This volume contains the speech given by Manisha Sinha at the inauguration of the Pennington Award in 2011 as well as the public lectures by the first four winners of the Award (2012-2015): Albert J. Raboteau, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, and William L. Andrews. The Award commemorates the life and legacy of James William Charles Pennington (1807-1870), a pioneering abolitionist and influential African-American minister and writer during the antebellum period, who was given an honorary doctorate by Heidelberg University in 1849. The Award is bestowed on scholars who have done distinguished work on topics important to Pennington including: the history of slavery and emancipation; African-American history, religion, culture, and literature; black theology; education; international peace and human rights; and intercultural understanding.