Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope

by Esau McCaulley

By whatever name they go, the voices of black women are vital if the whole people of God are to join in the interpretative process.

The job of the scholar is to probe and press and challenge simplistic readings. It is also important to challenge simplistic readings using our own experiences that might provide insights that others who do not share those experiences might have missed.

Because of the legacy of enslavers using the Bible to oppress Black people, there is a long history of Black secular criticism of Christianity. Black believers therefore have had to develop a double apologetic, answering questions posed by Black secularists and white progressives.