This landmark work first published 20 years ago helped establish the field of African-American womanist theology. It is widely regarded as a classic text in the field. Drawing on the biblical figure of Hagar mother of Ishmael, cast into the desert by Abraham and Sarah, but protected by God Williams finds a prototype for the struggle of African-American women. African slave, homeless exile, surrogate mother, Hagar s story provides an image of survival and defiance appropriate to black women today.