Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans

by James Melvin Washington

A unique and moving collection of prayers by African-Americans spanning two centuries that has sold more than 30,000 copies and been unanimously embraced as "a powerful testament of faith and hope" (Corettta Scott King).

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Religion

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

James Melvin Washington, Ph.D. was Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Religion at Columbia University.

Reviews

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible, an all-round education--spiritually, historically, culturally, and judicially. "Prayer a judicial education?" Yes - in his penetrating introduction, Washington says this: "Prayer in the midst of the abortion of one's human, political, and social rights is an act of justice education insofar as it reminds the one who prays, and the one who overhears it, that the one praying is a child of God" (xxxiv). In the face of calls to assimilation and "the emasculation of their culture and history," prayer then "becomes the *primal* way of conducting 'justice education'" (xlvi).

The book is a profound work of scholarship by a giant--more people need to know about James Melvin Washington! Consider this tribute to Washington, with contributors like Cornell West, Albert Raboteau, James Cone, Richard Newman, and others: The Courage to Hope: From Black Suffering to Human Redemption. Be sure to see Washington's Frustrated Fellowship: The Black Quest for Social Power.

But back to this book on prayer. This book is like an entry into the holy of holies, into the faith of those who believed, or struggled to believe, in God in the face of centuries of suffering and injustice. Powerful, moving, heart-wrenching, profound.

I'm so glad I found this book.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gathers prayers by African Americans across the centuries, from speeches and writings, transcriptions, newspapers, songs, and more. The prayers encompass a wide breadth of spirituality and religious experiences. I especially enjoyed seeing prayers by Maria W. Stewart (26-33), and W. E. B. du Bois' piercing "A Litany of Atlanta" (1906, p. 102-104).

Conversations with God includes a list of contributors, notes on sources (such as when/where/by whom a prayer was transcribed), and an index (authors and titles combined). Biblical references are often but not always footnoted with the source.

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"They Would Pray" (1945) recorded by Benjamin Albert Botkin (172)
My master used to ask us children, "Do you folks pray at night?" We said, "No," 'cause our folks had told us what to say. But the Lord have mercy, there was plenty of that going on. They'd pray, "Lord, deliver us from under bondage."

[Anita Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conversations with God – now in its twentieth anniversary edition – is a collection of prayers by African Americans that, as author James Washington states, “reflect the central crisis out of which and to which these prayers come.” This book covers two centuries of African American history – from slavery, emancipation, and reconstruction to Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and the postmodern African American world of the 1980s and 1990s.

James Washington’s epic anthology includes a wide range of contributors who include musicians, writers, spiritual leaders, community organizers, scholars, educators, abolitionists, and most importantly, fugitive slaves. While each visceral prayer varies one from the other depending on the circumstances and time periods, they are joined together by one common thread: a heartfelt cry for freedom and justice from a people whose generational history has been (and continues to be) marred by racial persecution. Although Washington did not live to see the reprinting of his project, this collection would not have come to fruition if it were not for the painstaking archival research that he embraced as a work of love. Unquestionably, Conversations with God is a must read by all, both at home and in the classroom.
Originally posted on San Francisco Book Review.
Anita Lock, Book Reviewer

[Courtney Deberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book book to be both inspirational and well written. This compilation of prayers is assembled in chronological order and details the history of African American growth through the interesting lens of prayer. There is a wealth of resources for further study and plenty of historical context provided. I found it easy to complete in one sitting because few prayers are longer than 2 pages. The variety of subject matter and levels of education created a reading experience full of diversity.

[Wm. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of prayers over several centuries. It causes you to think about the prayers said by individuals who were living in different times of our nation's history. I truly enjoyed this book and learned a few things about me and my relationship with God.

[Sadifura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book with beautiful prayers, excerpts from books, and poetry that certainly inspired me in moments where I was faithless and lost to become closer and closer to God. Wonderful book, wonderful author.

[Chris Theule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopeful, discouraging, faith-building, heavy, worth reading.

from the afterward: "Lord, the search for two centuries of the prayers of our forebears offers a profile of the trials, defeats, and triumphs of often unheralded martyrdom... Has the sense that prayer is a signal way to rally our tempestuous selves around the anchorage of your incomparable love been lost?... O God, God, I pray that you will bless us with a might increase in the gift of prayer in every culture, race, and nation on this abused planet."

[Carie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impacting and meaningful collection of prayers.

[James S.]

I didn't read the book yet.

[Deborah]

Amen.