Black history is a history of prayer.
Beginning in the woods and marshes on the edges of plantations across the deep south, enslaved Black Americans secretly gathered in worship, free from the censorship of white slave owners. Anti–literacy laws made Scripture readings rare. Singing was also limited because it risked discovery. As a result, these underground Christian gatherings beneath the stars were devoted to the only thing Black Americans could do–
Pray.
Prayers of the Antebellum
Though little is recorded of these underground prayer meetings, there are records of prayer events in the antebellum era. Like in 1813, when enslaved and free Black worshipers in Wilmington, Delaware defiantly gathered on French Street to publicly pray for freedom. Or in 1857, when Black and White Christians gathered to pray in Charleston, South Carolina, giving rise to a revival where more than 2,000 diverse people joined together daily for 8 weeks to cry out to God for freedom. Over time, praye