Prathia Hall

Theologian, ethicist, and civil rights activist

• Born: January 1, 1940
• Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Died: August 12, 2002
• Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts

Also known as: Prathia Laura Ann Hall Wynn

Significance: Prathia Hall was a civil rights activist who worked for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. She participated in key historical moments during the civil rights movement, including nonviolent protests, sit-ins, and the Selma to Montgomery march. Hall later became a theologian, serving as a Baptist pastor and faculty member at several universities.

Background

Prathia Hall was born on January 1, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Berkeley L. Hall and Ruby Hall. She was one of three children in the family, which included her brother Berkeley Jr. and her sister Teresa. Her father founded Mount Sharon Baptist Church in Philadelphia’s inner city and served as the church pastor. She was raised with what she later described as “freedom faith,” explaining that she believed she was God’s child and, as a result, was loved and important. This belief supported Hall in her adult life when she served as a womanist, theologian, and civil rights advocate.

Hall’s first exposure to racism occurred at age five when she was traveling on a multi-state train ride. Hall, her mother, and her sister were moved to a segregated car when the train crossed the Mason-Dixon line. She attended the Philadelphia High School for girls and graduated in 1958. Hall then attended Temple University in Philadelphia, studying political science. During her time at the school, she became involved with the civil rights movement. During a protest calling for the integration of the Barnes Drive-In restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland, Hall was arrested and served two weeks of jail time. She graduated from Temple University in 1962 and continued her fight for racial justice.

Life’s Work

Soon after her college graduation, Hall joined the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a prominent student civil rights organization during the 1960s. There, she worked with Charles Sherrod in southwest Georgia. Hall served as the first female field officer for the SNCC. She assisted with the Albany Movement, which was a campaign in Albany, Georgia, aimed at desegregating the city. Protesters, including Hall, relied on various forms of nonviolent protest, including mass demonstrations, sit-ins, and boycotts. In September 1962, white segregationists fired shots into a home that Hall was staying in, and she suffered a gunshot wound. Fortunately, she was able to recover and continue her work in the civil rights movement.

Just three days after being shot, Hall attended a prayer vigil following a Ku Klux Klan attack on two Georgia churches. At this vigil, where Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was also in attendance, Hall repeated the phrase, “I had a dream.” It was later reported that Hall’s phrase served as inspiration for King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that he delivered just a year later. Hall continued to work for the SNCC and participated in the Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights held in Alabama on March 7, 1965. As the protesters began to march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, local police began attacking the crowd, leaving many injured and bloodied. However, after witnessing the brutality in what became known as Bloody Sunday, Hall resigned from the SNCC in 1966.

Inspired by her father, Hall attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where she earned a Master of Divinity in 1982, Master of Theology in 1984, and Ph.D. in 1997. In 1978, she became the pastor of Mount Sharon Baptist Church in Philadelphia, a position her father once held at the church that he founded. Hall was a leader nationally within the Baptist church, becoming one of the first women ordained in the American Baptist Association.

Her religious education prepared Hall for several positions in academia. She served as a faculty member at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and later became the dean of African American studies at the school. She also directed the school’s women’s center. Hall also taught as a visiting scholar at Atlanta’s Interdenominational Theological Center and then became a faculty member at the Boston University School of Theology, eventually serving as the Martin Luther King Jr. Chair in Social Ethics.

Hall’s oratorical skills were celebrated throughout her career, both during her time as a civil rights activist and theologian. As a result, her sermons and speeches were meaningful to her audiences. She was named one of Ebony Magazine’s fifteen greatest Black woman preachers. Hall also held many leadership roles later in her career, serving on committees for the American Baptist Conference and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Impact

Prathia Hall played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement, helping to lead the fight for racial justice in the 1960s. Later in her career, Hall transformed into a theologian whose sermons inspired congregations and teachings motivated her students.

Personal Life

Prathia Hall married Ralph Wynn in the 1960s. The couple later had a daughter, who tragically died after suffering a stroke at the age of twenty-three. Hall experienced chronic health problems after a car accident and died of cancer in 2002 at the age of sixty-two.

Bibliography

“Albany Movement.” Stanford University,17 Nov. 1961, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/albany-movement. Accessed 20 June 2023.

“In Memoriam: Prathia Hall.” SNCC Legacy Project, 2023, sncclegacyproject.org/in-memoriam-prathia-hall/. Accessed 20 June 2023.

Momodu, Samuel. “Prathia Hall Wynn (1940-2002).” Black Past,10 Oct. 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/prathia-hall-wynn-1940-2002/. Accessed 20 June 2023.

“Prathia Hall.” Digital SNCC Gateway, snccdigital.org/people/prathia-hall/. Accessed 20 June 2023.

“Prathia Hall.” PBS,2003, www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/prathia‗hall.html. Accessed 20 June 2023.

Sauer, Patrick J. “This Black Woman Inspired King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech.” Essence, 25 May 2021, www.essence.com/culture/did-you-know-the-black-woman-who-inspired-i-have-a-dream-speech/. Accessed 20 June 2023.