Righteous discontent : the women's movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920 /

This landmark contribution to American religious history is the first full-scale study of the religious ideas and activities of a large cohort of African American women. Previous books on the religious activities of African Americans, such as The Black Church in the African American Experience by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya (CH, Jul'91), tend to pay little attention to women. The few books that have studied the religious work of African American women, such as Sisters of the Spirit, ed. by William L. Andrews (CH, Oct'86), have focused on singular women prophets. Higginbotham's book is the first to study the religious work of a generation or more of African American Christian women. Higginbotham argues that women in African American Baptist churches between 1880 and 1920 worked against both racial and gender discrimination. Women figured importantly in the efforts of the National Baptist Convention to combat racism and to improve the conditions under which African Americans lived, while at the same time working toward greater equality and leadership as women within the Convention. This fine book is recommended for all libraries. A. Porterfield; Syracuse University

Examining the black church as the domain not only of religious expression but also of the emerging ``pursuit of a black collective will and identity,'' Higginbotham (history, Univ. of Pennsylvania) analyzes the contributions of African American women between 1880 and 1920. Her work addresses a neglected area by clearly documenting the lives of women whose vision, sacrifice, faith, and intelligence served the poor and built schools, promoted self-help, and shaped the forces that would challenge racial and gender subordination. In her account of the women's interaction with black men in pressing for racial equality and with Northern white Baptist women in championing gender equality, Higginbotham insightfully interprets complex gender, race, and class issues, enhancing this book's value to scholars as well as lay readers interested in feminism, racial politics, and church history. Highly recommended.-- Cynthia Widmer, Downingtown, Pa. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.