Deeper Shades of Purple

Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair and Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University. She is a nationally recognized scholar and leading voice in Christian social ethics and womanist thought who provides leadership to several national and international organizations that include Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG), Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion (SRER), Strategic Effective Ethical Solutions (SEES), Society of Christian Ethics (SCE) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). She has published eight books and numerous articles that focus on liberation theology and ethics, critical race theory, critical pedagogy, and postcolonial studies including Deeper Shades of Purple: Womanism in Religion and Society, Black Church Studies: An Introduction, The Altars Where We Worship: The Religious Significance of American Popular Culture, and the forthcoming When the Good Life Goes Bad: The U.S. and Its Seven Deadly Sins.

"A must-have collection for readers who want to see womanist theology in all of its rich purple hues." (WATERwheel) "A stunningly original work that carries & womanist and & womanism to a new level of thinking. . . . It not only provides multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the womanist idea but charts path-breaking directions for religious thought, ethics, and cultural analysis." - Cheryl Townsend Gilkes,author of If It Wasn't for the Women: Black Womens Experience and Womanist Culture in Church and Community "An important collection of the leading scholars in Womanist religion, ethics and theology. A must read!" - James H. Cone,Union Theological Seminary "Drawing on a wealth of womanist criticism that rekindles Walkers Womanism, this valuable collection of essays brings together a wide range of womanists and womanist perspectives from different sectors, providing readers with an excellent list of references on the theme of Womanism and womanist activities." - Jaehwan Han (African American Review) "Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is to be commended for bringing together such a powerful group of religious scholars who practice, define, and critique womanist theoretical discourse." (Journal of African American History) "An important and fine collection. . . The volume is marked by its inclusiveness of ideas and not just from the perspectives of black women" (Christianity and Literature)

• Acknowledgments Wisdom Rocked Steady [poem] Nancy Lynne WesteldIntroduction: Writing for Our LivesPart I Radical SubjectivityWhen Mama Was God [poem] 1 Structured Academic Amnesia2 From "Force-Ripe" to "Womanish/ist"3 Womanism Encounters Islam4 Standing in the Shoes My Mother MadePart II Traditional CommunalismRe?ecting\Black [poem] 5 Dancing Limbo6 Hospitality, Haints, and Healing7 Lessons and Treasures in Our Mothers' Witness8 "Mama Why ... ?" Part III Redemptive Self-LoveI've Been Mixed Like Cornbread [poem] 9 Twenty Years a Womanist: An Af?rming Challenge 10 A Womanist Journey 11 Quilting Relations with Creation12 The Sweet Fire of HoneyPart IV Critical EngagementNevertheless, in Stark Contradiction [poem] 13 Womanist Humanism14 A Thinking Margin15 The Womanist Dancing MindPart V Appropriation and ReciprocityThey Came Because of the Wailing [poem] 16 Womanist Visions, Womanist Spirit17 Lavender Celebrates Purple18 Womanists and Mujeristas, Sisters in the Struggle19 Mining the Motherlode20 What's the Theological Equivalent of a "Mannish Boy"?21 Lies above Suspicion: Being Human in Black Folk Tales22 Is a Womanist a Black Feminist? Selected Womanist Bibliography About the Contributors Index