Throughout the month, we will be highlighting Back History Month resources available in the presbytery resource center:
African American Presbyterian Clergywomen: The First Twenty-Five Years by Karen V. Brown and Phyllis M. Felton- This book celebrates 25 years of service of African American Presbyterian clergywomen, whose ministries grace the PCUSA.
African American Congregational Histories– This notebook is a result of the Committee on Reunion and African American congregations in collecting their histories and putting them in written form.
All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou- In her third autobiographical book, Maya Angelou tells of her time in Ghana and what it means to be an African American on the mother continent.
Call to Worship: African American Liturgical Resources edited by Kimberly Long- The essays in this edition of Call to Worship offer readers a deeper understanding of the history, theology, and practice of African American worship. It grew from the work of a task force of African American Presbyterian musicians, pastors, and scholars convened by the Office of Theology and Worship.
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by Bell Hooks- This book shows the unfolding of female creativity and one strong-spirited child’s journey toward becoming a writer. She learns early on the roles women and men play in society, as well as the emotional vulnerability of children. She sheds new light on a society that beholds the joys of marriage for men and condemns anything more than silence for women. In this world, too, black is a woman’s color—worn when earned—daughters and daddies are strangers under the same roof, and crying children are often given something to cry about. Hooks finds good company in solitude, good company in books. She also discovers, in the motionless body of misunderstanding, that writing is her most vital breath.
The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe- This collection of essays provides a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria; considerations on the African-American diaspora, glimpses into the author’s extraordinary family life, and thoughts on the potent symbolism of President Obama’s election.