“Terrible Laughing God”: Challenging Divine Justice in African American Antilynching Plays, 1916–1945

In the early twentieth century, African Americans waged a propaganda war against the scourge of lynching. Theater was a vital element of this effort, and over two dozen plays were written with the intent of depicting the horror that accompanied these brutal acts of violence. These plays, though larg...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Prentiss, Craig R. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge University Press [2008]
In: Religion and American culture
Year: 2008, Volume: 18, Issue: 2, Pages: 177-214
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1758477156
003 DE-627
005 20210525154203.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 210525s2008 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1525/rac.2008.18.2.177  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1758477156 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1758477156 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)1051148677  |0 (DE-627)785852506  |0 (DE-576)405963580  |4 aut  |a Prentiss, Craig R. 
109 |a Prentiss, Craig R. 
245 1 0 |a “Terrible Laughing God”  |b Challenging Divine Justice in African American Antilynching Plays, 1916–1945 
264 1 |c [2008] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a In the early twentieth century, African Americans waged a propaganda war against the scourge of lynching. Theater was a vital element of this effort, and over two dozen plays were written with the intent of depicting the horror that accompanied these brutal acts of violence. These plays, though largely neglected by historians, have been studied as elements of an effort to promote antilynching legislation. Until now, however, their testimony to important religious currents in African American culture has been ignored. A closer look at these texts reveals them to be engaged in theological discourse that examines the role of God and the church in the face of evil. These plays reflect a burgeoning humanism in African American culture, particularly among the intelligentsia. By creating characters and constructing plot lines that explicitly challenged the goodness of God in light of African American suffering, or by exposing the hypocrisy and impotence of the church to bring about an end to violence and oppression, these playwrights were engaged in a form of vernacular theology. By observing their efforts, we add a fresh layer to our understanding of African American life during this time period. 
601 |a Challenger 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Religion and American culture  |d Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1991  |g 18(2008), 2, Seite 177-214  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)329202901  |w (DE-600)2047567-6  |w (DE-576)097188832  |x 1533-8568  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:18  |g year:2008  |g number:2  |g pages:177-214 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1525/rac.2008.18.2.177  |x Resolving-System  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religion-and-american-culture/article/terrible-laughing-god-challenging-divine-justice-in-african-american-antilynching-plays-19161945/6F8A9778A8DEEA68ABEB72A077E75653  |x Verlag  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3930823071 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1758477156 
LOK |0 005 20210525151233 
LOK |0 008 210525||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo  |a rwrk 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL