biographies of Black women preachers beginning in 1850 has no entries for the years of 1949 - 1978. Given the crucial years of the civil rights struggle in America I would liked to have heard contemporaneous voices.