Additional information
by Emilie M. Townes (Author)
In 'Breaking the Fine Rain of Death', Emilie Townes focuses on the health care issues affecting African Americans and does so from a womanist perspective by paying attention to race and class as well as gender. Townes describes the lamentable history of health care in African American communities and the disease that affect African Americans disproportionately -- diabetes, hypertension, low-birthrate babies, and drug-related illnesses--as well as cultural, genetic, and socio-economic factors that account for them. Townes then offers models of care that have worked in some African American communities and that need to be used on a broader scale. She explores healing models sensitive to class and cultural context, and provides practical recommendations relevant to the needs of the Black Church and the African American community.
Author Biography
Emilie M. Townes is the Dean and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She was the first African American woman president of the American Academy of Religion (2008) and currently serves as the president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion (2012-16). She is the author or editor of eight books and was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.
