James Melvin Washington

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James Melvin Washington (April 24, 1948 – May 3, 1997) was an African-American historian, educator, and minister.

Life and career[]

Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, with two sisters and three brothers, he was the child of a laborer and a housekeeper.[1] His faith stemmed from his mother and her disabled friend, who encouraged him to talk with God. Later Washington reflected, "The two women taught me that it is a privilege to call on God. ... It is the most radical form of democracy conceivable." Very early he began to preach in church. At the age of 19 in Nashville he was ordained a Baptist minister.[2]

A 1972 graduate of the University of Tennessee, he received a Masters degree at the Harvard Divinity School. His doctorate was from Yale Divinity School in 1979.[3] The title of his dissertation: "The Origins and Emergence of Black Baptist Separatism, 1863-1897."[4]

Further development of its themes resulted in his 1991 book Frustrated Fellowship. It starts in the 1780s. The divide in status between slave and free was a stumbling block to mixed-race congregations. This tense friction continually pitted faith against injustice. The book addresses the trend, following the civil war, toward self-sufficient autonomy in the Black church. The failure of Reconstruction dashed Black hopes of social parity and justice, which were met with violence and terror. Black resolve relied instead on inner resources, the spiritual power of prayer.[5]

His first book in 1986 was a well-research, 702-page collection of writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. Included were newspaper and magazine pieces from the midst of the struggle, various interviews, and articles from academic and religious journals. Selected passages from King's five books fill the last third of the volume. It was latter reissued.

Starting in 1976 professor Washington taught church history at the Union Theological Seminary. He taught as well at neighboring Columbia University.[6] He became in demand as a visiting professor, teaching at Haverford College, Oberlin College, and Princeton University. As a minister he served on the board of the American Baptist Church, and also of the National Council of Churches.[7] He was active at the Riverside Church in New York City, under the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. Forbes called his 1994 book "a source of inspiration to many" as it reflected "the dignity and power of the African-American religious heritage."[8]

Conversations with God (1994) surprisingly became a bestseller.[9] The book presented passages from the prayers of 190 Blacks. Among them were Frederick Douglass and poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, W. E. B. Du Bois, Sojourner Truth, professor Howard Thurman, poet Esther Popel, Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Baldwin, writer Alice Walker and James Alexander Forbes, Jr.[10] Many of the quotations given were by relatively unknown Christians, from various points along the difficult and painful, yet blessed history of the Black American church.[11]

He died of a stroke suffered at home. Prof. Washington was survived by his wife of 26 years and his daughter.[12]

Bibliography[]

Washington's published works include:

  • Editor: Testament of Hope. The essential writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. (San Francisco: Harper & Row 1986);
    reissued by Harper in 1992 as I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World.
  • Frustrated Fellowship: The Black Baptist Quest for Social Power (Macon: Mercer University 1991).
  • Editor: Conversations with God. Two centuries of African American prayers (Harpercollins 1994).
  • Posthumous Festschrift
    Editors: Cornel West, Quinton Hosford Dixie, James Melvin Washington,
    The Courage to Hope: From Black Suffering to Human Redemption: Essays in Honor of James Melvin Washington
    (Boston: Beacon Press 1999).

References[]

  1. ^ Pace, Eric (May 8, 1997). "James Washington, 49, Expert On Black Religious History" – via NYTimes.com. The Times obituary noted that the dean at Harvard Divinity said Washington had an uncanny gift for all people "great and small".
  2. ^ James M. Manheim, "James Melvin Washington", at Gale Databases, Feb. 7, 2005. Accessed 2021.09.01.
  3. ^ Pace (1997).
  4. ^ "Guide to the Washington, James Melvin: Papers". oac.cdlib.org.
  5. ^ Manheim (2005). Washington latter remarked on the extraordinary patience of the Black church, as he told a journalist, "Between 1889 and 1920 there were 3,900 black people lynched and burned in this country. That's almost one a week. That's terrorism."
  6. ^ Pace (1997).
  7. ^ Manheim (2005).
  8. ^ Pace (1997).
  9. ^ Manheim (2005). In his introduction, Washington noted that he was "quite aware of the cynicism" about "the spiritual life of my people," that cast it "as superstitious and escapist."
  10. ^ Charles Henderson, "Dr. James Melvin Washington", at Godweb. Accessed 2021-09-1.
  11. ^ Manheim (2005). In a newspaper interview a year after publication, he grieved over youth lost to violence and drug abuse. Questions about the tragedy of life transcend a rational approach, he said, turning to the enduring spiritual treasures of his Black heritage.
  12. ^ Pace (1997). His family had made their home in Morningside Heights.

External links[]

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