A Spiritual Autobiography

What shapes a life of faith, leadership, and public service?

In 1973, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney set out to answer that question for himself.

Written while he was a Martin Luther King Jr. Fellow and rediscovered more than five decades later, A Spiritual Autobiography traces the people, experiences, traditions, and convictions that shaped McKinney's understanding of ministry and justice.

Before becoming one of Seattle's most influential religious and civil rights leaders, McKinney was a son, student, young minister, husband, and pastor learning what his faith required of him. He writes about family, education, Baptist tradition, racism, ministry, and the development of a belief that would guide the rest of his life: Christian faith must be expressed not only in worship, but also in service to community and engagement with the social conditions of the world.

McKinney later served for more than four decades as senior pastor of historic Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle. His leadership extended well beyond the pulpit into civil rights, education, economic justice, community development, and civic life.

This rediscovered manuscript allows readers to encounter McKinney before the full arc of that public legacy was complete. It reveals the spiritual and intellectual foundation beneath his later work and places his story within the broader traditions of the Black church and the American civil rights movement.

At once memoir, historical document, and reflection on vocation, A Spiritual Autobiography will resonate with readers interested in African American history, civil rights, Black religious life, spirituality, social justice, Seattle history, and the relationship between personal conviction and public action.

It is especially suited for bookstores, churches, classrooms, libraries, museums, history programs, and readers seeking first-person accounts of Black faith and leadership in twentieth-century America.

All proceeds support the McKinney Legacy Foundation and its work in preservation, education, civic engagement, and community service.