The African church should be encouraged and supported as they rediscover their rich culture in worshiping God in a relevant, yet biblical manner.

In Lee Butler's own words, "This book is an attempt to answer the question, 'Who are we as African Americans?'" Attempting to answer this question is one way we participate in the works of salvation. Liberating Our Dignity, Saving Our Souls is a study of African American identity aimed at pointing a way out of a current crisis into a new liberation and salvation. Butler combines insights and methodologies from developmental psychology, liberation theology, and African American history to plot a new course for contemporary African Americans to gain a sense of identity that will guide them away from the identity the European and American cultures have traditionally forced upon them. This involves determining identity by personal worth; not by occupation, economic class, or social class.

From the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through antiapartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, black women have used their clothing, hair, and style not simply as a fashion statement but as a powerful tool of resistance. Whether using stiletto heels as weapons to protect against police attacks or incorporating African-themed designs into everyday wear, these fashion-forward women celebrated their identities and pushed for equality. In this thought-provoking book, Tanisha C. Ford explores how and why black women in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg incorporated style and beauty culture into their activism. Focusing on the emergence of the "soul style" movement—represented in clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, and more—Liberated Threads shows that black women's fashion choices became galvanizing symbols of gender and political liberation. Drawing from an eclectic archive, Ford offers a new way of studying how black style and Soul Power moved beyond national boundaries, sparking a global fashion phenomenon. Following celebrities, models, college students, and everyday women as they moved through fashion boutiques, beauty salons, and record stores, Ford narrates the fascinating intertwining histories of Black Freedom and fashion.

Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.

In African Theology as Liberating Wisdom; Celebrating Life and Harmony in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana, Mari-Anna Pöntinen analyses contextual interpretations of the Christian faith in this church. These interpretations draw from the Tswana tradition and liberation in Christ.

Offers a new framework for reading American literatures that critically links African American and Latinx traditions and struggles for liberation. Animating Black and Brown Liberation introduces a vital new tool for reading American literatures. Rooted in both ancient Egyptian ideas about life and cutting-edge theories of animacy, or levels of aliveness, this tool—ankhing—enables Michael Datcher to examine the ways African American and Latinx literatures respond to and ultimately work to resist hegemonic forces of neoliberalism and state-sponsored oppression. Weaving together close readings and politically informed philosophical reflection, Datcher considers the work of writer-activists Toni Cade Bambara, Cherríe Moraga, Gloria Anzaldúa, June Jordan, Salvador Plascencia, and Ishmael Reed, in light of theoretical interventions by Jane Bennett, Mel Y. Chen, Bruno Latour, Michel Foucault, Paulo Freire, and Erica R. Edwards. How, he asks, can cultural production positively influence Black and Brown material conditions and mobilize collective action “off the page”? How can art-based counterpublics provide a foundation for Black and Brown community organizing? What emerges from Datcher’s innovative analysis is a frank assessment of the links between embodied experiences of racialization, as well as a distinctive vision of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American literature as a repository of emancipatory strategies with real-world applications. “In Animating Black and Brown Liberation, Michael Datcher posits a bold new way of approaching a variety of important texts, including those authored by Toni Cade Bambara, Ishmael Reed, Salvador Plascencia, Gloria Anzaldúa, and June Jordan, among others. Drawing on ideas by theorists such as Foucault, Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, and Alexander Weheliye, Datcher offers a fresh and original way of valuing these works. This volume is a thought-provoking addition to the world of literary criticism.” — Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University “This book offers a much-needed perspective on what is generally regarded in the field of American literary studies as ‘Black and Brown’ comparative ethnic literature. Few projects have endeavored to bridge African American and Latinx literatures, and Animating Black and Brown Liberation does so with a clarity and brilliance not seen in a long time.” — Ellie D. Hernández, author of Postnationalism in Chicana/o Literature and Culture

In this revision of Soul Stories, Dr. Wimberly moves even more in the direction of Christian Education with African American families. Soul stories link persons' everyday life with the Christian Scriptures. The soul stories in this revised volume take on a cross-generational orientation with emphasis on linking stories of family identities, events, relationships, and story plot with Bible stories and exemplary Christian faith stories found in the African Diaspora. This orientation builds on an awareness of the continued fragmentation of Black family life and the disconnect between generations on one hand, yet, on the other hand, the profound yearning of Black people for a common family history. The goal of Dr. Wimberly's model is to enliven the values associated with the image of "village" in order to empower and equip African Americans today.