Episode 115: Black Samson and Black Liberation

How did the biblical story of Samson become associated with the fight for Black liberation? Dr. Nyasha Junior comes back to the front of the class to discuss the new book she co-authored, Black Samson: The Untold Story of an American Icon. L. Joy also takes a moment to share her wish for America on its 244th birthday.

OUR GUEST

Dr. Nyasha Junior is a biblical scholar who holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary. Her research and teaching focus on the intersections of religion, race, and gender. Her current research focuses on 19th-century evangelist Jarena Lee. Dr. Junior’s public scholarship has appeared in The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Religion and Politics, and other media outlets. She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature. She will spend the 2020-21 academic year as visiting faculty at Harvard Divinity School.

About Black Samson

Before Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King was identified with Moses, African Americans identified those who challenged racial oppression in America with Samson. From stories of slave rebellions to the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights era and the Black Power movement, invoking the biblical character of Samson became a powerful way for African American intellectuals, activists, and artists to voice strategies and opinions about race relations in America. As this provocative book reveals, the story of Black Samson became the story of our nation's contested racial history.