Books
Black Women, the Black Church and the Struggle to Thrive in America
Book Review by Kam
Williams
Special To The Skanner News
I
n this age of mega-churches and
prosperity theology, it is natural
to wonder how many members
of the black clergy even bother to
minister to the needs of the least of
the their brethren anymore. That
question came to intrigue Professor
Keri Day, Director of Black Church
Studies at Brite Divinity School,
after noting that Christianity is now
a very difference experience for sis-
ters, depending on their social class.
While many black females have
been fortunate enough to make the
leap to the middle and upper-class-
es, the bulk remain poor with less
and less hope for deliverance from
their plight. In her book, “Unfin-
ished Business,” Dr. Day outlines a
plan to return to the times when
poverty was a primary concern of
the Black Church.
Annotated and academic in tone,
this informative opus struck this
critic as written more for a college-
educated crowd than a mass
audience. That being said, the femi-
nist author does approach her
subject-matter with an admirable
zeal, making a case on behalf of not
only black females but of women of
any ethnicity who find themselves
on the outside looking-in when it
comes to capitalism.
For instance, she refers to the
Welfare System as the “New Jane
Crow” because it fails to address
structural inequities in the American
economy.
Dr. Day’s fervent hope is that “By
promoting socially-conscious capi-
talism among black businesses and
capitalists, black churches can
develop a theology of holistic pros-
perity that considers the thriving of
all members within society.”
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Page 12 The Portland Skanner
November 14, 2012