Introduction
Religion plays a crucial role in the lives of many African Americans. In fact, surveys show that about 80 percent of African Americans consider religion important to them. This is surprising given the trend of Americans stepping away from organized religion. However, when we look at the immense contributions of the Black church to the African American community over the last four centuries, the reasons become clear.
"The Black Church" by Henry Louis Gates Jr. chronicles the evolution of the Black church from its roots in strictly controlled religious practices during slavery to its emergence as a powerful institution that has shaped the social and political lives of African Americans. This book provides a fascinating journey through history, exploring how the Black church adapted Christianity, developed unique worship practices, and became a driving force for social change and civil rights.
The Origins of the Black Church
Missionaries and Controlled Christianity
In the 1670s, Anglican missionaries arrived in New World colonies like South Carolina with a clear goal: to introduce Christianity to the enslaved Black people on plantations. However, this task proved challenging due to resistance from slave owners who feared that Christianity might encourage notions of equality and rebellion among the enslaved.
To overcome this resistance, missionaries tailored their message to appease the slave owners. They taught a version of Christianity that justified the enslavement of Black people, emphasizing that freedom was a matter of race, not religion. This implied that Black people were meant to be enslaved, while white people were supposed to be their masters.
The missionaries highlighted Bible passages that encouraged submissiveness, such as "Servants, obey your earthly masters," while intentionally omitting stories of social equality or rebellion. Laws were also enacted to restrict how, where, and when enslaved people could worship and practice Christianity. These laws made it illegal for enslaved people to read and write, preventing them from reading the Bible themselves, and prohibited gatherings of Black people without a white person present.
The Invisible Institution
Despite these restrictions, enslaved people found ways to worship in secret, establishing what became known as the "invisible institution." This consisted of church services held at night in hidden locations, such as cabins or secluded outdoor areas. In these secret services, Black people shared messages from the Bible that were kept from them by their masters.
Moreover, enslaved people began to make Christianity their own by incorporating elements of tradition and religion brought with them from Africa. Practices such as drumming and a circular dance called the ring shout became part of how Black people worshipped, blending African traditions with Christian beliefs.
The Great Awakenings and the Rise of Black Denominations
The First Great Awakening
The 1730s and 40s saw a religious revival sweep across North America, known as the First Great Awakening. During this period, Methodists and Baptists of all races gathered to worship through ecstatic dancing, shouting, and preaching. These revivals resonated strongly with Black people, who saw similarities with African religious practices.
The First Great Awakening allowed free and enslaved Black people to publicly worship and even give testimonies for the first time. As a result, masses of Black people converted to Christianity, finding a sense of community and spiritual fulfillment in these new forms of worship.
The Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening, which began in the late 1700s, brought ideas of moral reform, including women's rights and abolition. This led to significant changes among Black Christians. For instance, the Methodist Church took a stand against slavery, attracting many Black congregants. By 1817, the Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, had over 5,000 Black members and only 350 white members.
Both Great Awakenings saw the emergence of notable Black preachers. Harry Hosier, a formerly enslaved man, delivered powerful sermons to mixed crowds despite being illiterate. Richard Allen, who converted to Methodism while enslaved and later bought his freedom, began preaching about freedom and justice for Black people in the late 1780s.
The Founding of Black Churches
As the number of free Black people grew, churches became the first institutions they created. One of the earliest Black churches was First Colored Church in Savannah, Georgia, now known as First African Baptist Church. This church was born in 1773 when George Liele, an enslaved Baptist, was allowed to preach. The congregation was later officially established in 1788 by Andrew Bryan.
However, even as Black people became increasingly active within Baptist and Methodist denominations, they still faced discrimination. This motivated the founding of independent Black denominations.
A pivotal moment occurred around 1792 when Black congregants at St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia were humiliated and told to sit in segregated pews. Led by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the congregants left the church. Allen went on to found the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, and in 1816, he established the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) – the first independent Black denomination.
The Rise of Pentecostalism
The Holiness Movement
Religious revivals continued well after the Great Awakenings, inspiring new religious movements. The late 1800s saw the rise of the Holiness movement through revivals in the South. One of the defining characteristics of this movement was baptism by the Holy Spirit, which included speaking in tongues.
W.E.B Du Bois, the renowned African American sociologist, historian, and author, famously wrote about witnessing speaking in tongues, describing it as "The Frenzy of 'Shouting,' when the Spirit of the Lord passed by, and, seizing the devotee, made him mad with supernatural joy."
The Holiness movement, particularly the practice of baptism by the Holy Spirit, laid the groundwork for a new religious denomination: Pentecostalism.
The Birth of Pentecostalism
Holiness revivals were led by Sanctified churches, which emphasized celebratory gatherings, baptism by the Holy Spirit, and strict morality. Their music, which was central to these gatherings, would later develop into what we now know as gospel music.
However, not everyone agreed with the idea of baptism by the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Many leaders of traditional denominations looked down on these practices, believing them to be similar to African traditions. Some in the Black middle class felt that such practices should be repressed to present a more "respectable" image.
In 1906, William Joseph Seymour, a holiness preacher, was locked out of a church in California after preaching about speaking in tongues. Despite this rejection, Seymour attracted a large following. His congregation moved to a building on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, which became the venue for the Azusa Street Revival – a three-year-long event that attracted people of all races and garnered significant media attention.
The Azusa Street Revival featured ecstatic worship, miraculous healings, and speaking in tongues. This event marked the beginning of the Pentecostal movement, which would go on to become a significant force in Christianity worldwide.
The Black Church and Emancipation
The Church as a Political Center
From the early, hidden gatherings to the brick-and-mortar churches built by free Black people, religious spaces served as more than just houses of worship. They became political centers for their congregants, playing a crucial role in the fight for freedom and equality.
In August 1862, President Abraham Lincoln invited five Black religious leaders to discuss an emancipation plan that would see Black people deported from America. For these clergymen and their congregations, this proposal was unacceptable. They saw America as their home and believed they had contributed enormously to building the nation.
In the weeks following the meeting, the clergymen worked with abolitionists and Black journalists to convince Lincoln to reconsider his plan. Their efforts paid off, and on January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all enslaved people in the Confederate states.
The Church's Role in Post-Emancipation America
As the Civil War was coming to an end in January 1865, a key concern was how tens of thousands of formerly enslaved Black people in the South would adjust to their new freedom. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman met with 20 Black ministers from Baptist and Methodist churches to develop a plan. The ministers convinced Sherman that Black people needed to own land to support themselves.
This meeting resulted in Special Field Order No. 15, which declared that land abandoned during the Civil War would be redistributed to formerly enslaved people. However, this order was reversed a few months later when President Andrew Johnson took office following Lincoln's assassination.
Despite this setback, the end of slavery brought new opportunities for Black people to openly practice their faith. Thousands of churches belonging to Black denominations sprang up in the years that followed. These churches were concerned with more than just worship; they set out to meet all the needs of the Black community.
Education was a critical focus, as nearly 95 percent of newly freed Black people were illiterate. Schools were established within Black churches to teach both children and adults. Many of these schools grew to become today's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, playing a crucial role in the education and advancement of African Americans.
Political Participation and Backlash
The Fifteenth Amendment and Black Political Engagement
Less than a decade after the Emancipation Proclamation, another significant milestone was reached with the signing of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, which gave Black men voting rights. This event created a new purpose for the Black church, with church buildings hosting political debates and meetings, and congregations being encouraged to vote.
The result was remarkable: around 2,000 Black men were voted into public office, and almost 250 of these were church ministers. One notable example was Richard Harvey Cain, who in 1872 became the first Black clergyman elected to the House of Representatives.
Jim Crow Laws and Violence Against Black Churches
Unfortunately, these strides towards equality were met with fierce resistance. Southern states created strict laws, known as Jim Crow laws, which, among other things, prevented Black people from voting. Since Black churches and leaders played such an important role in mobilizing the community, they became targets of violence. Church burnings and lynchings were common, and there was little to no justice for the victims.
It would take nearly 100 years for the Civil Rights Movement to guarantee Black people's right to vote. This movement, like many before it, was steered by religious figures, the most prominent being Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The National Baptist Convention and Black Empowerment
As Jim Crow laws suppressed Black votes, many saw an urgent need to empower Black people. One response to this need was the founding of the National Baptist Convention in 1895. This convention aimed to consolidate the Baptist church's efforts in supporting Black people socially, politically, and economically.
During the convention's first meeting, Bishop Henry McNeal Turner introduced a radical idea. He preached that Black people should envision a God that resembled them. This concept of a Black God would reemerge decades later, becoming an important aspect of Black theology.
Women's Voices in the Church
While church leaders discussed racial oppression outside their walls, Black women were becoming increasingly vocal about sexism within the church. Despite women making up about 90 percent of church membership, church leadership predominantly consisted of men. Women couldn't become ministers or have a say in the use of church funds.
Nannie Helen Burroughs was among those demanding equality within the church. In 1900, she gave a speech titled "How the Sisters are Hindered from Helping" at the National Baptist Convention. A year later, she co-founded the Woman's Convention, which campaigned for women's voting rights and equal treatment for Black people. In just over five years, the Woman's Convention had 1.5 million members, demonstrating the strong desire for change among Black women in the church.
The Evolution of Gospel Music
From Spirituals to Gospel
The music of the Black church is one of the most prominent examples of how enslaved Black people adopted Christianity and added elements of African practices. During enslavement, Black people created spirituals – songs that combined Christian hymns, aspects of African music, and stories of their suffering and hopes for freedom.
Black people sang spirituals while working or praying, and key features included repetition, call-and-response, and musical notes inspired by African sounds. These spirituals formed the foundations for what would later become gospel music.
The Great Migration and Urban Gospel
The early 1900s saw the beginning of the Great Migration, during which millions of Black people in the South moved to northern cities to escape violent segregation and find better economic opportunities. Along with their hopes for a better life, they also brought their churches and religious music. This migration was key in the development of gospel music as we know it today.
Pentecostal, Apostolic, and Deliverance churches were opened in commercial buildings in northern urban areas. The congregations in these storefront churches added clapping, chanting, and instruments like drums and guitars to traditional spirituals. In 1939, Kenneth Morris, the choir director at Chicago's First Church of Deliverance, revolutionized Black church music when he introduced a Hammond organ. Morris later established one of the first gospel publishing houses.
The Influence of Gospel on Secular Music
As Black church music developed, its influence extended beyond church walls. Jazz and blues musicians who had grown up in the church borrowed from gospel music. Conversely, church musicians also experimented with elements of secular genres. Although many religious leaders felt that secular music didn't belong in the church, this back-and-forth ultimately shaped gospel music into a unique and powerful form of expression.
Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the "father of gospel music," exemplifies this crossover between sacred and secular music. Before becoming a prominent gospel composer, Dorsey was the bandleader for blues musician Ma Rainey.
Gospel Music in the Civil Rights Movement
Like the Black church itself, gospel music played a key role in political movements, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement. Popular musicians like Mahalia Jackson held performances to raise funds for activists. The Freedom Singers, a quartet from Albany, Georgia, not only raised money but also spread awareness about the racial and political tensions in the South.
The songs of the Freedom Singers, which combined gospel with lyrics about freedom, comforted and empowered activists as they marched. This fusion of spiritual music and social justice messages became a hallmark of the Civil Rights Movement, demonstrating the power of gospel music to inspire and unite people in the face of adversity.
The Black Church After the Civil Rights Movement
New Ideologies and Challenges
The end of the 1960s marked a new chapter for the Black Church. The Civil Rights Movement, led largely by the church, had put an end to legal segregation, outlawed discrimination, and helped ensure Black people's right to vote. However, despite these successes and the non-violent approach advocated by church leaders, young people were increasingly gravitating towards more militant organizations.
The Black Panther Party, formed by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, called for Black racial pride, self-defense, and economic empowerment. The popularity of the Black Panthers left churches with a difficult choice: they could either lose their prominence or integrate similar ideas to stay relevant.
The Rise of Black Theology
In response to these challenges, James Hal Cone, an AME minister and theologian, created Black theology in 1969. This radical approach to Christianity centered around Black pride and argued that Jesus, who identified with oppressed people, was Black. Additionally, if God made people in his own image, as stated in the Bible, then there was something inherently positive about being Black.
Black theology resonated with many clergy and scholars who were finally able to see themselves reflected in Christianity. It provided a theological framework for addressing racial injustice and affirming the value of Black lives and experiences within a Christian context.
Addressing Gender and Sexuality
In the decades following the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Church had to grapple with issues beyond racial equality. Sexuality and gender inequality had long been contentious topics within the church. Even in the present day, some religious leaders don't support gay marriage or women's right to choose.
For women battling sexism in the church, womanist theology emerged as a way to highlight and explore the experiences and contributions of Black women in the church. This theological perspective, coined by writer Alice Walker, sought to address the intersections of race, gender, and faith in the lives of Black women.
The HIV/AIDS Crisis
When HIV/AIDS arrived in the early 1980s and disproportionately affected the Black community, many religious groups initially dismissed it as the result of sin or as a disease primarily affecting gay, white men. This response came despite the fact that Black people were more affected by the disease.
Fortunately, there were denominations that practiced acceptance, raised awareness, and educated communities about HIV/AIDS. One such example is the City of Refuge, a church founded in 1991 by Bishop Yvette Flunder. In recent years, more churches like City of Refuge have been created by the Black community, focusing on inclusivity and addressing contemporary social issues.
The Black Church in the 21st Century
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. In the United States, the pandemic highlighted deep flaws in the public health system that disproportionately affected people of color. The rate and severity of infections were higher among people of color, and the death rate among Black people was twice that of their white counterparts.
As with many times before, Black churches stepped in to fill the gaps left by inadequate government response. Despite being cut off from their congregations due to social distancing measures, churches found ways to help meet the needs of their communities during the pandemic. For instance, the Friendship-West Baptist Church in Texas set up COVID-19 testing in its parking lot, while other churches, like Indiana's Light of the World and Central Baptist in Pennsylvania, delivered meals to people in need.
However, the pandemic also posed significant challenges for Black churches themselves. Many rely on financial donations from their congregants, many of whom were struggling financially due to the economic impact of the pandemic. This situation highlighted the ongoing economic vulnerabilities faced by both Black churches and their communities.
The Black Lives Matter Movement
As churches and congregants battled with the pandemic, 2020 pushed another issue to the fore. The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd served as brutal reminders of the long-held disregard for African American lives. These violent events sparked thousands of Black Lives Matter protests attended by an estimated 26 million people across the United States.
The Black Lives Matter movement, which began in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, presents a new approach to Black protests in America. Founded and led by women, Black Lives Matter doesn't center religion, the church, or its patriarchal traditions in the same way as previous civil rights movements.
This shift raises questions about the role of the Black church in contemporary social justice movements. While the church has historically been at the forefront of the fight for civil rights, the rise of secular movements like Black Lives Matter suggests a changing landscape of Black activism.
The Evolving Role of the Black Church
Despite these changes, the author believes that the Black church and its leaders still have a crucial role to play in the lives and fates of Black Americans. However, to maintain its relevance and impact, the church must evolve to address contemporary issues and connect with younger generations.
This evolution may involve:
- Embracing technology and social media to reach broader audiences
- Addressing social justice issues more directly from the pulpit
- Promoting inclusivity and diversity within church leadership
- Engaging with secular movements and organizations
- Continuing to provide practical support to communities in need
By adapting to these changing times while staying true to its core mission of spiritual guidance and community support, the Black church can continue to be a powerful force for positive change in African American communities.
Conclusion
"The Black Church" by Henry Louis Gates Jr. provides a comprehensive look at the pivotal role the Black church has played in African American history. From its origins in the secret gatherings of enslaved people to its emergence as a driving force in the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, the Black church has been a constant source of spiritual comfort, community support, and social activism.
The book highlights how the church adapted and evolved in response to changing social and political landscapes. It shows how Black Americans took the Christianity imposed upon them during slavery and transformed it into a powerful tool for liberation and self-expression. The development of independent Black denominations, the rise of gospel music, and the emergence of Black theology all demonstrate the creativity and resilience of the Black church in the face of oppression.
Throughout its history, the Black church has been more than just a place of worship. It has served as a school, a political forum, a social service provider, and a cultural center. It has produced leaders who have shaped American history and provided a platform for voices that might otherwise have been silenced.
As we move further into the 21st century, the Black church faces new challenges. The rise of secularism, changing attitudes towards organized religion, and new forms of activism all pose questions about the future role of the church in Black communities. However, as Gates's book demonstrates, the Black church has always found ways to adapt and remain relevant.
The ongoing struggles for racial justice, economic equality, and social reform suggest that there is still a significant role for the Black church to play. By building on its rich history of community support and social activism, while also addressing contemporary issues and embracing new forms of outreach, the Black church can continue to be a powerful force for positive change in the lives of African Americans and in American society as a whole.
Ultimately, "The Black Church" is not just a history of a religious institution, but a testament to the enduring spirit, faith, and resilience of African Americans. It's a story of how a community took the tools of their oppressors and fashioned them into instruments of liberation, creating in the process a unique and vibrant culture that has profoundly shaped American life. As we face the challenges of the future, the history of the Black church offers valuable lessons in perseverance, adaptability, and the power of faith to inspire change.