No Longer Slaves: Galatians and African American Experience

[Full Review]

Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002. Pp. xiv+142. Paper. $15.95. ISBN 0814659489. Thomas B. Slater McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University Atlanta, GA 30602 Braxtons stated purpose is to provide an exeg esis of select passages in Galatians that are both informed by current scholarship and accessible to laypersons in the African American church. Most especially he wants the voice of this black preacher to sound clearly (xii). At the same time, Braxton want s to establish meaningful links with African Americans outside the church who hold views and have goals similar to his own. The book is divided into three chapters. Extensive notes follow each chapter, and the book concludes with a thorough bibliography. Chapter 1 discusses Liberation and the African American Experience. Braxton has severe misgivings about defining liberation too precisely (56), though he does provide a partial definition (12). However, he has no such reservations about defining blackness, a term he uses synonymously with African American: the constant and difficult choice to be consciously black and to accept as part of ones identity the history, joys, and struggles of black people (6). Blackness fo r him is also a biological phenomenon and cannot be acquired. Liberation must enable Americans of African descent to be totally comfortable with their physical appearance and their means of cultural expression. The goal of liberation is not merely to love ones blackness but al so to love and affirm other black persons freely and fully (812). [Full Review]