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The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series.
“Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again
“Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review
From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and one of our most important voices on the African American experience comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America.
For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues.
In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion.
But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.
“Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again
“Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review
From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and one of our most important voices on the African American experience comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America.
For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues.
In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion.
But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.
304 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2021
350 people are currently reading
4206 people want to read
About the author
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
288 books857 followersHenry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. is a Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He is well-known as a literary critic, an editor of literature, and a proponent of black literature and black cultural studies.
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February 2, 2021
Henry Louis Gates Jr. has written a great book on the history of the Black Church in America. This book covers the Black religious tradition from the days of slavery to our current moment during the coronavirus pandemic. Along the way, Gates tells how important the Black Church has been as a source of spiritual renewal and political power for centuries.
This book is a historical survey of the Black Church, meaning it covers a lot of broad topics as it relates to the Black American religious experience. Many of the topics could and probably have their own standalone books. Gates’s book could have been alot longer, but it does a good job of giving the reader a well researched and thorough examination of the Black Church’s evolution.
What makes this book special is that Gates was able to talk to a diverse group of people including celebrities, musical artists, clergy, and religion scholars about the Black Church’s significance. Notable names include: Yolanda Adams, Bishop Michael Curry, Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Kirk Franklin, Bishop T. D. Jakes, John Legend, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Senator Raphael Warnock, Oprah Winfrey, and Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
One of the important points that Gates makes is that Black enslaved people shaped and adapted Christianity in their own way, not how it was taught to them by white slaveholders. Enslaved people infused African traditions in their version of Christianity that are still with us in some form today, traditions such as the ring shout and spirit possession.
Gates also covers the challenges the Black Church faced and continues to face in our current moment. The debate over worship styles (charismatic vs. more mainline) is an ongoing one since the end of the 19th Century; while the prosperity gospel vs liberation theology message is an issue that the Black Church has focused on since the early 20th Century. The influence of secular music on Black gospel music is another point of contention. There was resistance from Black church members of gospel music because of its blues and rock and roll elements. Nowadays there is resistance to gospel music that has a more hip-hop feel to it. Thomas Dorsey and Kirk Franklin were innovators in their respective eras on shifting the boundaries of gospel music for a new generation of Christians.
Readers should know that this is mostly a story about Black Christianity in America. There are substantial mentions of Black Muslims during slavery; the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X also are covered but it is not at the same level as Black Christians are discussed.
Gates closes his book, in the Epilogue, by discussing the role of the Holy Ghost in the Black Church tradition, specifically the concepts of “getting happy” and “speaking in tongues”. He tells a personal story of his experiences of going to a church where “catching the spirit” was common. Ultimately he makes a verdict about its significance in the Black religious tradition.
I enjoyed reading this book especially as someone who grew up in a Black Church. I learned alot of facts I was unfamiliar with before. Readers of Black history, religious studies, and PBS series (this is a companion book to a series by the same name) will enjoy reading this informative work.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Press, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on February 16, 2021.
Review first published here: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
This book is a historical survey of the Black Church, meaning it covers a lot of broad topics as it relates to the Black American religious experience. Many of the topics could and probably have their own standalone books. Gates’s book could have been alot longer, but it does a good job of giving the reader a well researched and thorough examination of the Black Church’s evolution.
What makes this book special is that Gates was able to talk to a diverse group of people including celebrities, musical artists, clergy, and religion scholars about the Black Church’s significance. Notable names include: Yolanda Adams, Bishop Michael Curry, Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Kirk Franklin, Bishop T. D. Jakes, John Legend, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Senator Raphael Warnock, Oprah Winfrey, and Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
One of the important points that Gates makes is that Black enslaved people shaped and adapted Christianity in their own way, not how it was taught to them by white slaveholders. Enslaved people infused African traditions in their version of Christianity that are still with us in some form today, traditions such as the ring shout and spirit possession.
Gates also covers the challenges the Black Church faced and continues to face in our current moment. The debate over worship styles (charismatic vs. more mainline) is an ongoing one since the end of the 19th Century; while the prosperity gospel vs liberation theology message is an issue that the Black Church has focused on since the early 20th Century. The influence of secular music on Black gospel music is another point of contention. There was resistance from Black church members of gospel music because of its blues and rock and roll elements. Nowadays there is resistance to gospel music that has a more hip-hop feel to it. Thomas Dorsey and Kirk Franklin were innovators in their respective eras on shifting the boundaries of gospel music for a new generation of Christians.
Readers should know that this is mostly a story about Black Christianity in America. There are substantial mentions of Black Muslims during slavery; the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X also are covered but it is not at the same level as Black Christians are discussed.
Gates closes his book, in the Epilogue, by discussing the role of the Holy Ghost in the Black Church tradition, specifically the concepts of “getting happy” and “speaking in tongues”. He tells a personal story of his experiences of going to a church where “catching the spirit” was common. Ultimately he makes a verdict about its significance in the Black religious tradition.
I enjoyed reading this book especially as someone who grew up in a Black Church. I learned alot of facts I was unfamiliar with before. Readers of Black history, religious studies, and PBS series (this is a companion book to a series by the same name) will enjoy reading this informative work.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Press, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on February 16, 2021.
Review first published here: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
February 24, 2021
3.5
I am a product of a Black Church and I greatly admire the work of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Knowing these two things about myself, I thought this book would be a perfect fit for me. My reaction however was different than what I expected.
This book is a general overview of what religion has meant to Black Americans since the first Africans arrived on American soil. Approaching the book as an overview is best. There is not a deep exploration into the various denominations that have shaped the Black American religious experience. There are also glaring omissions of religious leaders who have shaped Black American spiritual life.
Another drawback of the book for me was that it drew heavily on the work W.E.B. Dubois. It has been over 100 years since Dubois work was published. There are many theologians who have written about Black Church life since Dubois.
One of the things I appreciated about the book was the inclusion of the Nation of Islam. Christianity is not the sole belief system of Black Americans and it was nice to have another religion discussed.
This book is for someone who wants to have a broad picture of Black American religious experiences. It is also a great book to commemorate the documentary of the same name. Many of the book’s passages are directly from the documentary. For those who want a deeper understanding of the various Black American religious experiences, the book offers an extensive Recommended Readings section that I plan to explore.
I was given the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.
I am a product of a Black Church and I greatly admire the work of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Knowing these two things about myself, I thought this book would be a perfect fit for me. My reaction however was different than what I expected.
This book is a general overview of what religion has meant to Black Americans since the first Africans arrived on American soil. Approaching the book as an overview is best. There is not a deep exploration into the various denominations that have shaped the Black American religious experience. There are also glaring omissions of religious leaders who have shaped Black American spiritual life.
Another drawback of the book for me was that it drew heavily on the work W.E.B. Dubois. It has been over 100 years since Dubois work was published. There are many theologians who have written about Black Church life since Dubois.
One of the things I appreciated about the book was the inclusion of the Nation of Islam. Christianity is not the sole belief system of Black Americans and it was nice to have another religion discussed.
This book is for someone who wants to have a broad picture of Black American religious experiences. It is also a great book to commemorate the documentary of the same name. Many of the book’s passages are directly from the documentary. For those who want a deeper understanding of the various Black American religious experiences, the book offers an extensive Recommended Readings section that I plan to explore.
I was given the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.
February 19, 2021
Gates recounts that Black churches began as ‘praise houses’, incorporating African culture in their faith traditions. After Emancipation, the Black church retained its importance in nurturing Black culture and helped to foster political action. The rhythms of Black preaching can be heard in the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. as he fought for Civil Rights in the 60s. Unfortunately, Black churches paid the price for MLK leading the massive March on Washington in 1963. Just three weeks later, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was bombed, killing four Black girls. From this bombing in Birmingham to 1964’s Freedom Summer in Mississippi, thirty-seven churches were burned or bombed during a ten-week period. Hence, many Black churches refused to allow the leaders of the civil rights movement to even have services there.
Whether it is the Islam faith of Malcolm X or the Christian faith of many civil rights leaders, faith has held a central place in Black culture. Recommend this companion volume to Gates’ new PBS series.
Whether it is the Islam faith of Malcolm X or the Christian faith of many civil rights leaders, faith has held a central place in Black culture. Recommend this companion volume to Gates’ new PBS series.
November 24, 2023
Police officers at times beat and starve defendants during interrogations to coerce confessions turning innocent victims into guilty criminals. If this tactic works over a few hours to break willpower, imagine the impact of generational starvation and torture of body, mind and soul. Throughout this book Dr. Gates never explains why enslaved Africans shunned ancestral religions in favor for the enslaver’s Christianity beliefs. This book made me curious to learn more of the Stockholm syndrome. Many seem to forget religions are fallible as they are all created and recorded by humans. I would have liked hearing more of the history of media’s role in “spreading the gospel” of the colonizer’s beliefs by way of newspapers, radio, and T.V.
April 1, 2022
This was on a subject I didn’t know anything about, so I found it very informative and enriching. The voice is very interesting, because it does feel kind of like a PBS special, which, it turns out, it is. I’m not sure which material was written first, but it does kind of feel heavily on a narrative throughline when some more information would have been good.
There’s a few subjects where you just want more, but it moves on for the sake of the pace and structure. So, I would call this a supplemental book, or perhaps one that would wet your appetite for much more thorough texts on the topic.
The audiobook was fantastic, as you might expect. It is basically an audio presentation of what I imagine the documentary is. Though I’ve not seen it.
There’s a few subjects where you just want more, but it moves on for the sake of the pace and structure. So, I would call this a supplemental book, or perhaps one that would wet your appetite for much more thorough texts on the topic.
The audiobook was fantastic, as you might expect. It is basically an audio presentation of what I imagine the documentary is. Though I’ve not seen it.
February 23, 2022
I leave with some questions answered and new questions raised. To me, this is one of the signs of a good read. I'm looking forward to watching the associated documentary.
August 10, 2024
The most appreciative audience before which I ever performed (in a high school choir) was a Black Seventh-day Adventist church. The heartfelt "amens" and murmurs of the audience were a real eye-opener for someone raised in a traditional, mostly-silent White church. Also, I have long admired the sincere Christianity of Black women. I had a patient at one of my stores as a pharmacist who would come in on Sundays after church, dressed to the nines, her dignity palpable.
Therefore, when I saw that the Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., wrote a book titled "The Black Church," I simply had to read it. The book delineates the history of Black Christianity and addresses my major question about Blacks and Christianity: WHY would African slaves adopt so completely the religion of their oppressors? I enjoyed Gates addressing the crossover of Black Church music w/ Jazz, Gospel and music's foundational place in the Black Church. I have read DuBois's "The Souls of Black Folk," and its chapter on Black church music is referenced in this work, a tie which I enjoyed actually understanding.
My only disappointment - a slight one overall - is that Pentecostalism is addressed as a uniquely African-American church phenomenon. Many, many of my relatives in the all-White (at the time) Ozarks attend Pentecostal churches; one of my most frightening childhood experiences (again, remember I was raised attending a very traditional Protestant church) was attending my aunt's Pentecostal service w/ her, and listening to all praying out loud, some even shouting. I can only imagine my terror if someone had started actually speaking in tongues!!
4 stars for an interesting, relatively fast, read.
Therefore, when I saw that the Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., wrote a book titled "The Black Church," I simply had to read it. The book delineates the history of Black Christianity and addresses my major question about Blacks and Christianity: WHY would African slaves adopt so completely the religion of their oppressors? I enjoyed Gates addressing the crossover of Black Church music w/ Jazz, Gospel and music's foundational place in the Black Church. I have read DuBois's "The Souls of Black Folk," and its chapter on Black church music is referenced in this work, a tie which I enjoyed actually understanding.
My only disappointment - a slight one overall - is that Pentecostalism is addressed as a uniquely African-American church phenomenon. Many, many of my relatives in the all-White (at the time) Ozarks attend Pentecostal churches; one of my most frightening childhood experiences (again, remember I was raised attending a very traditional Protestant church) was attending my aunt's Pentecostal service w/ her, and listening to all praying out loud, some even shouting. I can only imagine my terror if someone had started actually speaking in tongues!!
4 stars for an interesting, relatively fast, read.
November 11, 2024
Such a powerful overview of the topic, especially as someone who knew very little about the black church in America. My favorite kind of history is gray and holy shit is this gray. The church is a force of such power, it’s so crazy all the different direction its power can be taken. My favorite part was learning about how it was navigated during slavery and went from being a tool of the oppressor to a tool of liberation. And how the Protestants were scared to give enslaved people the tool of religion because they knewwwww. They knew how powerful that shit is. Cool as fuck. And I had no idea that speaking in tongues is descended from African tradition. So interesting! So interesting. And the audiobook was great. I feel like I could read a hundred more books on this.
November 16, 2020
Read if you: Want a revealing, intriguing, and inspiring succinct look at the Black American church, from slavery days to present time.
Librarians/booksellers: A PBS documentary of the same name will premiere February 2021. This will likely be in demand.
Many thanks to Penguin Group/The Penguin Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Librarians/booksellers: A PBS documentary of the same name will premiere February 2021. This will likely be in demand.
Many thanks to Penguin Group/The Penguin Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read
March 18, 2025the inconsistency in which I read this lessened my experience/retention of the book, so I feel as if I could've garnered more had I read it differently
this book offered a survey of the history of the Black church in america, exploring the role and manifestation of Christianity within the lives of Black americans. within this, the author discusses the rise of Black denominations within the church, the intersection of the Black church and politics, some significant figures and individuals in the Black church, the relationship of Black folks with a religion that has been wielded and weaponized via a racist, oppressive lens, and the author's own engagement with the Black church (specifically the Pentecostal and Espicopalian tradition).
I think my reading style and the format of the book, an overview of history taking place within less than 300 pages, left me feeling disoriented and like I watched a crash course video. it serves as an invitation for me to read and learn more, consult different presentations of history (maybe more specific), and to engage with the text in more intentional ways in the future
this book offered a survey of the history of the Black church in america, exploring the role and manifestation of Christianity within the lives of Black americans. within this, the author discusses the rise of Black denominations within the church, the intersection of the Black church and politics, some significant figures and individuals in the Black church, the relationship of Black folks with a religion that has been wielded and weaponized via a racist, oppressive lens, and the author's own engagement with the Black church (specifically the Pentecostal and Espicopalian tradition).
I think my reading style and the format of the book, an overview of history taking place within less than 300 pages, left me feeling disoriented and like I watched a crash course video. it serves as an invitation for me to read and learn more, consult different presentations of history (maybe more specific), and to engage with the text in more intentional ways in the future
June 24, 2022
/The Black Church/ is an inspiring branch of Christendom - and an essential corrector of Christianity's perversions.
Reading the book, I lament the sins of the white Church, committed or omitted. Only bad things happen when the Church abuses her political and social power; when the Church compromises on Gospel; when the Church becomes the oppressor of herself or any others for that matter.
The history of the black Church brings up interesting questions. For a great while, it remained the cultural center and a harbinger of autonomy for blacks in America. In recent history, secular progressivism has divorced political action from the Church. How does this history inform Christian political theology? Questions of Church and State?
I have learned a lot about why white and black churches are separate from each other. The reasons are all tragic.
Gates did very well on the book. The structure was *chef's kiss*, the content was *chef's kiss*, the lessons learned are *chef's kiss*. Definitely recommend to fellow Christians.
Reading the book, I lament the sins of the white Church, committed or omitted. Only bad things happen when the Church abuses her political and social power; when the Church compromises on Gospel; when the Church becomes the oppressor of herself or any others for that matter.
The history of the black Church brings up interesting questions. For a great while, it remained the cultural center and a harbinger of autonomy for blacks in America. In recent history, secular progressivism has divorced political action from the Church. How does this history inform Christian political theology? Questions of Church and State?
I have learned a lot about why white and black churches are separate from each other. The reasons are all tragic.
Gates did very well on the book. The structure was *chef's kiss*, the content was *chef's kiss*, the lessons learned are *chef's kiss*. Definitely recommend to fellow Christians.
February 17, 2022
Summary: A companion to the PBS series on the Black church, surveying the history of the Black church in America focusing on why the church has been central to the life of the Black community.
It is practically a truism that the church is a central reality in the Black experience, and in many local Black communities. But why is this? That is the question Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores in this companion book to the PBS series, “The Black Church.”
Gates contends that the church provided a place, first of all, for refuge that they could control and find hope in, when they were brutally subjugated, whether under slavery or Jim Crow. It was fascinating to learn that Spanish Catholics were responsible for the conversions of African-Americans in the early year. Gates also traces the elements of Muslim and traditional religion back to the earliest periods of slavery. White slave owners often were resistant to the conversion of slaves, recognizing the liberating messages to be found in the Bible, Anglican missionaries persuaded slave owners that it could be taught in ways that supported their control. What they couldn’t control was the introduction of music and dance that reflected African heritage, including the “ring shout.” and the unofficial gatherings in “praise houses.”
Many more were converted during the Methodist revivals, but when they were segregated, Richard Allen led the formation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Gates traces how the church increasingly becomes a force for abolition (and in the case of Nat Turner, for uprising) as well as renewal. Then with Emancipation, Gates traces the further growth of the churches of the south, the Bible women who helped spread the gospel message, and the “frenzy” that presaged Pentecostalism, which can trace its roots to William Joseph Seymour, who led the Azusa Street Revival, leading to the formation of the Church of God in Christ, the largest Pentecostal body in the country.
With the Great Migration, Gates traces the growth of Black megachurches in northern cities like Chicago and New York, and with this the growth of Gospel music from the Fisk Jubilee Singers to Shirley Caesar, and from this, the development of blues and jazz. This led to a growing tension between the music of the clubs on Saturday night and the music of the service on Sunday. The music and the preaching connected, nowhere more so than at the March on Washington when Mahalia Jackson urged King to “Tell them about the dream.” The gospel songs morphed into the freedom songs and sustained the movement.
Gates describes the period after King as a “crisis of faith.” He describes the development of Black theology, including the thought of James Cone and Jeremiah Wright, the pastor who married the Obamas. He observes the tensions around sexuality, the patriarchy of churches, and the conservatism around LGBT sexuality as well as the ascent of Blacks into the middle class, the ministries of pastors like T.D. Jakes, and how Obama revealed different sides of the church to white America. The chapter concludes with the resurgent white nationalism and Black Lives Matter.
An epilogue traces Gates own religious journey, his decision to join the church, his fear of “the Frenzy” and speaking in tongues and the irony that DuBois “Talented Tenth” were less the missionaries of culture than the Pentecostals, whose experience did more to uplift the marginalized. Gates observes that the experiential connected back to the African religious roots of the Black church.
Gates gives us an account of the Black church that both traces history, and enriches it with interviews with contemporary Black leaders and celebrities, drawing out the experienced significance of the Black church. The church that emerges is one of refuge and uplift, of resistance and abolition, of music and ecstasy. It is also an account of Black pulpiteers and the development of Black preaching from Richard Allen to Raphael Warnock. The appendix includes an alphabetical list of the great preachers of the Black church. Here as throughout this history, Gates does not confine his account to Christians, including figures like Malcolm X.
As history, this is more popular survey than an in-depth, scholarly account. Gates use of contemporary interviews interlaced with his history creates a much richer sense of the ethos of the Black church than one might get from a historical narrative alone. He captures the various ways the church epitomizes and sustains the identity of Black people. He concludes:
“It’s that cultural space in which we can bathe freely in the comfort of our cultural heritage, and where everyone knows their part, and where everyone can judge everyone else’s performance of their part, often out loud with amens, with laughter, with clapping, or with silence. It’s the space that we created to find rest in the gathering storm. It’s the place where we made a way out of no way. It’s the place to which, after a long and wearisome journey, we can return and find rest before we cross the river. It’s the place we call, simply, the Black Church” (p. 219).
It is practically a truism that the church is a central reality in the Black experience, and in many local Black communities. But why is this? That is the question Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores in this companion book to the PBS series, “The Black Church.”
Gates contends that the church provided a place, first of all, for refuge that they could control and find hope in, when they were brutally subjugated, whether under slavery or Jim Crow. It was fascinating to learn that Spanish Catholics were responsible for the conversions of African-Americans in the early year. Gates also traces the elements of Muslim and traditional religion back to the earliest periods of slavery. White slave owners often were resistant to the conversion of slaves, recognizing the liberating messages to be found in the Bible, Anglican missionaries persuaded slave owners that it could be taught in ways that supported their control. What they couldn’t control was the introduction of music and dance that reflected African heritage, including the “ring shout.” and the unofficial gatherings in “praise houses.”
Many more were converted during the Methodist revivals, but when they were segregated, Richard Allen led the formation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Gates traces how the church increasingly becomes a force for abolition (and in the case of Nat Turner, for uprising) as well as renewal. Then with Emancipation, Gates traces the further growth of the churches of the south, the Bible women who helped spread the gospel message, and the “frenzy” that presaged Pentecostalism, which can trace its roots to William Joseph Seymour, who led the Azusa Street Revival, leading to the formation of the Church of God in Christ, the largest Pentecostal body in the country.
With the Great Migration, Gates traces the growth of Black megachurches in northern cities like Chicago and New York, and with this the growth of Gospel music from the Fisk Jubilee Singers to Shirley Caesar, and from this, the development of blues and jazz. This led to a growing tension between the music of the clubs on Saturday night and the music of the service on Sunday. The music and the preaching connected, nowhere more so than at the March on Washington when Mahalia Jackson urged King to “Tell them about the dream.” The gospel songs morphed into the freedom songs and sustained the movement.
Gates describes the period after King as a “crisis of faith.” He describes the development of Black theology, including the thought of James Cone and Jeremiah Wright, the pastor who married the Obamas. He observes the tensions around sexuality, the patriarchy of churches, and the conservatism around LGBT sexuality as well as the ascent of Blacks into the middle class, the ministries of pastors like T.D. Jakes, and how Obama revealed different sides of the church to white America. The chapter concludes with the resurgent white nationalism and Black Lives Matter.
An epilogue traces Gates own religious journey, his decision to join the church, his fear of “the Frenzy” and speaking in tongues and the irony that DuBois “Talented Tenth” were less the missionaries of culture than the Pentecostals, whose experience did more to uplift the marginalized. Gates observes that the experiential connected back to the African religious roots of the Black church.
Gates gives us an account of the Black church that both traces history, and enriches it with interviews with contemporary Black leaders and celebrities, drawing out the experienced significance of the Black church. The church that emerges is one of refuge and uplift, of resistance and abolition, of music and ecstasy. It is also an account of Black pulpiteers and the development of Black preaching from Richard Allen to Raphael Warnock. The appendix includes an alphabetical list of the great preachers of the Black church. Here as throughout this history, Gates does not confine his account to Christians, including figures like Malcolm X.
As history, this is more popular survey than an in-depth, scholarly account. Gates use of contemporary interviews interlaced with his history creates a much richer sense of the ethos of the Black church than one might get from a historical narrative alone. He captures the various ways the church epitomizes and sustains the identity of Black people. He concludes:
“It’s that cultural space in which we can bathe freely in the comfort of our cultural heritage, and where everyone knows their part, and where everyone can judge everyone else’s performance of their part, often out loud with amens, with laughter, with clapping, or with silence. It’s the space that we created to find rest in the gathering storm. It’s the place where we made a way out of no way. It’s the place to which, after a long and wearisome journey, we can return and find rest before we cross the river. It’s the place we call, simply, the Black Church” (p. 219).
July 5, 2024
Gates’ overview bravely asked, validated and answered questions I’ve always had about the Black church, culture and Christianity. He did a wonderful job inspecting each strand in order to understand the history and sociology of Black folk in this country. Thank you for this.
July 10, 2021
This is a helpful and short introduction to black religion in America! I gave it a 3 star rating for 2 reasons. Firstly, much of this I learned through reading Paul Harvey’s wonderful book on the same subject and through other readings. If this were my first dive into an academic study of black religion, I’d rate it higher. Secondly, though I appreciate sources, this book seems to be too heavy on quotes. Most of this work are quotes from individuals. But overall, I’d recommend this to those wanting an understanding on black spirituality.
March 18, 2021
The Black Church
A great companion piece to the PBS series The Black Church. Great photos, quotes and discussion by Henry Louis Gates Jr about the origins and history of the Black Church as well it’s benefits to African American and American history and culture to the present. Very nicely done.
A great companion piece to the PBS series The Black Church. Great photos, quotes and discussion by Henry Louis Gates Jr about the origins and history of the Black Church as well it’s benefits to African American and American history and culture to the present. Very nicely done.
February 25, 2021
Just a great introduction to an important part of American Religious history. Combined with the PBS series, just a maevelous overview of sognificant people and their very crucial contributions to America’s cultural ethos.
May 18, 2021
It’s difficult to give an overview of the black church in around 200 pages. This book was a valiant effort but missed the mark for me. It felt like a companion book to the PBS series. I’d recommend people check that series out first before reading this.
March 4, 2021
I watched the PBS series of the same name. I enjoy Henry Louis Gates Jr. as he shares his knowledge, so well-researched here and on the Finding Your Roots series also. Although I belong to a church, in most cases, I consider religion to be an accident of birth. I have long admired those who possess that deep faith. One of the most moving religious services I have attended was a MLK tribute in a local, historically black church. I liked the music, the sermons, and the welcoming atmosphere. I liked that participants/attendees moved around and talked, even during the service, something that I learned was verbotten in my church.
This book is structured much like the PBS series, with the voices of "experts", past and present. Although the book is structured with time consecutive chapters, the narrative moved back and forth, sometimes repetitively. At times, both during the tv series, and the book, I found my mind wandering and skipping over parts. I appreciated the parallels drawn between the slave experience, then the freedom movement, and Moses in the bible. I have mixed feelings about the lack of separation between church and politics. I understand that the church is a place of refuge, and often a place where participants can receive the services not available to them (as they should be) by government. (It was likely the same for my immigrant grandparents, though they came to the U.S. of their own free will.) I had never thought about the traditional roles of women in the black church - they are the church's backbone, but, perhaps until recently, with no leadership roles. The black church is many-faceted. As perhaps with other religious organizations, the times demand that the black church must evolve if it is going survive.
Spirituals project common humanity. "It's hard to hate somebody if you can hum their music." (69)
Summed up in the epilogue: "The Black Church is the space where our direct cultural ties to Africa come to life in new and mutated but still reconizable form. It's that cultural space in which we can bathe freely in the comfort of our cultural heritage, and where everyone knows their part, and where everyone can judge everyone else's performance of their part, often out loud with amens, with laughter, with clapping, or with silence. It's the space we created to find rest in the gathering storm. It's the place where we made a way out of no way. It's the place to which, after a long and wearisome journey, we can return and find rest before we cross the river." (219)
This book is structured much like the PBS series, with the voices of "experts", past and present. Although the book is structured with time consecutive chapters, the narrative moved back and forth, sometimes repetitively. At times, both during the tv series, and the book, I found my mind wandering and skipping over parts. I appreciated the parallels drawn between the slave experience, then the freedom movement, and Moses in the bible. I have mixed feelings about the lack of separation between church and politics. I understand that the church is a place of refuge, and often a place where participants can receive the services not available to them (as they should be) by government. (It was likely the same for my immigrant grandparents, though they came to the U.S. of their own free will.) I had never thought about the traditional roles of women in the black church - they are the church's backbone, but, perhaps until recently, with no leadership roles. The black church is many-faceted. As perhaps with other religious organizations, the times demand that the black church must evolve if it is going survive.
Spirituals project common humanity. "It's hard to hate somebody if you can hum their music." (69)
Summed up in the epilogue: "The Black Church is the space where our direct cultural ties to Africa come to life in new and mutated but still reconizable form. It's that cultural space in which we can bathe freely in the comfort of our cultural heritage, and where everyone knows their part, and where everyone can judge everyone else's performance of their part, often out loud with amens, with laughter, with clapping, or with silence. It's the space we created to find rest in the gathering storm. It's the place where we made a way out of no way. It's the place to which, after a long and wearisome journey, we can return and find rest before we cross the river." (219)
October 3, 2022
A view of the history of Black people from slavery through the COVID pandemic though the church is a fascinating take. We usually think that many Black individuals before being captured in Africa did not have a religion, but we would be wrong. Gates show how the churches have changed and influenced or provided stability through the times of The Restoration and Jim Crow through the Civil Rights movement into the Black Lives Matter. The evolution of Gospel to providing comfort, to be shameful, and becoming popular music. Gates looks at the Black Church how it has influenced our culture with the history. Gates the a fantastic historian and this is reflected in this book.
How did this book find me? I saw PBS was doing The Black Church, but I had not had time to see the documentary. I am a huge fan of Gates on Finding Your Roots.
How did this book find me? I saw PBS was doing The Black Church, but I had not had time to see the documentary. I am a huge fan of Gates on Finding Your Roots.
August 7, 2021
Reading this book makes me want to see the PBS series (hosted by the author) on the same topic. The discussion of the relationship between African culture and African American religious services, black churches and politics, gospel and secular music, and especially the origins of black congregants being possessed by the Holy Spirit is interesting and informative. Gates interviewed most of the prominent current religious leaders—Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Raphael Warnock, Reverend William Barber II, Reverend Jeremiah Wright—as well as such scholars as Michael Eric Dyson (he’s also a minister) and Eddie Glaude, gospel singers Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin, and superstar entertainers John Legend and Oprah Winfrey. The most interesting point that Gates makes in his book is that women and (in earlier times closeted) gay men have been the backbone of the black church even though women were prevented from taking leadership roles (deacon, preacher) until relatively recently, and some gay preachers hid their sexual orientation.
May 26, 2021
I learned so much by listening to this book. It was a good entry to this topic, but as others have mentioned in their reviews, it was pretty high-level and could have gone much deeper. Dr. Gates showed the connection for the black church between theology, community, support, politics, and history.
I was interested to learn that the Methodist church was one of the first to stand up to the issue of slavery. Then I was saddened to learn that this caused a split in the church between northern denominations and southern denominations. I was also interested to learn that many churches have been more progressive than the black church regarding women as leaders in the church.
The question Gates asks that for me remains unanswered...why did so many blacks become tied to the religion of the whites who enslaved them? Especially when they were denied the right to learn to read or own a Bible in many cases.
More to learn here. I will watch the PBS special as a companion piece.
I was interested to learn that the Methodist church was one of the first to stand up to the issue of slavery. Then I was saddened to learn that this caused a split in the church between northern denominations and southern denominations. I was also interested to learn that many churches have been more progressive than the black church regarding women as leaders in the church.
The question Gates asks that for me remains unanswered...why did so many blacks become tied to the religion of the whites who enslaved them? Especially when they were denied the right to learn to read or own a Bible in many cases.
More to learn here. I will watch the PBS special as a companion piece.
June 12, 2021
It's happened more than a couple times that I've been the only white person in a church, and it's pretty frequent that my husband is the only black person. I always wonder about this self-segregation and thought I'd find this book interesting. It ended up not being exactly what I expected: much less a current cultural observation of the Black Church, much more a broad history. There were plenty of interesting parts, but I'd also consider it a pretty dry book. It talks about the history of organized religion among black people in the US from the times of slavery, the Great Awakening, through reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement, all the way to the times of BLM and COVID. It's not limited to Christianity, although that certainly accounts for a majority of the content.
January 31, 2023
Black History
I think the book was well written . It included historical facts that are not taught in history for black children. Gaining an understanding of the origin of the black church was illuminating and greatly appreciated. Although I enjoy the book there are points concerning true Christianity that I disagree with the author. Belief in Christ is not about a white or black Christ. It is about believing in Jesus being the only son of God and He is the Savior who willingly gave His life as a ransom for mankind. Thereby becoming a child of God by faith. Believing He died and God raised Him from the dead.
I think the book was well written . It included historical facts that are not taught in history for black children. Gaining an understanding of the origin of the black church was illuminating and greatly appreciated. Although I enjoy the book there are points concerning true Christianity that I disagree with the author. Belief in Christ is not about a white or black Christ. It is about believing in Jesus being the only son of God and He is the Savior who willingly gave His life as a ransom for mankind. Thereby becoming a child of God by faith. Believing He died and God raised Him from the dead.
January 13, 2025
I found this book to be a great overview of the Black religious experience in America. I saw the PBS documentary, and I found this to be a good companion, even if it drew heavily on the quotes from the film. As a work of popular history, I found it to be rivetting at times.
Overall, this book is a nice foundation, but those looking to dig deeper may like to go to some of Gates' primary sources--whether it be Denmark Vessey or James Cone--or even going to the scholars cited here, such as Cornell West or Anthea Butler (just to name a few).
The best part to me was the epilogue, where Gates goes into his own personal relationship to the church. You could hear his voice in every place of that section, and I really appreciated this section the most.
Overall, this book is a nice foundation, but those looking to dig deeper may like to go to some of Gates' primary sources--whether it be Denmark Vessey or James Cone--or even going to the scholars cited here, such as Cornell West or Anthea Butler (just to name a few).
The best part to me was the epilogue, where Gates goes into his own personal relationship to the church. You could hear his voice in every place of that section, and I really appreciated this section the most.
March 7, 2022
Gates gives a thorough history of the Black Church in America from the beginnings of the slave trade through 2020 - even commenting on COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement. One of the main themes is that church matters have always been tied to social matters, which was illuminating to me. Gates also consistently comments on and critiques Du Bois’s description of the church in “The Souls of Black Folk.”
Ultimately, Gates is a brilliant and inspired historian and anyone even remotely interested in history, race, or church should pick up this book.
Ultimately, Gates is a brilliant and inspired historian and anyone even remotely interested in history, race, or church should pick up this book.
January 24, 2023
This book was great. Written by Henry Louis Gates, who does “Finding Your Roots” on PBS. I saw it over the summer in SC and grabbed it to read on the plane. Took a bit longer but I enjoyed his view from the seat of his pew so to speak. It details his experience in church as a child then an adult while explaining the experience of church for slaves as they came to America, then of the black church as it grew, as well as the different denominations and their beginnings. Basically a history of the black church.
July 23, 2023
A good read. Christianity used as a weapon and a way to control the slaves, AA struggles in finding their own religion identity/expressions during slavery and beyond (multiple denominations) . The Black Church is an expression and experience of AAs striving to find their way post slavery/reconstruction fighting for equality and having a safe space to just be. The Black Church is central to the black community in meeting the needs of the people; education, food, emotional support, justice, etc.
January 7, 2022
Well written, broad history of the Black Church in America. Gates leans on DuBois’s well known description on the Black Church as that with the preacher, the music, and the frenzy. This provides the overarching touch point against which the various strands of the multiple histories are laid. This isn’t a deep dive, and therefore is accessible to readers who are interested in the topic, but don’t have a lot of background.
I was particularly interested in the way he explored the more charismatic aspects of some denominational practices, such as speaking in tongues, arguing that their synthetic emergence is tied to the pan-African identity of American Blacks as a whole today.
I was particularly interested in the way he explored the more charismatic aspects of some denominational practices, such as speaking in tongues, arguing that their synthetic emergence is tied to the pan-African identity of American Blacks as a whole today.
June 10, 2022
For the last two and a half months, this book as been read and discusses every Sunday morning in my Sunday School Class. It has been a very enjoyable, as well as informative, experience centered on an aspect of American religious history about which I knew very little. Well written, footnoted, bearing a list of recommended sources for future reading, “The Black Church” was an excellent choice by our class. So glad I read it!
November 23, 2025
The author of this book is a well-known proponent of Black history, and you can see that in this book. This book has a comprehensive history of the importance of the Black church from the days of slavery through current. This book was recommended to me during a class that I was taking for anthropology about religion. If you are interested in Black history, this book is a must-read. I found it to be very enlightening, despite my general disdain for organized religion.
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