The Forbidden Word - Softcover

James Henry Harris, a philosophical theologian, social scientist, and culture critic, holds graduate degrees in Urban Studies, humanities (history and philosophy), English Literature, theology, ethics, and homiletics. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and United Theological Seminary. Author of many books including ''The Word Made Plain'' (2004), ''The Courage to Lead'' (2001), ''Preaching Liberation''(1996), and ''Pastoral Theology'' (1991), he is professor of preaching and theology at Virginia Union University and pastor of Second Baptist Church, both in Richmond, VA.

''Harris has written a courageous memoir that confronts the long debate over Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the use of the n-word. Marshaling critics from Hegel to bell hooks, and calling on a family history of resistance, Harris challenges his instructor and classmates, and in turn inspires his readers to redress the long history of American racism and white supremacy bound up with the epithet.''
--Mark Sanders, Professor of English, Emory University

''Harris combines the passion and power of personal experience with a masterful display of historical and literary criticism, and the finished product is a book that goes beyond Twain's painfully derogatory stereotypes, racial epithets, and the persistent myths to expose race as the enduring and central dilemma of the American experience. In compelling terms, Harris helps us understand why our claims of 'a post-racial society' remain open to serious question and debate.''
--Lewis V. Baldwin, Professor of Religious Studies, Vanderbilt University

"The Forbidden Word is an elegant, heartfelt rumination on America's crucible of race. Engaging, beautifully crafted, and analytically powerful, it masterfully employs Twain's Huck Finn as both a literal and figurative representation of the nation's never-ending racial drama. By blending the narrative voice of a memoirist and the sharp insights of a true scholar, Harris achieves a remarkable literary triumph.''
--Tim Wise, author of ''White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son'' --Wipf and Stock Publishers