Black Religious Intellectuals: The Fight for Equality from Jim Crow to the 21st Century

When assessing the legacy of black intellectuals in the 20th century there has been a general tendency to overlook the impact of black religious leaders. In Black Religious Intellectuals , Professor Clarence Taylor sheds some much-needed light on the rich intellectual and political tradition that lies in the black religious community. From the Pentecostalism of Bishop Smallwood Williams and the flamboyant leadership of the Reverend Al Sharpton, to the radical Presbyterianism of Milton Arthur Galamison and the controversial and mass-mobilization by Minister Louis Farrakhan, black religious leaders have figured prominently in the struggle for social equality in America. Taylor shows how black leaders were able to carve out a space for religion as part of a progressive political agenda. Examining leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds, he reveals the complex and innovative ways that black religious notions were continually reworked and reconstructed to accommodate the communities they served. In the tradition of Cornel West, Hazel Carby, and Harold Cruse, Taylor gives us a valuable, thought-provoking work that credits black church leadership for its important role in not only the fight for equality but also in shaping intellectual thought in this country.