In Memoriam: Richard Newman (1930-2003)

The death of Richard Newman on July 7, 2003 leaves a void in the field of African-American religious history and a great sadness among those of us who knew him personally. Dick was deeply passionate about his work in the field of African-American studies and believed in the importance of the work of scholars in the ongoing struggle for racial justice. In his work as a teacher (at Vassar College, Syracuse University, and Boston College), his time spent in publishing (at G.K. Hall & Co., and Garland Publishing), and during his rich and productive years at Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Dick enlivened the field and mentored and nurtured countless young scholars. As one who had the good fortune to work with Dick, I valued not only his productivity as a scholar, but the boundless joy and humor he brought to his work and to every personal interaction. Dick left an inspiring legacy in his many published works and in his generous and exhuberant way of being in the world.

Judith Weisenfeld

Richard Newman and Dorothy Porter Wesley. Image courtesy Coni Porter Uzelac.

Richard Newman's publications include:

African American Quotations; with a foreword by Julian Bond. Phoenix, Az. : Oryx Press, 1998.

Afro-American Education, 1907-1932: A Bibliographic Index. New York : Lambeth Press, 1984.

Black Access: A Bibliography of Afro-American Bibliographies. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1984.

Black Apostles: Afro-American Clergy Confront the T wentieth Century. Edited with Randall K. Burkett. Boston : G. K. Hall, 1978.

Black Apostles at Home and Abroad: Afro-Americans and the Christian Mission from the Revolution to Reconstruction. Edited with David W. Wills. Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall, 1982.

Black Index: Afro-Americana in Selected Periodicals, 1907-1949. New York: Garland Publishing, 1981.

Black Power: A Bibliography. Wakefield, MA: Community Change, 1969.

Black Power and Black Religion: Essays and Reviews; foreword by Robert A. Hill. West Cornwall, CT : Locust Hill Press, 1987.

Black Preacher to White America: The Collected Writings of Lemuel Haynes, 1774-1833; introduction by Helen MacLam ; preface by Mechal Sobel. Brooklyn, N.Y. : Carlson Pub., 1990.

Everybody Say Freedom: Everything You Need to Know About African-American history. Co-authored with Marcia Sawyer ; foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York : Plume, 1996.

Go down, Moses: A Celebration of the African-American Spiritual; illustrations by Terrance Cummings ; foreword by Cornel West. New York : Clarkson Potter, c1998.

Lemuel Haynes: A Bio-Bibliography. New York : Lambeth Press, 1984.

Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown. Edited and with an introduction by Richard Newman; forword by Henry Louis Gates. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Pamphlets of Protest: An Anthology of Early African-American Protest Literature, 1790-1860. Co-edited with Patrick Rael, and Philip Lapsansky. New York : Routledge, 2001.

This Far by Faith: Readings in African-American Women's Religious Biography. Co-edited with Judith Weisenfeld. New York : Routledge, 1996.

Words Like Freedom: Essays on African-American Culture and History; foreword by Nell Irvin Painter. West Cornwall, CT : Locust Hill Press, 1996.