Black religion : Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis / William David Hart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hart, William David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Conversion.

African Americans--Religion.

African Americans.

Spiritual biography.

Christianity and other religions.

X, Malcolm, 1925-1965.

X, Malcolm.

Lester, Julius, 1939-2018.

Lester, Julius.

Willis, Janice Dean.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xi, 228 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

Black Religion explores the complexity of the black spiritual imagination using the autobiographies of three prominent religious leaders. Looking at Malcolm X's journey from Christianity to Islam, social parasite to "race man," libertine to ascetic, Hart delves into the spiritual dimensions of Malcolm X's life. Hart then examines the affinities between Malcolm's spiritual journey and the journeys of Julius Lester and Jan Willis-none of whom conform to standard expectations of what it means to be a black person and a religious person. Hart argues that the Muslim, Judaic, and Buddhist commitments of these autobiographers show that the black spiritual imagination-religious, political, and personal-cannot be limited to the standard narrative of Black Religion, nor can spirituality be limited to religion.

Contents:

1 Afro-Eccentricity and Autobiography 1

Part I The Spiritual Journey of Malcolm X

2 Jahiliyyah and Jihad 19

3 Hijrah and Hajj 69

Part II The Spiritual Children of Malcolm X

4 Julius Lester: Blackness and Teshuvah 115

5 Jan Willis: Duhkha and Enlightenment 155

6 "Bluing" the Standard Narrative 193

Coda: My Point of View as an Author 197.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-222) and index.

ISBN:

0230605370

9780230605374

OCLC:

176926075

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description