Wilson J. Moses is Professor of History at the Pennsylvania State University and author of, among other works, The Golden Age of Black Nationalism, 1850–1925 (1988) and The Wings of Ethiopia (1990).
“Wilson Moses has written an exciting and imaginative study of myth
and symbol. While it focuses on Afro-American thought, its
implications are much broader, informing the whole field of
American studies.”—Nathan I. Huggins
“A brilliant and provocative book. It is a major contribution to
Afro-American Studies, and religious studies, as well as an
incisive critique of American civilization. . . . The author
analyzes black messianism, a form of redemptive theology which
assumes that Afro-Americans are destined to play a unique role in
history and have a special message for humanity. . . . Moses finds
that by employing the concept of black messianism he was able to
reconcile apparently opposing trends in black history. He notes
that the Afro-American's desire to separate from the mainstream of
American society can be reconciled with his desire to
integrate.”—History: Reviews of New Books
“Moving chronologically over 150 years of Afro-American history,
Moses discusses the religio-political positions of diverse historic
figures and the messianic themes of several novels. It’s obvious
that he has read exhaustively and reflected seriously. Fresh
insights abound. His assertion, for example, that David Walker’s
Appeal is more a jeremiad than a protonationalist tract is a
convincing rereading. He sardonically demonstrates that the ‘Uncle
Tom’ ideal, correctly understood, has exerted a lasting appeal not
only upon integrationists but upon separatists as well. . . . An
impressive study of an important myth in Afro-American and American
culture.”—Albert J. Raboteau, The Journal of Southern History
“Black Messiahs and Uncle Toms is a provocative work in which fresh
insights abound. With its appearance the contours of scholarship in
the field have been reshaped.”—Sterling Stuckey
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