The author tells the mostly unknown story of James Hudson (1903-1980), a Black philosopher, Florida A&M University professor, activist, and religious leader whose philosophical contributions laid a key piece of the groundwork for the emergence of the civil rights movement. Drawing on little-used primary source documents and original interviews with people who knew Hudson well, Rivers examines how Hudson's training at Morehouse College, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, and Boston University shaped his approach to activism, including his decision to become a Personalist philosopher. As Rivers shows, Hudson crafted an influential philosophy of life-a blend of Socratic inquiry, moral imagination, African American spirituality, and Gandhian nonviolence-that became an essential foundation for the rise of King, another Personalist philosopher. The book also sheds new light on the connections between the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and the lesser-known 1956 Tallahassee Bus Boycott, which together helped spark the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This long-overdue biography is not only an insightful exploration of the intellectual and activist landscape of the Black community from the 1930s to the 1960s but also the...

The author tells the mostly unknown story of James Hudson (1903-1980), a Black philosopher, Florida A&M University professor, activist, and religious leader whose philosophical contributions laid a key piece of the groundwork for the emergence of the civil rights movement. Drawing on little-used primary source documents and original interviews with people who knew Hudson well, Rivers examines how Hudson's training at Morehouse College, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, and Boston University shaped his approach to activism, including his decision to become a Personalist philosopher. As Rivers shows, Hudson crafted an influential philosophy of life-a blend of Socratic inquiry, moral imagination, African American spirituality, and Gandhian nonviolence-that became an essential foundation for the rise of King, another Personalist philosopher. The book also sheds new light on the connections between the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and the lesser-known 1956 Tallahassee Bus Boycott, which together helped spark the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This long-overdue biography is not only an insightful exploration of the intellectual and activist landscape of the Black community from the 1930s to the 1960s but also the story of an unsung hero and his involvement with important scholarly communities that influenced the trajectory of the civil rights movement.

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