J Randall O'Brien

This collection of essays is a Festschrift for Naymond Keathley, honoring his many contributions to Baylor as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as Senior Vice-Provost, as Interim Director of the Center for International Education, as Interim Chair of the Religion Department, as Professor, and as Director of Undergraduate Studies. He also served as president of the Southwest Region of the NABPR and was a long-time member of the Society of Biblical Literature. The authors of the essays include Naymond's friends, colleagues, and students. All of the essays are (broadly) in biblical studies and biblical reception, including essays exploring the intersection between biblical studies and popular culture. Most of the essays take up various New Testament texts. ""This collection of essays by Naymond Keathley's friends, students, and colleagues is a fitting tribute to the depth and breadth of topics that he explored during his career as a New Testament scholar and as a devoted churchman. I learned a great deal from Naymond and from this volume that so appropriately carries on his legacy."" --Jim McConnell, Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Gardner-Webb Divinity School ""These essays are very much the product of human hands, but they are also the product of human hearts. The reader unacquainted with the esteemed honoree can now sit in his classroom and learn from those colleagues who have sat under him and labored beside him. As a former student of Naymond Keathley myself, I gratefully relish the opportunity to learn from him once again."" --David L. Matson, Professor of Biblical Studies, Hope International University Mikeal C. Parsons is Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University. Richard Walsh is Womack Professor of Religion & Philosophy at Methodist University.

In 1961, 16-year-old Brenda Travis was a youth leader of the NAACP branch in her hometown of McComb, Mississippi. She joined in the early stages of voter registration, and when the Freedom Rides and direct action reached McComb, she and two SNCC workers sat-in at the local bus station. That led to her first arrest and jailing, which resulted in her being expelled and leading a protest walkout from her high school. Thrown in jail for a second time, she was eventually released on the condition that she leave the state. Her poignant memoir describes what gave her the courage at such a young age to fight segregation, how the movement unfolded in Mississippi, and what happened after she was forced to leave her family, friends, and fellow activists. One of the civil rights workers who befriended her in McComb was the legendary activist Bob Moses, who contributed the Foreword to her book. A white educator and Vietnam war hero, J. Randall O’Brien, was deeply inspired by learning about her courage, and he contributed the Afterword.