This thoroughly researched and well-written biography of an influential African American preacher and teacher shines a light on the origins of the civil rights movement by concentrating on one who lived and preached his Christian beliefs in his own personal way.
For general readers interested in Washington as an individual, Henriques’s efforts should be lauded. Despite presenting his subject as flawed, one who succeeded in gaining fame across the ages in spite of them, the author’s high admiration of Washington is palpable. His analysis and narrative style, however, fall short of Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers.
Interestingly, the essayists here, rather than literary experts, specialize in religion, history, theology, and ethics, which provides a refreshing analysis and perspective on Morrison’s work and a valuable contribution to Morrison scholarship.