The Image of God and Immediate Emancipation: David Walker’s Theological Foundation of Equality and the Rejection of White Supremacy
In the 1820s it was predominantly Black abolitionists who opposed gradualist abolitionism and the concept of colonization, while, in general, White abolitionists opposed slavery, viewing it as seductive or as sin in itself, but did not want full emancipation for Blacks. Therefore, David Walker’s App...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2024
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| In: |
Harvard theological review
Year: 2024, Volume: 117, Issue: 1, Pages: 138-160 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Abolitionists
/ Image of God
/ Black theology
/ Freemasonry
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| RelBib Classification: | AZ New religious movements CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society FD Contextual theology KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBQ North America NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
Image of God
B Imago Dei B Walker’s Appeal B Prince Hall Masons B Emancipation B Black Theology B David Walker B Abolitionism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the 1820s it was predominantly Black abolitionists who opposed gradualist abolitionism and the concept of colonization, while, in general, White abolitionists opposed slavery, viewing it as seductive or as sin in itself, but did not want full emancipation for Blacks. Therefore, David Walker’s Appeal from 1829 is a central document in that it calls for immediate and full emancipation as well as opposition to racism and White supremacy. This article argues that the shift in political aim of Black radical abolitionists correlates with an innovation in theological foundation. Walker grounds his quest for immediate and full emancipation in an egalitarian concept of imago Dei. It is this theological foundation that became influential in radical abolitionist discourse and was employed by Maria M. Stewart as well as William Lloyd Garrison. As a result of research on Walker’s theological innovation, it comes to the fore that he most likely was influenced by Black Freemasonry, especially Prince Hall. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816023000445 |