This came in a bit ago from Concordia College:
Minister and author Christopher Webber will discuss his latest book, American to the Backbone at Concordia’s next Books & Coffee presentation at 7 p.m. March 1 at Sommer Center.
American to the Backbone brings to life the story of James Pennington, a former slave who became a Yale scholar, congregational pastor and international leader of the antebellum abolitionist movement. Pennington wrote the first-ever “History of the Colored People” as well as a careful study of the moral basis for civil disobedience, which would be echoed decades later by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chosen in 1853 to preside at the Negro National Convention in Rochester, Pennington defied leading white Americans who were attempting to define their country in mono-racial terms, insisting “I am American to the backbone and am entitled to the same rights as anyone else.”
The actor and director Sam Waterston proclaimed Webber’s biography “… a surprise disguised as a book…We need to hear this because it can change how we think and act today. Chris Webber tells the story clearly, carefully, thoroughly, wisely…”
An inspiring minister in his own right, Webber is a graduate of Princeton University and the General Theological Seminary in New York. He is the author of a number of books ranging from a guidebook for Vestries to a study of Christian marriage.
This free program is made possible through the support of the Friends of Concordia.
