Zilpha Elaw Author

Zilpha Elaw (c. 1790-1873) was an African-American preacher and spiritual autobiographer. She has been cited as “one of the first outspoken black women in the United States.” She was an African-American preacher and spiritual autobiographer.

Kimberly D. Blockett is chair and professor of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware; she was previously associate professor of English at Penn State Brandywine. Her publications appear in the Cambridge History of African American Literature, MLA Approaches to Teaching Hurston, MELUS, African American Review, and Legacy.