1 1

To Speak a Defiant Word

To Speak a Defiant Word

Sermons and Speeches on Justice and Transformation

Pauli Murray
$35.00
$35.00
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Binding
Twenty-five years of writings by the religious thinker and activist Pauli Murray.

The religious thought and activism that shaped the late twentieth century is typically described in terms of Black men from the major Black denominations, a depiction that fails to account for the voices of those who not only challenged racism but also forced a confrontation with class and gender. Of these overlooked voices, none is more important than that of Pauli Murray (1910-1985), the nonbinary Black lawyer, activist, poet, and Episcopal priest who influenced such icons as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall.

Anthony B. Pinn has collected Murray's most important sermons, lectures, and speeches from 1960 through 1985, showcasing her religious thought and activism as well as her original and compassionate literary voice. In highlighting major themes in Murray's writing--including the strength and rights of women, faithfulness, religious community, and suffering--Pinn's collection reveals the evolution in Murray's religious ideas and her sense of ministry, unpacking her role in a tumultuous period of American history, as well as her thriving legacy.


Pauli Murray (1910-1985), a pathbreaking activist and religious thinker and the first African American woman ordained an Episcopal priest, was a leading figure in the fight for race and gender equality. 
Anthony B. Pinn is Agnes Cullen Arnold Distinguished Professor of Humanities and professor of religion at Rice University. His books include Interplay of Things: Religion, Art, and Presence Together; The Black Church in the Post-Civil Rights Era; and Varieties of African American Religious Experience. 
Michael Eric Dyson is University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University and the author of Tears We Cannot Stop.


  • Publisher: Yale University Press
  • Publish Date: August 01, 2023
  • Pages: 416
  • Dimensions: 6.5 X 9.52 X 1.16 inches | 1.64 pounds
  • Language: English
  • Type: Hardcover
  • EAN/UPC: 9780300268065
  • BISAC Categories: Sermons - Christian, Speeches, Christian Living - Social Issues, Religion, Politics & State


View full details