The history of social protest such as the civil rights movement displays the manner in which religious commitment and sociopolitical vision have entailed productive synergy. With respect to representatives of this synergy embodied, many readers are familiar with figures such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Barbara Jordan, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. However, there is another who has not received the same level of public and academic attention, yet one whose energy and effort played a role in the advancement of African Americans in particular and American society in general - Pauli Murray. This volume is the first book to map the contours of Pauli Murray's religious life and theological thought. It provides simply the rough outline of her development as a deeply religious person and the ways in which this development ultimately required a certain type of surrender of her life to the will of God, as she understood it.

Author - Anthony B. Pinn

"Pauli Murray continues to be a neglected figure in Black and Feminist theologies . . . Murray . . . integrated militancy with a strong commitment to non-violence as a way of life and thought that was all pervasive, not just a tactic. Pinn I think covers well the different aspects of Murray's life and thought. He also provides an important annotated bibliography for further research on Murray. As a personal friend of Murray in her older years, I appreciated this effort to give equal regard to her activist life as an attorney and her religious thought and ministry and to see their lifelong interconnection."
—Rosemary Radford Ruether, Visiting Professor of Feminist Theology, Claremont School of Theology


"Those who know something about Pauli Murray will appreciate this short, substantive summary of her life and thought. Those who never heard of her will be inspired to read much more. This African American woman was a persistent critic against all forms of racism, sexism and violence both within the church and the society at large. Her criticism of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement focused on their sexism. She also criticized black liberation theology for its lack of a universal doctrine of humanity and she criticized feminist theology for essentializing sexism. Most important, her critical thought was grounded in the prophetic tradition of Christianity which unceasingly demands justice everywhere."
—Peter J. Paris, Elmer G. Homrighausen Professor of Christian Social Ethics Emeritus,
Princeton Theological Seminary

Life Sentences