Mother Emanuel, Black Pain and the Rhetoric of Forgiveness

June 25, 2019 By blog admin

by Andre E. Johnson and Earle J. Fisher On June 17, 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof walked into Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Charleston, South Carolina, with a .45 caliber Glock handgun while members were having their Wednesday night bible study. After sitting through the mid-week bible study, near the close of the meeting and after praying with them, Roof shot and killed Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders,... Read more

“Here I Am Send Me”: The Rhetoric of African American Religious Call Narratives

May 2, 2019 By blog admin

Our Founder and Editor, Andre E. Johnson, Ph.D. is guest editing a special issue of Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture. Focused on the rhetoric of African American call narratives, this issue seeks to expand our understanding of call narratives by placing emphasis on the “listening” part of the call. Please see the call below. Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture is publishing a special issue titled, “Here I Am, Send Me: The Rhetoric of African... Read more

Dislocations and Shutdowns: #MLK, #BLM and the Rhetoric of Confrontation

June 17, 2018 By Andre E. Johnson

On April 4, 2018, America commemorated the 50th year anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. The social media landscape was full of think pieces, editorials, long-form essays and reflections that centered on the life and legacy of America’s prophet of nonviolence. News stations and newspapers from all around the world produced stories and interviewed people who lived during King’s time and those who did not. However, much of the commemoration focused on the memory of King and... Read more

From the Mountain Top and Beyond: The Rhetoric of #MLK 50 Years Later

June 12, 2018 By Andre E. Johnson

I am pleased to announce the publication of this special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric I edited titled “From the Mountain Top and Beyond: Contemporary Meanings and Understandings of the Rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr., 50 Years Later.” Dislocations and Shutdowns: MLK, BLM and the Rhetoric of Confrontation Andre E. Johnson During the last year of King’s life, his ability to persuade and to gain a national consensus around issues of war, poverty, economic injustice, and the... Read more

New Book in R3 Book Series on Desegregation and African American Citizenship Rights

June 9, 2018 By blog admin

The R3 book series is pleased to announce the publication of Desegregation and the Rhetorical Fight for African American Citizenship Rights: The Rhetorical/Legal Dynamics of “With All Deliberate Speed” by Sally Paulson. About the Book: Focusing on the NAACP’s twentieth-century attempt to overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine through school desegregation cases, Desegregation and the Rhetorical Fight for African American Citizenship Rights analyzes the rhetorical/legal dynamics inherent in the struggle to determine African American citizenship rights. This book begins by identifying the fundamental... Read more

Special Issue: Communication, Religion, and Race in America

June 4, 2018 By Andre E. Johnson

I am pleased to announce that the Spring 2018 special issue of the Journal of Communication and Religion is now out. Christopher A. House and I had the pleasure of guest editing this special issue titled, Communication, Religion, and Race in America: 50 Years Later and Where Do We Go from Here? In the first article, “The Most Dangerous Negro in America”: Rhetoric, Race and the Prophetic Pessimism of Martin Luther King Jr., I and my co-author Anthony J. Stone focused... Read more

The Most Dangerous Negro in America

May 31, 2018 By Andre E. Johnson

by Andre E. Johnson and Anthony J. Stone, Jr. On April 4, 1968, on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee in front of Room 306, an assassin shot and killed the nation’s prophet of non-violence. The previous night, not feeling the best and against his own wishes, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reluctantly showed up at a rally supporting the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ where he delivered a speech... Read more

A Critique of #MLK’s Theory of Non-Violence

April 11, 2018 By blog admin

University of Memphis Communication grad student and activist Earle J. Fisher gave a lecture on April 10, 2018, titled, “King, Cone, and Cleage: Critiques of the Shortcomings of #MLK’s Nonviolent Theology by His Contemporaries” at Memphis Theological Seminary in room F-201. He was the guest of R3 founder and managing editor, Dr. Andre E. Johnson’s class on Martin Luther King Jr. Rev. Earle J. Fisher is a native of Benton Harbor, Michigan. This preacher, professor, writer, and social activist graduated... Read more

The Fallacy of Racial Reconciliation

March 16, 2018 By Andre E. Johnson

Unrolled thread from @aejohnsonphd #MLK50 #BlackLivesMatter #WhiteChurchQuiet #EmptyThePews Donate to the Work of R3 Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries/G’Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click here to support our work. Read more