Lisa M. Gring-Pemble explores strategies of the early woman's movement in Your Daughters Will Prophesy

June 3, 2025 | by uscpress

In their new book, Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century Woman's Movement, co-authors Lisa Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson detail how women used scripture from the Bible to gain attention and an audience for women’s issues. By reinterpreting biblical passages for a predominantly Christian audience, these leaders found a way to connect to other women and create change. In Your Daughters Will Prophesy, Gring-Pemble and Watson examine rhetoric presented in four key texts written by Jarena Lee, the first African American woman to “preach” within the African Methodist Church, Grimké, a Quaker and abolitionist activist, Mott, a Quaker minister and abolitionist leader, and Frances Willard, president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Benjamin Kessler, Research Communications and Outreach Officer at George Mason University, spoke with Lisa Gring-Pemble about her inspiration for writing the book.

Read the full article by Benjamin Kessler.