Amanda Berry Smith

Host Karen Wright Marsh tells the story of one of the greatest preachers you’ve never met, Amanda Berry Smith, and discusses her witness with Yale professor Donyelle McCray.

Born enslaved on a Maryland plantation, Amanda Berry Smith (1837-1915) went on to preach the Gospel across the United States, Europe, Africa, and India. How did an impoverished black woman achieve such freedom and influence? Did she ever overcome her anxious fears? What does she teach us in our own frightening times?

Guest Dr. Donyelle McCray, Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Yale Divinity School, writes about the ways African American women and lay people use the sermon to play, remember, invent, and disrupt. Her book, The Censored Pulpit: Julian of Norwich as Preacher, offers a homiletical reading of Julian’s life and ministry. Her current research examines the preaching and spirituality of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. Dr. McCray is also working on a documentary film on Race, Church, and Theological Practices.

Learn more about Dr. McCray here.

For more reading, Karen recommends:

Susie C. Stanley’s article on Amanda Berry Smith at World Religions and Spirituality https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/amanda-berry-simith/

Smith’s autobiography is online at https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/smitham/menu.html

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