The Womanist Preacher: Proclaiming Womanist Rhetoric from the Pulpit

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The Womanist Preacher: Proclaiming Womanist Rhetoric from the Pulpit performs a close textual analysis of five womanist sermons to answer the question: how does womanist preaching attempt to transform/adapt the tenets of womanist thought to make it rhetorically viable in the church And what is gained and lost in this The sermons come from five women who are considered exemplars of womanist preaching: Elaine M. Flake, Gina M. Stewart, Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, Melva L. Sampson, and Claudette A. Copeland. This book takes the first step in womanist scholarship to dissect what is rhetorically going on in womanist preaching, to categorize womanist sermons under the four tenets of womanist preaching, and to then create four rhetorical models that reflect the rhetorical attributes of the four different categories or phrased tenets that Stacey Floyd-Thomas uses to represent Alice Walkers womanist definition.

Reviews

In her groundbreaking work on womanist preaching, Kimberly P Johnson reveals how the unique experiences of African American women, marginalized by both gender and race, but strong and hopeful in their vision of what might be, leads to discourse that can liberate oppressed people through a social justice discourse. Womanist theory grounds Johnsons discussion of womanist preaching as a rhetorical genre, thus informing future discussions of womanist rhetoric more generally. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in African American studies, womens studies as well as rhetoric and social change. -- Sandra J. Sarkela, The University of Memphis
The Womanist Preacher: Proclaiming Womanist Rhetoric from the Pulpit breaks new ground while providing evolving homiletical strategies and lively rhetorical examples. Particularly noteworthy is Kimberly Johnsons invitation to liberated-minded preachers to move African American women from ecclesiastical margins to the sermon's integral center. -- Katie G. Cannon, Union Presbyterian Seminary
With an unusual clarity and keen scholarly insight, Kimberly Johnson makes a major contribution to the understanding of the powerful Womanist preaching tradition of African American preaching. A book like this is long overdue and by the quality of her work, Kim Johnson proves that she is a young scholar to be watched and read. -- Frank A. Thomas, Christian Theological Seminary

Author Bio

Kimberly P. Johnson is assistant professor of communications at Tennessee State University and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).