A Darkly Radiant Vision

“Readers of Dorrien’s earlier trilogy on theological liberalism must read this newer project. . . . His careful work to contextualize various voices and help their moment in time come to fuller understanding by future generations is a fine testament to Black social gospel voices past and present, and a valuable resource for those yet to come.”—Jerrod H. Hugenot, Christian Citizen

“A masterful account of Black theology and political sensibility in the post–civil rights era.”—Andrew C. Stout, Englewood Review of Books

“A monumental accomplishment. . . . Dorrien’s depth of research and personal relationships with many of the figures on which he writes make his history compelling even for those already familiar with [Andrew] Young, [Jesse] Jackson, and the history of academic Black theology.”—David C. Justice, Reading Religion

Recipient of the Morehouse College Gandhi, King, Mandela Peace Prize

“This book is nothing short of stellar, fulfilling its promise to provide an expansive history of this tradition from the assassination of MLK to the present.”—Rubén Rosario Rodriguez, Saint Louis University

“Gary Dorrien is our foremost, most important, and most effective chronicler and interpreter of liberal and liberationist theology. He brings to his task his enormous great erudition, his appetite for data, his sharp critical discernment, and his great moral passion. With this book he completes his trilogy on recent Black theology. More than that, however, this book is a state-of-the-art critical assessment of recent Black theology that gives us close-up contact with the players (famous and less famous) who have shaped the enterprise. This book will be important reading for those who want to know how we got here, and what remains to be done in the work of faithful justice. Dorrien has laid down a marker to which careful attention must be paid.”—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

“What Gary Dorrien has accomplished in this book of otherworldly learning, insight, and ambition is simply unheard of. Combining deep historical research and knowledge with outstanding analytical clarity and a journalistic voice, this book is simply mesmerizing.”—Jonathan Tran, author of Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism