Ancestral Wisdom: The Struggle for Liberation

Ancestral Wisdom: The Struggle for Liberation

Pullen’s annual Finlator Lecture Series is named after the late William Wallace Finlator, former pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. Pastor Finlator is remembered for speaking boldly and prophetically on the issues of his day.

This year’s series features Dr. Sarah Azaransky, Associate Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Over two days, she will lecture on the themes of her most recent book, and facilitate a community conversation and panel discussion. You can read Dr. Azaransky’s biography here.

Schedule of Events

Book Talk and Reception

Friday, April 4 -- 7-9 pm in Finlator Hall

Dr. Sarah Azaransky will discuss her latest book, This Worldwide Struggle: Religion and the International Roots of the Civil Rights Movement. It identifies a network of Black Christian intellectuals and activists who looked abroad (including in other religious traditions) for ideas and practices that could transform American democracy. From the 1930s to the 1950s, they drew lessons from independence movements around the world for an American racial justice campaign. The book reveals fertile intersections of worldwide resistance movements, American racial politics, and interreligious exchanges that crossed literal borders and disciplinary boundaries.

A reception will follow the lecture. There is no cost to attend this event.

Community Conversation, Interreligious Panel, and Lunch

Saturday. April 5 -- 10 am-1:30 pm in Finlator Hall

Dr. Azaransky will offer some reflections. An interfaith panel will follow. The discussion will center on how our movements for justice today might draw from the spiritual wisdom of the ancestors in Dr. Azaransky’s work -- including Bayard Rustin, Pauli Murray, Howard Thurman, and Martin Luther King Jr.

This cost for lunch on Saturday is $10. You can pay a discounted price of $5, or you can sponsor a lunch for $15.

Register for the Finlator Lecture Series here.

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