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The Wounds Are the Witness: Black Faith Weaving Memory into Justice and Healing
From celebrated scholar Dr. Yolanda Pierce comes this indelible meditation on Black faith, suffering, hope, and the healing possibilities of justice, written in the venerable tradition of James Cone and Kelly Brown Douglas.
What do we do with wounds--our own, others', and a nation's? We can turn away, avert our gaze. We can make a spectacle of suffering. Or like the doubting disciple who longed to touch Jesus's side, we can acquaint ourselves with the both the story they tell and the healing they prefigure.
In The Wounds Are the Witness, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School and author of In My Grandmother's House, weaves together her own memories, vignettes from Black life, and scenes from scripture, especially the passion of Christ. To work for liberation in a broken world, we cannot look away from crucified flesh. Bones from the Middle Passage, GI Bill benefits denied to Black veterans, women inmates shackled while giving we must take all such wounds seriously. They testify to both the pain and the faith of a people.
With the lyrical eye of a poet and the moral precision of a preacher, Pierce casts readers into the astounding story of God's healing. From the curative powers of a spiderweb to the work of justice in history, politics, medicine, higher education, and the Black church, Pierce Where are the remedies for the battered and broken? What does accountability look like? Is there any cure?
Healing takes time, Pierce writes, and even the wounds of the risen Christ do not immediately close. When the wounds become the witness, we find a faith reimagined and a hope transfigured. They tell the about the extent of the injury and the extraordinary work of healing.
What do we do with wounds--our own, others', and a nation's? We can turn away, avert our gaze. We can make a spectacle of suffering. Or like the doubting disciple who longed to touch Jesus's side, we can acquaint ourselves with the both the story they tell and the healing they prefigure.
In The Wounds Are the Witness, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School and author of In My Grandmother's House, weaves together her own memories, vignettes from Black life, and scenes from scripture, especially the passion of Christ. To work for liberation in a broken world, we cannot look away from crucified flesh. Bones from the Middle Passage, GI Bill benefits denied to Black veterans, women inmates shackled while giving we must take all such wounds seriously. They testify to both the pain and the faith of a people.
With the lyrical eye of a poet and the moral precision of a preacher, Pierce casts readers into the astounding story of God's healing. From the curative powers of a spiderweb to the work of justice in history, politics, medicine, higher education, and the Black church, Pierce Where are the remedies for the battered and broken? What does accountability look like? Is there any cure?
Healing takes time, Pierce writes, and even the wounds of the risen Christ do not immediately close. When the wounds become the witness, we find a faith reimagined and a hope transfigured. They tell the about the extent of the injury and the extraordinary work of healing.
196 pages, Hardcover
Published February 4, 2025
7 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Yolanda Pierce
7 books10 followersRev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce is Professor and Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. She is the first woman to be appointed as Dean in the Divinity School’s 150-year history. In 2016, Pierce served as the Founding Director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Previously, she served as the Founding Director of the Center for Black Church Studies and Associate Professor of Religion and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. Pierce holds degrees from Cornell University and Princeton University.
Pierce’s research specialties include African American Religious History; Womanist Theology; African American Literature; and Race and Religion. A widely-published author, her work focuses on the historical and contemporary significance of the African American religious tradition. Pierce has written over 50 critical essays and articles in academic and trade journals which consider the relationship between religious faith, race, and gender in the American context. You can find her work in a wide variety of publications, including: Time Magazine; Christian Century; Theology Today; and Christianity & Literature.
Pierce’s research specialties include African American Religious History; Womanist Theology; African American Literature; and Race and Religion. A widely-published author, her work focuses on the historical and contemporary significance of the African American religious tradition. Pierce has written over 50 critical essays and articles in academic and trade journals which consider the relationship between religious faith, race, and gender in the American context. You can find her work in a wide variety of publications, including: Time Magazine; Christian Century; Theology Today; and Christianity & Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 11, 2025
THE WOUNDS ARE THE WITNESS: Black Faith Weaving Memory into Justice and Healing. By Yolanda Pierce. Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2025. 196 pages.
We are witnessing a backlash against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that is leading, under the Trump Administration, to the complete rollback of DEI programs in the federal government and in numerous companies. Programs that are designed to broaden the playing field are under attack, which likely means few women and people of color will be considered. While we’re told that hiring decisions should be made based on merit, more likely this has to do with making sure that white men can once again get to the front of the line. I say this as a white male. Fortunately, if we’re willing to listen, there are important responses that bear witness to justice, especially for those who have historically been excluded.
The Wounds Are the Witness: Black Faith Weaving Memory into Justice and Healing by Yolanda Pierce offers one of those needed reminders that speak of wounds of the past and offer hope for the future. This is a powerful and beautifully written meditation that will touch hearts and offer hope for healing even as it addresses the wounds that so many have experienced, wounds that must not be forgotten, especially in this moment.
The full review: https://www.bobcornwall.com/2025/02/t...
We are witnessing a backlash against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that is leading, under the Trump Administration, to the complete rollback of DEI programs in the federal government and in numerous companies. Programs that are designed to broaden the playing field are under attack, which likely means few women and people of color will be considered. While we’re told that hiring decisions should be made based on merit, more likely this has to do with making sure that white men can once again get to the front of the line. I say this as a white male. Fortunately, if we’re willing to listen, there are important responses that bear witness to justice, especially for those who have historically been excluded.
The Wounds Are the Witness: Black Faith Weaving Memory into Justice and Healing by Yolanda Pierce offers one of those needed reminders that speak of wounds of the past and offer hope for the future. This is a powerful and beautifully written meditation that will touch hearts and offer hope for healing even as it addresses the wounds that so many have experienced, wounds that must not be forgotten, especially in this moment.
The full review: https://www.bobcornwall.com/2025/02/t...
January 12, 2025
From celebrated scholar Dr. Yolanda Pierce comes this indelible meditation on Black faith, suffering, hope, and the healing possibilities of justice, written in the venerable tradition of James Cone and Kelly Brown Douglas.
What do we do with wounds--our own, others', and a nation's? We can turn away, avert our gaze. We can make a spectacle of suffering. Or like the doubting disciple who longed to touch Jesus's side, we can acquaint ourselves with the wounds: both the story they tell and the healing they prefigure.
In The Wounds Are the Witness, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School and author of In My Grandmother's House, weaves together her own memories, vignettes from Black life, and scenes from scripture, especially the passion of Christ. To work for liberation in a broken world, we cannot look away from crucified flesh. Bones from the Middle Passage, GI Bill benefits denied to Black veterans, women inmates shackled while giving birth: we must take all such wounds seriously. They testify to both the pain and the faith of a people.
With the lyrical eye of a poet and the moral precision of a preacher, Pierce casts readers into the astounding story of God's healing. From the curative powers of a spiderweb to the work of justice in history, politics, medicine, higher education, and the Black church, Pierce asks: Where are the remedies for the battered and broken? What does accountability look like? Is there any cure?
Healing takes time, Pierce writes, and even the wounds of the risen Christ do not immediately close. When the wounds become the witness, we find a faith reimagined and a hope transfigured. They tell the truth: about the extent of the injury and the extraordinary work of healing.
My Take:
At times a testimony of withness, and also witness, Pierce combines scripture, personal vignettes, scholarship and cultural references from people like to Tupac Shakur to expose the wounds Black Americans suffer to air. Through this reading, a few of my wounds began to scab over, and other were picked and bled a bit. All told, I will use this text as a salve for some of my exposed wounds and would recommend a reading for classrooms, social justice readers, theological students, womanist scholars and practitioners, those who study American and African American history and more.
Publishing on February 4, 2025; I was given an advanced reader's copy of this book from Netgalley.
What do we do with wounds--our own, others', and a nation's? We can turn away, avert our gaze. We can make a spectacle of suffering. Or like the doubting disciple who longed to touch Jesus's side, we can acquaint ourselves with the wounds: both the story they tell and the healing they prefigure.
In The Wounds Are the Witness, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School and author of In My Grandmother's House, weaves together her own memories, vignettes from Black life, and scenes from scripture, especially the passion of Christ. To work for liberation in a broken world, we cannot look away from crucified flesh. Bones from the Middle Passage, GI Bill benefits denied to Black veterans, women inmates shackled while giving birth: we must take all such wounds seriously. They testify to both the pain and the faith of a people.
With the lyrical eye of a poet and the moral precision of a preacher, Pierce casts readers into the astounding story of God's healing. From the curative powers of a spiderweb to the work of justice in history, politics, medicine, higher education, and the Black church, Pierce asks: Where are the remedies for the battered and broken? What does accountability look like? Is there any cure?
Healing takes time, Pierce writes, and even the wounds of the risen Christ do not immediately close. When the wounds become the witness, we find a faith reimagined and a hope transfigured. They tell the truth: about the extent of the injury and the extraordinary work of healing.
My Take:
At times a testimony of withness, and also witness, Pierce combines scripture, personal vignettes, scholarship and cultural references from people like to Tupac Shakur to expose the wounds Black Americans suffer to air. Through this reading, a few of my wounds began to scab over, and other were picked and bled a bit. All told, I will use this text as a salve for some of my exposed wounds and would recommend a reading for classrooms, social justice readers, theological students, womanist scholars and practitioners, those who study American and African American history and more.
Publishing on February 4, 2025; I was given an advanced reader's copy of this book from Netgalley.
February 18, 2025
"The Wounds are the Witness" by Dr. Yolanda Pierce 5⭐️/5⭐️
I didn't know what I was opening up when I grabbed The Wounds are the Witness. My decision to read it was pretty superficial. First, I liked the cover. It is beautiful and eye-catching art. Second, the author is the dean at Vanderbilt Divinity School. As a fellow Vanderbilt grad, I wanted to read it. Finally, the title sounded interesting.
I'm so thankful to have read this book. I was confronted with some harsh realities of Black history in America. I didn’t know the true depravity of American history, built on the suffering of Black bodies. Remembering our wounds (historical, personal, or racial) is one way to speak truth to power, confront whiteness, privilege, and racism, and to truly start healing.
The author writes beautifully. It doesn't come across as superfluous or insincere. I really loved her section on environmental justice. Environmental justice is God's justice.
Some of my favorite quotes from her writing: "Heaven may be the ultimate cure for our sorrows, wounds, and cares. But while we are on this earth, the ability to love ourselves, love each other, and do the work of justice is how we can work toward God's promise of healing."
Abd then: "Just keep on living is a heartfelt statement of witness: over the course of a lifetime, you'll be able to see the profound evidence of God's mercy and grace even in the face of suffering or loss. Just keep on living is at the center of the Christian faith: a reminder that trouble don't last always and God will never leave you or forsake you."
Thank you, Broadleaf Books, for the digital copy to read and review.
I didn't know what I was opening up when I grabbed The Wounds are the Witness. My decision to read it was pretty superficial. First, I liked the cover. It is beautiful and eye-catching art. Second, the author is the dean at Vanderbilt Divinity School. As a fellow Vanderbilt grad, I wanted to read it. Finally, the title sounded interesting.
I'm so thankful to have read this book. I was confronted with some harsh realities of Black history in America. I didn’t know the true depravity of American history, built on the suffering of Black bodies. Remembering our wounds (historical, personal, or racial) is one way to speak truth to power, confront whiteness, privilege, and racism, and to truly start healing.
The author writes beautifully. It doesn't come across as superfluous or insincere. I really loved her section on environmental justice. Environmental justice is God's justice.
Some of my favorite quotes from her writing: "Heaven may be the ultimate cure for our sorrows, wounds, and cares. But while we are on this earth, the ability to love ourselves, love each other, and do the work of justice is how we can work toward God's promise of healing."
Abd then: "Just keep on living is a heartfelt statement of witness: over the course of a lifetime, you'll be able to see the profound evidence of God's mercy and grace even in the face of suffering or loss. Just keep on living is at the center of the Christian faith: a reminder that trouble don't last always and God will never leave you or forsake you."
Thank you, Broadleaf Books, for the digital copy to read and review.
March 18, 2025
Dr. Pierece's collection of vignettes and essays was one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time. Her reflections on how woundedness can be a powerful witness to the gospel and a commitment to justice are inspiring, challenging, and energizing. Each chapter is moving in its own way, and I cannot recommend reading this enough. I rented this from the library, but plan to by my own copy soon so that I can highlight and mark up the book with all its powerful lines, descriptions, and reflections. Thank you, Dr. Pierce!
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February 11, 2025I've recently deveoped the routine of reading books about the black experience, typically in Americna history. This was the first book I read that presented a picture of scripture through the eyes/experience of a black person that made me more aware of another's experience and at the same time awakened my understanding of scripture. Yolanda Pierce writes in a way that welcomes one to venture into what may seem like familiar territory, but you do it wearing different glasses.
October 9, 2025
absolutely PHENOMENAL work by Pierce. i haven't had this experience with a theology book since reading L'Engle's Genesis trilogy years ago.
the marriage of science and religion, as well as the relationship of earthly justice and heavenly healing, and even acknowledgement of the deconstruction journey — Yolanda Pierce covers it all.
beautiful, comforting, while still calling her readers to action
can't wait to check out her other work!
the marriage of science and religion, as well as the relationship of earthly justice and heavenly healing, and even acknowledgement of the deconstruction journey — Yolanda Pierce covers it all.
beautiful, comforting, while still calling her readers to action
can't wait to check out her other work!
March 18, 2025
A book that puts salve on our wounded hearts
Words are inadequate to describe how this book gets under one's skin. Dr Pierce has a way of tapping the memories that have been overgrown by our life experiences. She helps us see how things we sometimes prefer to ignore have silently become the bedrock of our faith.
I can only say thank you!
Words are inadequate to describe how this book gets under one's skin. Dr Pierce has a way of tapping the memories that have been overgrown by our life experiences. She helps us see how things we sometimes prefer to ignore have silently become the bedrock of our faith.
I can only say thank you!
May 17, 2025
Amazing book packed with wisdom and full of references to spirituals and theology and history. Had the great privilege of having Dr. Pierce attend a virtual book club meeting. Now I want to read all her books.
February 21, 2025
Brilliant and beautiful!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews