Southern Methodist Women and Social Justice

Highlighting the contributions of Methodist women in advocating for progressive reform from 1900 to the present  



This
book tells the stories of nine southern Methodist women, who, inspired
by their faith, carried forward the spirit of progressivism. They fought
for racial equality, challenged white male supremacy, and addressed
class oppression. The white and Black women featured here responded to
local human rights violations with compassion, advocating for expanded
and more diverse private and public services in the United States.



Motivated
by a modernist interpretation of the Gospel authorized by the tenets of
Methodism, these women expanded notions of southern identity and
womanhood. Their actions supported the Black freedom struggle and
promoted women’s rights, gaining momentum after the 1939 rise of the
Women’s Society of Christian Service—the largest Protestant women’s
organization in the country. Grounded in research from church archives
and interviews, this book shows how Methodist traditions provided
spiritual, theological, and doctrinal support for social justice work
among laywomen and female clergy. With Methodism as a case in point,
this book expands the historical narrative of twentieth-century reform
movements to include the South’s progressive religious traditions.  



Contributors:
Chelsea Elizabeth Hodge | Fran Wescott | Janet Lynn Allured | Randall
M. Miller | Jeanette Stokes | M. Kathryn Armistead | Stanley Harrold |
Rachel Sauls | Helen R. Neinast | Jennifer Copeland | Katie W. Powell



A volume in the series Southern Dissent, edited by Stanley Harrold and Randall M. Miller