Associate Professor of Religious Studies Quincy Newell recently presented “The Story of Jane: How an Obscure Black Woman Changes American History” at Smith College. The lecture focused on Jane Manning James, one of the earliest known black members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Newell discussed the way our understanding of American history changes when we consider James’ life, and how her life has added depth to the histories of African Americans, American religion, American women, and the American West.
Your Sister in the Gospel: The Life of Jane Manning James, a Nineteenth-Century Black Mormon, Newell’s biography of James, was published last year by Oxford University Press.
