My Soul is a Witness: African-American Women's Spirituality

The writings that make up this anthology are uneven in quality and message. The book includes every form of written expression from hymns to academic work. Some, like Sojourner Truth's ``Address to the Ohio Women's Rights Convention,'' are classics. Some, like Taha's ``The Sacred Journey: The Gift of the Hajj,'' will likely become classics. And, others, like Goboldte's essay on the Imani Faith Temple, are academic pedestrians that ``seek to contextualize.'' The book is directed to African American women, but, despite the unevenness and the cultural markers, the anthology also harbors a spirituality that is universal rather than sex or race limited. Nikki Giovanni's ``Let the Church Say Amen'' directly offers this richness when she writes that she has the same message for any audience ``because I know my grandmother, and her Bridge-Flower-Book club friends are always there.'' (Aug.)