Columnist’s Note: In today’s issue, I yield my space to Bishop Michael Blue. He is the senior pastor at Door of Hope Christian Church in Marion.
By Bishop Michael A. Blue, Sr. Pastor, Door of Hope Christian Church, Marion, SC
The Church has always been the nexus of the African-American community. From the earliest days of the American slave, the Church of the Black people was once considered the greatest seedbed, stabilizer, and strength, and stimulator of African-American culture. In the present, however, there are many conflicting ideas as to whether the Church has left its place in the African-American community, or whether the community has left the Church. Questions about the Church’s role in the future persist, but its indelible impact on the past is undeniable.
During Slavery
It has been reported that many slave owners did not want African-Americans to learn Christianity for fear that the concepts of Christianity would create an impulse toward liberty and dignity within the slave. Therefore, slaves were handled harshly, even beaten in some instances, when it was found that they were engaging in religious activities.1
On the other hand, there were slave owners who believed that Christianity was a pacifying influence, rendering slaves more readily submissive and more easily “controlled”. Despite conflicting external motivations, the Church grew among Black people: it was one of the few environments where the slave could find a sense of solace and serenity, if only for a moment. Moreover, it was here that he or she was reminded of a permanent peace to come, in eternity. For some, the heaven of their future helped them to cope with the hell of their present.
Ironically, both ideas about the influence of Christianity proved to be “right”. On the one hand, it was sincerity regarding Christian principles that provided the moral fuel for the Abolitionist movement both in England (William Wilberforce) as well as among leaders / groups in the United States (Quakers, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, etc.) On the other hand, a perverted version of Christianity was concocted to keep slaves docile, first by keeping them illiterate, which made them subject to the system-serving Bible interpretations of their “religious teachers”, and secondly by indoctrinating them with a sense of God-ordained inferiority and servility. An example of such a pseudo-Christian fallacy is the big one: Noah’s curse pronounced upon Ham’s son Canaan (which did occur in Scripture) is erroneously interpreted / enlarged into God placing a curse upon all Hamitic / African people (which did not take place anywhere in Scripture) turning their skin black and naturally justifying African-American’s enslavement and the exploitation of all darker ethnicities.
In the Community
By way of truth, and in spite of error, the Church of the African-American arose. Eventually, the Church became the center of the Black community. It has been well noted that for much of American history, African-Americans had very limited social outlets. Therefore, the Church became “Grand Central Station” for so much of the culture. Whether it was a wedding ceremony, the christening of infants, the challenge to scholastic achievement, funerals, the observance of holidays, and the unofficial “dates”, “beauty pageants”, and “singing competitions” on Sunday morning or evening, it was typically the Church that served as the forum for these activities.
The Civil Rights
Movement
and Social Justice
Later, and particularly in the era of the American Civil Rights Movement beginning in the early to mid-20th Century, it was the church (building) and the Church (body) in which political activism and civic discourse were incubated. It is not coincidental that many of the leaders, the inspirational themes, and even the music of the Movement trace their roots to the African American Church. Perhaps the best known example of the Church’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement was the establishment by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., himself a Baptist pastor and best known leader of the Movement, of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was to be a network of pastors that would sustain the Movement’s forward propulsion.2 Ralph D. Abernathy, Jessie L. Jackson, Sr., Andrew Young, and many others of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement were actually clergypersons. Even those who were not clergy were heavily influenced by principles and values derived from the Church. Doubtless, the cadences and rhythms of the great lectures and speeches of the Civil Rights Movement are those derived from the oratorical style of the Black preacher / poet / prophet.
From that era until the present, with the “Occupy Wall Street”, “Black Lives Matter” movement, etc., there is no social justice movement in which the Church of the African-American does not find itself consciously involved. Because the Church is not monolithic in these regards, one may find African-Americans on various sides of these issues, with differing opinions as to how their activism is best expressed. However, from the old guard of Rev. Jessie Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton, to the later voices such as Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop Harry Jackson, Dr. Bernice King, and Dr. Jamal Bryant, the clergy and Church of the Black people is still deeply engaged in social justice advocacy.
Perhaps no portrayal of the beauty and grace of the African-American Church has been any more poignant recently than its response to the massacre of the “Charleston Nine” in the summer of 2015, at Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC. Forgiveness, reconciliation, yet determination to see justice done — these have characterized the spirit of the Church of the Black people.
Education and HBCUs
Much of the inspiration toward high educational aspiration came through the Church. The minister was often one of the most educated persons in the African-American community. In the early days teachers and administrators of the schools were also a part of the Church, and their influence in both environments caused learning to be highly prioritized in both settings. On the one hand, the acquisition of “secular” knowledge was held up as valuable. On the other hand, the social and moral values of the Church were conformed to in the school environment, so that the socialization that a student received in the school mirrored that which he or she received at home or in the Church. In effect, the young Black person was “ganged-up-on” by the parents, the teachers, and the Church community, with the entire “village” insisting that he or she behave respectfully and achieve highly. Beyond grade school in the local community, Michael Lomax asserts that the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a.k.a. HBCUs (there are reportedly 107)3 owe their existence and much of their success to the Black Church. These institutions’ basis in the Church and the Church’s values precipitated their willingness to collaborate – despite doctrinal differences – ensuring that more young people would have the opportunity to excel, giving rise to the United Negro College Fund, UNCF.4
Other Areas
The Church gave America some of its most beloved Gospel music and artists: Thomas Dorsey (“Precious Lord”), James Cleveland, Mahalia Jackson, Shirley Caesar, Edwin and Walter Hawkins, Andrae and Sandra Crouch, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and Kirk Franklin. However, the Church’s contribution was not just in the sacred arts, but in various sub-genres of music: e.g. soul, blues, R&B, literature, theater, and beyond. From James Baldwin to Aretha Franklin, from Ethel Waters to Candi Staton, from James Brown to Gladys Knight, from Beyonce to Sinbad, from Maya Angelou to Denzel Washington, from Sam Cooke to Al Green, from Oprah to the Winans – the Church of the Black people has been a source of mainstream performers and entertainers.
IN CONCLUSION
The arguments still persist as to the relevance of the Black Church in the 21st Century, as many sociological forces vie for “the souls of Black folk.” However, the collective consciousness of the African-American has always been unapologetically, and even intuitively, spiritual. There has always been a connection between the spirit of the Black culture and an awareness of the Creator, even in the Africans’ pre-American existence. That transcendent awareness of the Creator has led millions of us to believe that our Creator became a historical Figure in time, in the Person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. That belief, that faith, called Christianity, has sustained African-Americans through the darkest hours of their existence, from slavery, through Jim Crow, in cotton and tobacco fields, until the present. That faith has produced champions in every realm of human existence and attainment. That faith has made non-violent protesters relentless in the face of brutal opposition. That faith has raised up institutions of higher learning funded by little more than hope, portions of Daddy’s meager paycheck, and Grandma’s “change knot”. Regardless of skepticism and cynicism to the contrary, there will always be the power called The Black Church. Does it need revival? All Churches do. Does it need recalibration of vision? All prophetic movements do. Has it made errors? All humans have. But will it endure? Absolutely, YES. As long as there are at least two or three African-Americans gathered (united, purposed, loving, strategizing) in His Name, He promised that He would be in the midst. And that, basically, is the Church — in this instance, the Black Church.
Traditionally, at the beginning of “testimony service”, an arcane tradition in the Black Church, the speaker would invariably begin his or her improvised speech with an introduction similar to this:
“First, giving honor to God, the Pastor, Saints, and friends…”
Citations
1. ‘“The Black Church”: A Brief History’, African American Registry. 13 February 2016.
2. Rosenbaum, Judith. “Clergy In The Civil Rights Movement: The Introductory Essay”, Living the Legacy from Jewish Women’s Archive. 15 February 2016.
3. “HBCUs”, Wikipedia. 15 February 2016.
4. Lomax, Michael. “Churches Played Vital Role in Historically Black Colleges’ Success”, CNN.com. Sept. 20, 2010. 15 February 2016.
