Freedom Faith

Freedom Faith is the first critical biography of Rev. Dr. Prathia Laura Ann Hall (1940-2002), a leader in the Civil Rights Movement whose story has not yet been told. Hall's 'freedom faith' was the belief that God created humans to be free and assists and equips those who work for freedom. Phrased more colloquially, Hall defined freedom faith as: 'This sense that I'm not a nigger, I'm not a gal, not a boy. I'm God's child. It may cost me my job, it may cost me my life, but I want to be free. So I'm going to go down to the courthouse, I'm going to sign my name. I'm going to trust God to take me there...and bring me back. That's freedom faith.' Freedom faith was the central concept of Hall's theology, and this study examines her life and philosophy, particularly through the lens of her civil rights activism, her teaching career, and her ministry as a womanist preacher. Moving through the course of her life, Freedom Faith focuses on her intellectual and theological development, and her radiating influence on such figures as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Alice Walker. Hall was one of the first women ordained in the American Baptist Association, was the pastor of Mt. Sharon Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and in later life joined the faculty at the Boston University School of Theology as the Martin Luther King Chair in Social Ethics. In all of these roles, Hall was a pioneer, fusing rigorous feminist thought with Christian ethics and visions of social justice--