In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

>> vii Acknowledgments I extend my gratitude to First African Presbyterian Church, especially Reverend Dr. Mark Lomax, Reverend Dr. Will Coleman, Reverend Dr. Itahari Toure, and the church members who participated in my research project. Your graciousness, candor, and insight made this project possible , and I have tried my best to respect the work that you are doing as a community. I thank Dr. Peggy Barlett, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Dr. Bruce Knauft, Dr. Tracy Rone, and Dr. Dianne Stewart, who each provided crucial theoretical guidance, support, and inspiration. With all my heart, I thank Dr. Matsheliso Molapo, Dr. Sally Seraphin, Dr. Riche Daniel-Barnes, Dr. Maurita Poole, Dr. Leandris Liburd, Amanda Hillman, and LaSherri Bush, the Sisterhood, who provided deeply appreciated friendship and love. I am also indebted to Dr. Martha Rees, who taught me to love anthropology; Dr. James Flanagan, Dr. Marie Danforth, and Dr. Carol Ware of the University of Southern Mississippi, who taught me how to be an anthropologist; and Dr. Yvonne Newsome and Dr. Brenda Hoke of Agnes Scott College, who supported my dream and helped me learn how to teach. I would not have completed this book without the invaluable critical feedback and patience of Jennifer Hammer, senior editor at New York University Press. I am also grateful for the keen eye of Dorothea Stillman Halliday, managing editor at the press. Thank you, Jennifer and Dorothea. Thank you to my colleagues at Centre College, J. H. Atkins, Beau Weston, Phyllis Passariello, Sarah Goodrum, Endre Nyerges, and Robyn Cutright. I am also grateful for the encouragement and unwavering enthusiasm of my friends Eva Cadavid, Laura Hunt, and Danya Ferraro. viii << Acknowledgments I acknowledge, appreciate, and adore Dr. Demetrius Semien, whose partnership, support, and love have made all the difference in the past five years. Finally, there are no words adequate to thank my parents, Reverend Robert Abrams and Reverend Carolyn Abrams. You are my rock and my fortress. I thank my siblings Stacey, Leslie, Richard, Walter, and Jeanine, whose love makes all things possible. I am especially grateful to my sisters, who read and reread without complaint and provided essential feedback. You always believed even when I did not. And I love each of you. ...

Share