Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century

Religion in North America

by William L. Andrews (Editor)

"Sisters of the Spirit . . . should interest a wider audience. . . . These fascinating accounts can stand on their own. . . . Mr. Andrews has made them even more accessible by providing a comprehensive introduction and helpful footnotes . . . but he does not intrude on the text itself." ―New York Times Book Review

" . . . informative and inspiring reading." ―The Journal of American History

Jarena Lee, Zilpha Elaw, and Julia Foote underwent a revolution in their own sense of self that helped to launch a feminist revolution in American religious life and in American society as a whole.

Genres: Religion, History, Race, American History, Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

William Leake Andrews (1948-) is an American Professor Emeritus of English at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a scholar of early African-American literature. Wikipedia

Reviews

[didi]

In one of their large chapels in which I preached, a number of young men conspired together, and came to hear me, with their hands filled with stones; intending, if I uttered any sentiments which they disapproved of, to pelt me therewith: my brother had driven me to the
place in a carriage and pair; the chapel was amazingly crowded, the presence of the Lord overshadowed the assembly, and the worship suffered no interruption from the young gentlemen, who came, not to be instructed in the way of the truth, but to sit in judgment on and try my discourse by the standard of their petty opinions. After service, my brother went to fetch the horses from some stables adjacent, these tyros were standing there; and he overheard their conversation, discovered their wicked plot and heard them confess that they knew not what ailed them when they entered the chapel; but their arms seemed bound and held down, and were so paralized that they dropped the stones upon the floor, and that their emotions were such during the service as they had never felt before.

[Kari]

I really enjoyed reading these primary texts.

[Hannah Bertram]

I’m not very religious, however I thought these women’s stories were so interesting to hear and their spirituality is something special to read :)

[Francine Apollo]

This was slow reading at first...the writers of these memoirs were writing in the 19th century. The amazing part of all of this is that women of color learned to read and write...these skills were generally denied to any woman. God had his/her hand on these women who were called to preach and they never gave up.

These women always found a few good men to support and sponsor them; they worried about whether they were effective enough, they worried about their families...very real lives that we can relate to in the 21st century.

This is an important book for Christians, Blacks, anyone interested in the History of Women in the U.S.

Recommended.

[Kate]

Read this in English 43 taught by Professor Bill Cook.

[Meredith Vagner]

Jareena Lee and Julia Foote my AME queens

[Brooke]

I loved the look into women's preaching and ministry in the Protestant movement during the 19th century. All the women who had clips of their writings put into this book. It was a great read.