Earle Fisher is senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church and adjunct instructor of religion, communication, and African American studies at several local colleges and universities.

This book is not only an important and long-overdue study of the rhetoric of the Reverend Albert Cleage, but it also develops a robust analytical framework that avoids the limitations of the Eurocentrism that has informed much previous scholarship on prophetic rhetoric. Dr. Fisher’s dexterous close readings reveal the subtlety and power of Cleage’s sermons, while also amplifying the potential of these sermons to both describe and disrupt the intersections of rhetoric, race, and religion. The Reverend Cleage speaks through Dr. Fisher’s skillful analyses in a way that surely will, and surely should, engage a new generation of scholars. This is an eloquent, excellent book.

• Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: What The Black Messiah Offers Religious and Rhetorical StudiesChapter 3: A General Rhetorical Assessment of The Black MessiahChapter 4: Albert Cleage’s Epistle to Stokely (A Close Reading)Chapter 5: Brother Malcolm, Dr. King, and Black Power Chapter 6: ConclusionsBibliography About the Author