SKU: 96442816286

The Black Church

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The Black ChurchBy: Henry Louis Gates Jr. 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 Gatess telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earthas it is in heaven. Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling

By: Henry Louis Gates Jr.     
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 The Black Box, 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 supremacists: 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.
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SKU: 96442816286

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Lis
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 5
A beautiful mind
Malcom had the capacity to express his ideas in such an eloquent and smart way. This book is proof of that. I'm studying this great human being and now I consider this an essential book for anyone, any race, any place or gender that are looking to open their minds. Definitely a must read for any person.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020
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Cuba, US
★★★★★ 4
Love this book
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Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2019
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Emma D
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
... or sacred poem as my focus of concentration) I enjoy reading this book at bedtime for inspiration
Format: Paperback
Since I began practicing Passage Meditation (meditating on a prayer or sacred poem as my focus of concentration) I enjoy reading this book at bedtime for inspiration. I find that when certain prayers or poems resonate with me, stanzas from them will come to me during the day. Some of them I memorize quicker than others. I appreciate this book for having so many from so many traditions compiled and translated so beautifully. At the back of the book you can look them up by category, such as prayers for courage, or fear, etc. I am surprised at how many I have memorized, and how much they affect my thoughts throughout the day.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2014
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Ytsur
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
One of the most excellent books ever published!
Format: Paperback
All the books I own today and have ever owned this one is primary importance to me. Beautiful collection of poetry and prose for Spiritual encouragement.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2025
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Max
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Make your life a work of art
Format: Kindle
These passages drawn from all the world's great spiritual traditions coupled with enthusiastic sustained practice of Eknath Easwaran s 8point program can provide depth and meaning to one's life and a greater understanding of what the check it is we are all doing here on this beautiful yet long suffering planet. Don't be thrown off by the quiet delivery or the religious stuff -- it's always common sense experience based and never heavy handed. You'll get as much out of it as you put into it. The people that have used this form of meditation and are associated w the blue mountain center are some of the most extraordinary humble people you will ever meet. Good luck.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017

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