The new 4th Edition of ETHNIC STUDIES: An Introduction reflects the interdisciplinary nature of Ethnic Studies - the readings are drawn from academic fields in the humanities and social sciences. A few first-person narratives are also included, so we can get a sense of how individuals experience their ethnic group status. Overall, the readings in this book are meant to provide students with a foundation in Ethnic Studies.  The volume integrates framing and reflection questions throughout to foster critical and engaged readers.  These questions initiate a personal and classroom dialogue. Respecting the unique realities confronting the communities discussed in this volume, the authors intentionally aimed to evoke a sense of empathy and solidarity so that when students read the words like Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, Land Back, and No Borders listed, and capped off with the word Solidarity, these terms would reassert the humanity and dignity of someone else’s lived experiences.

Three interdependent main factors motivate my interest in the Zion Christian Church (henceforth ZCC). The first is personal and dates back to my childhood years. The second, also to a certain degree personal, pertains to the political events of the 1990 in South Africa, specifically the call to a non-sexist society. The two came to heavily bear on my choice of a topic for this study, thus making my third interest academic. The multitude of anthropological literature on leadership on churches of the ZCC type further motivates my academic interest. The literature focuses mainly on male leadership in these churches. This is so in spite of the fact that in most of these types of churches women constitute the majority. I felt the need to examine gender and leadership in the domain of the ZCC in particular.