What do you think?
Rate this book
By These Hands: A Documentary History of African American Humanism
The Black church is often praised for its contribution to Black culture and politics. More recently Islam has been recognized as an important force in African American liberation. Anthony Pinn's new anthology By These Hands demonstrates the crucial, often overlooked role that Humanism has played in African American struggles for dignity, power and justice. Pinn collects the finest examples of African American Humanism and shows how its embrace by a variety of prominent figures in African American thought and letters has served as the basis for activism and resistance to American racism and sexism.
Pinn uncovers little known treasures of African American Literature such as The Slave Narrative of James Hay, where an abused slave decides to rely on himself, rather than God, for deliverance from the horrors of slavery, and a letter from Frederick Douglass which scandalized his religious friends by proclaiming that "One honest Abolitionist was a greater terror to slaveholders than whole acres of camp-meeting preachers shouting glory to God." Essays by Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright demonstrate the profound influence of Humanism in the Harlem Rennaisance, and pieces by James Farmer, Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) and Huey Newton show Humanism's impact on the civil rights and Black Power movements.
Designed for classroom use, this radical reconsideration of African American history will be a must read for anyone interested in African American History, African American Religion and Philosophy, and American History.
Norm Allen, Jr., Herbert Aptheker, James Baldwin, Amiri Imamu Baraka, J. Mason Brewer, Sterling Brown, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B.Du Bois, James Foreman, Duchess Harris, Hubert H. Harrison, Harry Haywood, Zora Neale Hurston, William R. Jones, William Loren Katz, Benjamin E. Mays, Huey P. Newton, Daniel Payne, J. Saunders Redding, William L. Van DeBurg, Alice Walker, and Richard Wright.
Pinn uncovers little known treasures of African American Literature such as The Slave Narrative of James Hay, where an abused slave decides to rely on himself, rather than God, for deliverance from the horrors of slavery, and a letter from Frederick Douglass which scandalized his religious friends by proclaiming that "One honest Abolitionist was a greater terror to slaveholders than whole acres of camp-meeting preachers shouting glory to God." Essays by Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright demonstrate the profound influence of Humanism in the Harlem Rennaisance, and pieces by James Farmer, Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) and Huey Newton show Humanism's impact on the civil rights and Black Power movements.
Designed for classroom use, this radical reconsideration of African American history will be a must read for anyone interested in African American History, African American Religion and Philosophy, and American History.
Norm Allen, Jr., Herbert Aptheker, James Baldwin, Amiri Imamu Baraka, J. Mason Brewer, Sterling Brown, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B.Du Bois, James Foreman, Duchess Harris, Hubert H. Harrison, Harry Haywood, Zora Neale Hurston, William R. Jones, William Loren Katz, Benjamin E. Mays, Huey P. Newton, Daniel Payne, J. Saunders Redding, William L. Van DeBurg, Alice Walker, and Richard Wright.
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published September 1, 2001
51 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2021
Informative, entertainment, original, luminous, brave, thought provoking, transcendental...
April 12, 2014
By These Hands is an excellent, stimulating, collection of essays and memoirs dealing with an overlooked part of the Humanist tradition. In the opening essay "Religious Humanism", William Jones points out that the black humanist tradition has a line of development independent of the Enlightenment Humanist tradition. Put bluntly, it's hard to believe God is good when that God is used as the justification for your enslavement and social marginalization.
In fact, one of the continuous and most systematic critiques that emerges from the black humanist tradition is not only that religion propped up slavery, but that still props up an inequitable social order by promoting political quietism by promising eventual reward in the sweet by-and-by.
At this point the reader may be thinking of the one, powerful, counter-example to this critique: the Civil Rights Movement spearheaded by Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The black humanist tradition responds in two ways.
First, black humanists say SCLC was an exception that proved the general rule and in fact faced criticism from other black religious leaders who wanted to keep the peace. This point is amply supported several recollections of church provided by black humanists such as Zora Neale Hurston throughout the book.
Second, African American Humanists argue the involvement of black humanists in the Civil Rights struggle, such as James Forman, has been severely minimized. In fact, on several occasions, such as the Freedom Rides in the summer of 1961, it was activists like Forman bucking against the wishes of religious leaders like King.
The weakest material is in the first half covering 19th century humanism. The primary reason for this, as more than one scholar in the book observes, is that the source material just is not there. The primary sources from the period were written by Christian activists focused on making blacks as appealing (read: Christian) to their readers as possible. A thin historical record leads to thin, and sometimes overly speculative, arguments (essays but Duchess Harris and Sterling Brown in particular seem like good ideas in need of more archive work).
The majority of the book, however, is devoted to the 20th century and here the book really shines. The sheer variety of primary sources and scholarly opinions leads to thought provoking and engaging reading. The essay "Humanism in Political Action" by Norm R. Allen, Jr. is an excellent bird's eye view of how Humanism has played a part not just in black struggles in America, but in Africa as well. This large overview helps orient the reader when approaching the subsequent essays from such luminaries as W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, and Alice Walker, to name only three.
If you are a person remotely interested in humanism and its cousins free thought, atheism, and secularism you owe it to yourself to read this book. It will greatly enhance your understanding of American history as well as the motivations and views of those who choose to live a life without traditional religion as a guide.
In fact, one of the continuous and most systematic critiques that emerges from the black humanist tradition is not only that religion propped up slavery, but that still props up an inequitable social order by promoting political quietism by promising eventual reward in the sweet by-and-by.
At this point the reader may be thinking of the one, powerful, counter-example to this critique: the Civil Rights Movement spearheaded by Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The black humanist tradition responds in two ways.
First, black humanists say SCLC was an exception that proved the general rule and in fact faced criticism from other black religious leaders who wanted to keep the peace. This point is amply supported several recollections of church provided by black humanists such as Zora Neale Hurston throughout the book.
Second, African American Humanists argue the involvement of black humanists in the Civil Rights struggle, such as James Forman, has been severely minimized. In fact, on several occasions, such as the Freedom Rides in the summer of 1961, it was activists like Forman bucking against the wishes of religious leaders like King.
The weakest material is in the first half covering 19th century humanism. The primary reason for this, as more than one scholar in the book observes, is that the source material just is not there. The primary sources from the period were written by Christian activists focused on making blacks as appealing (read: Christian) to their readers as possible. A thin historical record leads to thin, and sometimes overly speculative, arguments (essays but Duchess Harris and Sterling Brown in particular seem like good ideas in need of more archive work).
The majority of the book, however, is devoted to the 20th century and here the book really shines. The sheer variety of primary sources and scholarly opinions leads to thought provoking and engaging reading. The essay "Humanism in Political Action" by Norm R. Allen, Jr. is an excellent bird's eye view of how Humanism has played a part not just in black struggles in America, but in Africa as well. This large overview helps orient the reader when approaching the subsequent essays from such luminaries as W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, and Alice Walker, to name only three.
If you are a person remotely interested in humanism and its cousins free thought, atheism, and secularism you owe it to yourself to read this book. It will greatly enhance your understanding of American history as well as the motivations and views of those who choose to live a life without traditional religion as a guide.
August 6, 2011
Pinn’s work is a satisfying assemblage on the narrative history of humanism in the African American community. Luminaries and the laity are given equal footing to present the case for humanism as path to liberation for African Americans.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews