"Jeremiah Wright and Black Prophetic Preaching," by Debra J. Mumford         Email a friend

In March 2008, sermon snippets of Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, dominated news headlines. In these snippets of his sermons, Wright is heard giving harsh criticism of the United States’ foreign policy and treatment of some of its citizens.

Whether or not one agrees with Wright, it is helpful to have more background about the black prophetic preaching tradition from which he comes. It is this tradition that has spiritually and emotionally supported and sustained many African Americans since the days of slavery.

In this essay, author and homiletics scholar Debra Mumford provides Thoughtful Christian readers a brief background of the long tradition of African American prophetic preaching and encourages Christians not to be misled by how some of the media are choosing to portray a black prophetic preacher.