Acknowledgments

Completing this book took much longer than I expected. Consequently, I have amassed some pretty large debts to a great many people. There was never a time during the research, reflection, and writing when I did not feel completely supported and encouraged by colleagues, friends, and family. Their warmth, humor, and insight held me up during the low points and pushed me even higher during the high times. The project would have been impossible without them. This book took initial shape at Harvard Divinity School, where one of the most intellectually vibrant group of people I have ever encountered read, critiqued, and debated the early stages of the project. They not only gave me space to share my developing thoughts on Hughes and religion, but they also insisted that I take the path of excellence. I want to thank, foremost, the late Ronald F. Thiemann. Ron’s excitement about this project often exceeded my own, and there were many times during our conversations when I simply allowed myself to bask in it. I only re- gret that I did not finish in time. The same is true for the late Reverend Peter J. Gomes, who was one of my biggest supporters there. I hope this book honors him in some way. Werner Sollors basically gave me the courage to write this book. He suggested that writing a book on African American literature from the perspective of American history and re- ligious studies was a great strength, even though English literature was not my discipline. I took that to heart. Others who were influential and helpful in all sorts of ways include Lawrence Bobo, Ann Braude, Davíd Carrascso, Harvey Cox, Diana Eck, Marla Frederick, Henry Louis Gates Jr., William Graham, David Hempton, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Amy Hollywood, Kevin Madigan, Anne Monius, Diane Moore, Laura Nasrallah, Jacob Olupona, Robert Orsi, Kimberly Patton, and Stephanie Paulsell. Princeton University took over the responsibility of nurturing the project when I arrived in 2007. The rich intellectual life that I found, cou-

xv xvi | Acknowledgments pled with the friendships and collaborations that I developed, honed my arguments and assertions, and doubtlessly made it a better book. I was given numerous opportunities to present my work in invited talks and colloquia in the Department of Religion, the Religions in the Americas Colloquium, the Davis Center, the Carl Fields Center, and the Center for the Study of Religion. I am particularly indebted to the members of the “RA workshop.” Over the years, members have graced me with their in- sights, comments, and helpful suggestions. I am particularly grateful to the graduate students (and former graduate students) who commented on the work or helped to sharpen my thinking. They include Vaughn A. Booker, Rachel Gross, Ryan Harper, Alda Balthrop- Lewis, Rachel Lind- sey, Kelsey Moss, Andrew Walker-Cornetta, and Joseph Winters. A special thanks is due to Leslie Ribovich, who read every word of this book and offered invaluable critical feedback. Her help over the course of two years allowed me to finish. Thanks also to Clifton Granby, Nicole Kirk, Jenny Wiley Legath, Alyssa Maldonado- Estrada, Anthony Petro, Xavier Pickett, Irene Elizabeth Stroud, and Heather White. The Princeton University community of scholars and colleagues has also been grand in their support and help. Thanks to Judith Weisenfeld, who never failed to have a word of encouragement and insight about the project. Her sharp skill at analysis and historical interpretation always pushed me forward. Others who have influenced the study in signifi- cant ways both professionally and personally include Leora Batnitsky, Wendy Belcher, Ellen B. Chances, Jessica Delgado, Jarrett M. Drake, Chris Eisgruber, Patricia Fernandez- Kelly, John Gager, Eddie Glaude Jr., Eric Gregory, Martha Himmelfarb, Tera Hunter, Kevin Kruse, Regina Kunzel, Elaine Pagels, Imani Perry, Seth Perry, Albert Raboteau, Caro- lyn Rouse, Stacey Sinclair, Jeffrey Stout, Dara Strolovitch, Moulie Vidas, Sean Wilentz, and Robert Wuthnow. My friends from the wider Princeton community have been a source of strength in ways they may not know. I thank them for every lunch and coffee break, walk around town, dinner party, late- night talk, and outing beyond Princeton. I will remember them always. Thanks especially to Anastasia Mann, whose grace, intelligence, and generosity introduced me to a whole new world. Thanks also to Chester Czeslowski, Lisa Fischetti, Andrew Golden, Carol Golden, Jennifer Loessy, Ali Mann, Jacqueline Mann, James Mann, Lori Martin, Catherine Mauger, Doro- Acknowledgments | xvii thea von Moltke, Maria Papadakis, Michael Roberts, Eldar Shafir, Caron Wendell, and the late C. K. Williams. I was afforded numerous opportunities to discuss this project beyond Princeton and benefited enormously from that feedback. Thanks to R. Marie Griffith at the University of Washington at St. Louis; Josef Sorett and Courtney Bender at Columbia University; Jonathan Sheehan at the University of California, Berkeley; Paul Lim at Vanderbilt Divinity School; and Marla Frederick and Jonathan Walton at Harvard University and Harvard Divinity School. The generosity of a large number of scholars who gravitated toward this project and offered help, support, and thoughtful critique took me by surprise and continues to warm my heart. They are among the best of the best. Special thanks go first to those who taught me by example how to live this academic life with dignity and integrity: James T. Camp- bell, James Grossman, Nancy MacLean, and Mark Noll. Another special thanks to David K. Johnson, who read most of the chapters, giving them what I have come to call “the David Johnson treatment.” Thanks also to Edward Blum, Glenda Gilmore, and Natasha Trethewey who read early versions of the “Concerning ‘Goodbye Christ’” chapter and greatly improved my thinking on that material. Randal Maurice Jelks has been an inspiration to me, and he has introduced me to the wider world of Hughes scholars, including Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper, Vera Kutzin- ski, John Edgar Tidwell, and Carmaletta M. Williams. The magnificent Arnold Rampersad has taught, supported, and encouraged me over many years, and for all of it I could never thank him enough. For all the ways they kept me focused and on track, thanks also to Victor Anderson, K. Anthony Appiah, Jon Butler, James Cone, Jacob Dorman, Carol Duncan, Henry Finder, Marla Frederick, Steven Fullwood, Brett Gadsden, Mat- thew Hedstrom, Joyce A. Joyce, Derek Kruger, Kathryn Lofton, Kath- ryn Gin Lum, Anthony Pinn, Paul Rauschenbusch, Margret Roadknight, Eugene Rogers, Leigh Eric Schmidt, Timothy Stewart- Winter, “Cousin” Jonathan Walton, Cornel West, and Frederick Wherry. My editor at NYU Press, Jennifer Hammer, has shown such patience and care for this project. I thank her for believing in me and in the power and promise of Langston Hughes. There were a number of wonderful people who took me into their homes and returned my phone calls to discuss their memories of Langs- xviii | Acknowledgments ton Hughes. Foremost, in this category I want to thank “the Fan who knew too much,” Anthony Heilbut. I spent the most time with Tony, and the stories he told me were and remain an unceasing delight. I have never met anyone with the sheer depth of knowledge about black Amer- ican life, black church culture, and gospel music that he possesses. What started as an exchange between two souls interested in a bygone era developed into a genial and caring friendship that I will cherish forever. Through Tony I met Archbishop Carl Bean of Los Angeles and Barbara F. Meyer (Griner). Bean also dazzled me with stories about Hughes from the 1960s, and Griner, one of the four original producers of Hughes’s Black Nativity, shared not only her memories of Hughes but also her immense archival collection and objects of memorabilia. They are now among my prized possessions. I also had thrilling and informative conversations with the great Carmen de Lavallade and with Madeline Bell, the first female member of the Bradford Singers. The list of archivists, curators, genealogists, and librarians is too long to include here, but I want to express my thanks to the scores of people who assisted me at the Library of Congress, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, the Houghton Library at Harvard University, special collec- tions at the Mooreland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard Univer- sity, the Rose Library at Emory University, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library, the New York Society Library, Princeton University Library, and the British Library in London. They are my heroes, so they will not go unsung. The list of other friends who have been my “salvation” over the years is also long, but I will do my best to name most of them. They include Richard Bourré, Anthea Butler, Carolyn Chen, Matthew Cressler, Maite Conde, Kathryn L. Dawson, Gillian Frank, Dario Gaggio (Il Mio Amico), George Gonzalez, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Paul Harvey, Obery Hendricks, Tracey Hucks, Darrell Hucks, Tariq Jazeel, Reed Lowrie, Lerone Martin, Jeffrey McCune, Laura McTighe, Samira Mehta, Torri Ofori, Devah Pager, Dylan Penningroth, Alex Rehding, Barbara Savage, Michael Sherry, Bradley Simpson, José Velazco, Clarence Walker, Cicely Walton, and Jon Wolfe. Thanks to my brothers and sisters for always asking how the book was going. They have been waiting a long time. A special thanks to my Acknowledgments | xix many nieces and nephews (by blood and by love) who are sources of great joy to their “Uncle Wallace.” My mother did not live to see this project come to completion, but she was always the angel in the room as I thought and wrote. This book is for her. Lastly, I do not remember much about the time before I met César Braga- Pinto and I dare not think of a future without him. He is responsible for most of what is good about my life, and he gives me hope for an even brighter tomorrow.