Andre E. Johnson is associate professor of rhetoric and media studies at the University of Memphis. He is director of the Henry McNeal Turner Project, a digital humanities project curating the writings of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner.
Drawing extensively from Turner's published sermons, editorials,
newspaper articles, and personal letters (culled from the archival
collections of Turner's correspondents), Johnson's study is one of
the most comprehensive portraits to date. Johnson has now also
published an edited collection, The Speeches of Bishop Henry McNeal
Turner (University Press of Mississippi, 2023) and is at work on a
digital archive project dedicated to collecting and curating works
by and about Turner. Taken together, Johnson's efforts to "recover
[Turner's] lost voice" make a significant contribution to the study
of a seminal figure in African American religious history--Heather
Curtis "The Journal of Religion"
No Future in This Country is more than a rhetorical analysis of
Turner's speeches and writings. Framed as "a sequel of sorts" to
Johnson's own The Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and
the African American Prophetic Tradition (2012), this work offers a
practice in rhetorical history, which Johnson defines as the
"historical study of rhetorical events and the study from a
rhetorical perspective of historical forces, trends, processes, and
events" (14).--Christopher J. Morris "Rhetoric & Public
Affairs"
Johnson's ample use of direct quotation makes No Future in This
Country. . . an accessible introduction to Turner, acquainting the
reader with Turner's thought in his own words situated in
historical context.--Phillip Yaure "American Political Thought"
No Future in This Country remains a valuable addition to the
growing body of literature on Turner and on the Black rhetorical
tradition.--Christina Dickerson-Cousin "The Journal of African
American History"
Andre E. Johnson's No Future in This Country is a powerful reminder
that Henry McNeal Turner was one of the titans of the Black freedom
struggle between the Civil War and the dawn of American
imperialism. Johnson's meticulous recovery of Turner provides a
thoughtful window into this still underresearched moment. As
Johnson shows us, Turner was a central figure in almost all the
major debates facilitated by Black folks in this crucial period.
With this volume, Johnson points the way towards a significant
reconfiguration of what we think we know about the historical and
intellectual antecedents of a host of actions--emigration,
self-defense, the perils and prospects of political engagement, the
utility of protest, the role of education in the task of
liberation, and more. No Future in This Country is a necessary and
indispensable work.--Charles W. McKinney Jr., Neville Frierson
Bryan Chair of Africana Studies and associate professor of history,
Rhodes College
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