Description
Book SynopsisArgues that, contrary to historical and popular depictions of African Americans as naturally religious, freethought has been central to black political and intellectual life from the nineteenth century to the present.
Trade Review“Cameron offers a compelling survey of African American freethought across two centuries. Rather than treating secularism as a regulatory discourse of modern statecraft, Cameron unpacks the alienations, arguments, and aspirations of black secularists themselves. He brings depth and clarity to an aspect of African American religious history rarely given the sustained attention it deserves.”- Leigh Eric Schmidt, author of
Hearing Things: Religion, Illusion, and the American Enlightenment “In African American intellectual history, religious skepticism, agnosticism, atheism, and secular humanism have long been lost in the shadow of the black church. Taking a closer look at the evidence, Cameron shows that the experience of slavery and the degradations of proslavery Christianity also led some enslaved and free blacks in the nineteenth century to varieties of unbelief. This tradition laid a foundation for the next century, from the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Power movement and beyond. With deft readings of a host of fascinating figures, Cameron shows how black freethinkers made important interventions in American culture.”- Christopher Grasso, author of
Skepticism and American Faith: From the Revolution to the Civil War Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 3
Introduction 5
1. Slavery and Reconstruction 16
2. The New Negro Renaissance 65
3. Socialism and Communism 116
4. Civil Rights and Black Power 165
Afterword 224
Bibliography 236
Endnotes 255
