By Henry Louis Gates Jr.
There is a decidedly blessed assurance within the pages of this book. Henry Louis Gates Jr. tells a story that, by his own admission, he hasn’t told until now in the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a continuing surge in blatant police brutality, and emboldened White supremacy. It is a song that has echoed for generations, as people of African descent stolen into slavery sought to fashion a faith capable of sustaining them through inhumane and untenable circumstances, many of which shamefully remain to this day.
Along with its companion documentary series, which aired on PBS last month, this book is the culmination of two years of dialogue with a wide range of individuals both within and outside the church practitioners of the faith along with scholars of history and theology. (For more on the documentary, read or watch
THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG
Both Parts to Air March 2, 2021 starting at 8:00 p.m.
and explores African American faith communities
on the frontlines of hope and change
Featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Bishop Michael Curry, Cornel West, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Rev. Al Sharpton, Yolanda Adams, Rev. William Barber II, BeBe Winans, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie and more
THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG will air March 2, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. on WOUB. This moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and grace, organizing and resilience, thriving and testifying
Credit: Courtesy of PBS
WXXI presents an encore of this two-part series that reveals the broad history and culture of the Black church and explores African American faith communities on the frontlines of hope and change.
Tracing the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America,
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song reveals how Black people have worshipped and, through their spiritual journeys, improvised ways to bring their faith traditions from Africa to the New World, while translating them into a form of Christianity that was not only truly their own, but a redemptive force for a nation whose original sin was found in their ancestorsâ enslavement across the Middle Passage.
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song wxxi.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wxxi.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Image: PBS
premieres February 16 and 17, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. ET on VPM PBS.
In this intimate four-hour series from executive producer, host, and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., we trace how this came to be in the 400 year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and endurance, grace and resilience, thriving and testifying, freedom and independence, solidarity and speaking truth to power.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. | VPM PBS
A Negro camp meeting in the South, a man preaching with arm raised to a group in the woods.