This simple narrative of an extraordinary life explores the power of a disinterested commitment to right and truth. Sojourner Truth: A Biography traces this remarkable woman's life from her birth through adulthood and to her death in 1883. Drawing from public pronouncements, personal correspondence, and journalistic accounts of key historical actors, it follows her extraordinary career and sets the events of her life in the larger context of U.S. social and political history. The years during which Truth lived bore witness to tremendous social and religious ferment in the United States, including, of course, the Civil War. Truth was directly involved, indeed an influential figure, in many contentious issues of the period, from slavery and abolition to religious revivalism, women's rights, temperance, racial reconciliation, and more. Her story serves as a prism through which readers will better understand how these complex matters were adjudicated in 19th-century America. More than that, her life demonstrates what courage, character, and principle can accomplish against all odds. Quotes from and graphic reprints of documents by and about Sojourner Truth Photos of Sojourner Truth, her children, and important figures and venues in her life A chronology of the major events and key turning points in her life A bibliography of books, articles, news journals, Internet publications, and related historical and interpretive materials about Sojourner Truth's life

Preceded by three introductory essays and a chronology of major events in black religious history from 1618 to 1991, this A-Z encyclopedia includes three types of entries:
* Biographical sketches of 773 African American religious leaders
* 341 entries on African American denominations and religious organizations (including white churches with significant black memberships and educational institutions)
* Topical articles on important aspects of African American religious life (e.g., African American Christians during the Colonial Era, Music in the African American Church)
The biographical sketches range from a paragraph to several pages for such major figures as Martin Luther King. Entries for the larger African American denominations are likewise several pages in length, as are most of the topical articles.
A bibliography of 303 major texts on African American religion follows the entries, most of which conclude with a list of references specifically related to their subject. A directory section provides the current addresses and telephone numbers of the national headquarters of the churches and organizations covered in the encyclopedia.