"Little shows that voices besides those of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois sought to influence American policy, particularly as it related to people of color throughout the world. This fine study will delight students of American politics, African American religious history, and American history." --William Seraile, author of Fire in His Heart: Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner and the A.M.E. Church In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the African Methodist Episcopal Church provided an ideological foundation for the African American community that was truly world-embracing. While generally identified with the pursuit of liberty for African Americans, the church's concerns can now be seen to have extended far beyond U.S. borders. In this new study, Lawrence Little describes how the AME Church reacted to American foreign policy in the years from the partition of Africa in 1884 to the U.S. invasion of Haiti in 1916. By examining and analyzing church rhetoric and actions in response to imperialism and oppression, he shows how the AME Church pursued the global application of liberty and identified with oppressed peoples around the world, regardless of race. As church leaders, editors of church periodicals, and laypersons reacted to such issues as U.S. conduct during the war with Spain or involvement in Caribbean countries, they found an opportunity for mission work on behalf of American-style liberty in those areas brought into the U.S. orbit. Yet, because this liberty was often accompanied by American-style racism and imperialism, it sometimes proved difficult for church members to reconcile the promise of U.S. ideals with reality. As Little shows, interaction between theology and politics created conflict within the church as its leaders sought not only to enlighten the African American community but also to influence domestic and world opinions. Disciples of Liberty takes a more global perspective than previous studies of African American denominations. It describes the wide range of issues that engaged the AME: the Irish struggle for home rule, British imperialism during the Boer War, persecution of Russian Jews, and the Boxer Rebellion, among many others. Further, it examines the attitudes of ordinary elders and laypersons, showing that they closely followed current events and demonstrating that AME leadership also was exercised from the bottom up. A century ago, the AME Church recognized that prejudice at home was also a reflection of imperialism abroad. By focusing on the theme of liberty, Little's study offers new insights into that era and shows how African Americans developed a stand on universal human rights and self-determination. The Author: Lawrence S. Little is an assistant professor of African American history at Villanova University.
Format: Hardback
CONTRIBUTORS: Lawrence S. Little
EAN: 9781572330856
COUNTRY: United States
PAGES: 264
WEIGHT:
HEIGHT: 229 mm
PUBLISHED BY: University of Tennessee Press
DATE PUBLISHED: 2000-08-02
CITY:
GENRE: RELIGION / Christianity / Methodist
WIDTH: 152 mm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
Methodist Churches
The Author: Lawrence S. Little is an assistant professor of African American history at Villanova University.