Black Churches During the Jim Crow Era Flashcards
Who wrote “Effects of Urbanization”?
Lacy KirkWilliams
Who was Lacy KirkWilliams?
A progressive clergyman of Olivet Baptist Church
What was “Effects of Urbanization”?
Essay published in The Chicago Sunday Tribune
Who became President of the National Baptist Convention Inc. in 1922?
Lacy KirkWilliams
According to “Effects of Urbanization”, why did AA move to the cities?
- Desire for better environments & living conditions
- Want justice & better police protection
- Educational advantages
- Wider industrial opportunities
- Better wages
- Better religious opportunities
According to “Effects of Urbanization”, how much did both the Chicago negro population and Chicago negro church membership increase 1916-20?
- Chicago negro population: 145.5%
- Chicago negro church membership: 40%
According to “Effects of Urbanization”, what is there too much of and too little of in the church?
- Neglect of proper church duty
- Too much focus on heaven
In “Effects of Urbanization”, what 2 remedies are needed for the church problem?
- Must focus more on the religious psychology of the newcomers
- Need a more comprehensive program (education etc.)
Who gave the “Address on the Great Migration”?
African Methodist Episcopal Council of Bishops
In 1917, where did the AME Council of Bishops meet?
Wilberforce University, Xenia, Ohio
According to “Address on the Great Migration”, what time had come?
The Day of Reckoning
In “Address on the Great Migration”, what did the rural churches need to do?
Need to find the cause of the unrest, and so the remedy
In “Address on the Great Migration”, what did urban churches need to do?
- Give friendship to those who arrive
2. Help migrants avoid the “haunts of vice”
Who wrote “Things of the Spirit”?
Carter Woodson
Who was Carter Woodson?
Founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915
According to “Things of the Spirit”, what is the only institution that the race controls?
The Negro Church
In “Things of the Spirit”, what are 2 problems of Negro preachers?
- Ill-educated
2. Don’t pay their debts
According to “Things of the Spirit”, what is one of the key differences between the rural and urban churches?
Urban church engaged in social action, the rural church focused on the spiritual
In “Things of the Spirit”, why do revivals have to happen every summer?
“Hell-scared” people do not keep their religion
Who wrote “The Churches of Bronzeville”?
St. Clair Drake & Horace R. Cayton
What was “The Churches of Bronzeville”?
- Initially a social survey of Chicago’s south side, financed by the Works Progress Administration, looking at juvenile delinquency
- Re-written as part of R.R. Wright’s “The definitive study of Negro urbanization”
What other major study does “The Churches of Bronzville” corroborate?
Gunnar Myrdal’s “An American Dilemma”
According to “The Churches of Bronzville”, what does Bronzeville expect of its churches?
For them to “advance the race”
In “The Churches of Bronzeville”, why do the churches have large amounts of debt?
They purchased the white churches/synagogues in the Black Belt as the white population moved out
In “The Churches of Bronzeville”, what % of churches are “store front”?
75%
In “The Churches of Bronzeville”, what is the church NOT?
The centre of community life, though it is important
In “The Churches of Bronzeville”, what 3 reasons are given as to why the church still flourishes?
- Collective ceremonies give rhythm
- Little theology
- People “feel at home”
Who wrote “My Life and Work”?
Alexander Walters
In “My Life and Work”, who sold out the AA in 1876?
The Republican Party
In “My Life and Work”, what council is Alexander Walters made President of?
National Afro-American Council
According to “My Life and Work”, what were the objects of the National Afro-American Council?
- Lynchings
- The Convict Lease System
- The Separate Car Law
- Labour Commission
- AA representation at the Paris Exposition
- Cuban immigration
In “My Life and Work”, what will Christianity save?
The black race (need to follow the lord and not back down)
In “My Life and Work”, what does Alexander Walters compare to the sun?
Education: you cannot have too much sun
Who wrote “The Defects of the Negro Church”?
Orishatukeh Faduma
What was “The Defects of the Negro Church”?
An essay published in the American Negro Academy Occasional Papers
Who was Orishatukeh Faduma?
- Slave rescued by the British Navy
- Graduated from University of London & Yale Divinity School
- 1902: Naturalised US citizen
- AME Minister & missionary
- Only African to address the American Negro Academy
In “The Defects of the Negro Church”, what are the 4 defects?
- Tendency to lay stress on outwardness rather than inwardness
- Neglect of rural communities
- The Negro Ministry
- Emotionalism of the laity
Who wrote “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”?
Howard Thurman
Who was Howard Thurman?
AA author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader (influenced MLK)
What did Howard Thurman co-found in 1944?
The first interracial, interdenominational church in the USA
According to “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, what are spirituals a source of rich testimony for?
Views of life and death
In “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, what 3 sources do spirituals get their material from?
- The World of Nature
- Th stuff of experience
- The Bible
In “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, what was constant threat?
Imminent death
In “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, the origin of what is never discussed?
Individual life- taken as a given
According to “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, who is not mentioned?
Slaveowner: could only expect evil of him
In “The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death”, what is a literal place?
Heaven
Who wrote “The Negro’s Church” (1933)
Benjamin Mays & Joseph Nicholson
Who was Benjamin Mays?
Baptist Minister, President of Morehouse College, advisor to Kennedy, Truman, Johnson and Carter, and mentor to MLK
What was “The Negro’s Church” (1933)
Sociological study of the black church in the 1930s
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what was the early Negro Church to the slave?
The only organised field to release suppressed emotions and develop leadership
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what kind of black preachers did whites help?
Those who preached about heaven, who told Negroes to be honest and obedient, and that by and by God would straighten things out
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what are younger men in the priesthood better at?
Better collegiate and theological training
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what % or urban churches are in debt?
70%
In “The Negro’s Church”, what are the 5 epochs?
- Slavery Epoch 1750-1859
- Civil War Epoch 1860-1865
- Post-Civil War Epoch 1866-1899
- New Century Epoch 1900-1914
- Migration Epoch 1915-1930
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what is there a poor emphasis on in the Negro Ministry?
Academic training: idea of being “called” to god
According to “The Negro’s Church”, what is challenging the ministerial leadership?
Leaders in other fields
In “The Negro’s Church”, what are the 3 kinds of sermon?
- Those that touch life situations
- Sermons that are doctrinal/ theological
- Those that are predominantly other-worldly
Who wrote “The Power of the Negro Church”?
James Weldon Johnson
Who was the first AA executive secretary of the NAACP?
James Weldon Johnson
According to “The Power of the Negro Church”, why is the black church relatively more powerful than the white church?
White people can be reached through other mediums
According to “The Power of the Negro Church”, what should the black church be made into?
An instrument for bettering the conditions of the race
Who wrote “After Freedom”?
Hortense Powdermaker
What is “After Freedom”?
An anthropological study of the interracial community of Indianola, Mississippi
Who was Hortense Powdermaker?
An anthropologist
In “After Freedom”, what generally conforms to a set pattern?
“Getting religion” at revivals (stereotyped phrases)
In “After Freedom”, what is increasingly rare amongst the young?
Experience of getting religion
According to “After Freedom”, what influence is on the preacher?
Attitude towards his own people still highly influenced by white masters
In “After Freedom”, what group are prominent at revivals and in the churches?
Women
Who wrote “An American Dilemma”?
Gunnar Myrdal
What was “An American Dilemma”?
A study of race relations funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Who was Gunnar Myrdal?
Swedish Nobel-Laureate economist
What was the view of “An American Dilemma”?
Eventually democracy would triumph over racism
According to “An American Dilemma”, what was the vicious cycle of racism?
Whites oppressed Negroes, and then pointed to Negroes’ poor performance as reason for the oppression
According to “An American Dilemma”, what was the solution for the American race problem?
Cure whites of their prejudice or improve the circumstances of Negroes
In “An American Dilemma”, what 3 organisations should be brought together for concerted action?
The Negro school, church, and press
According to “An American Dilemma”, what is the Negro church like?
Lower class white Protestant Church with emotionalism
In “An American Dilemma”, why does the Negro church have social functions?
To “sell” itself to the public
According to “An American Dilemma”, what it both a weakness and a strength of the Negro church?
Its segregation
In “An American Dilemma”, what are 4 weaknesses of the Negro Church?
- Passivity in the field of power/race relations
- Frequent schisms
- Poverty: dependent on white benefactors
- Ministers coming from a “call” rather than eduction: retain emotionalism
Who wrote “Black Pastures”?
William Lloyd Imes
Who was William Lloyd Imes?
- Pastor of the presbyterian St. James’ Church in Harlem
- 1942 elected to the board of Union Theological Seminary
In “Black Pastures”, who was Benjamin Albert Imes?
William Lloyd Imes’ father
In “Black Pastures”, who was the “Black Puritan”?
Francis James Grimke
In “Black Pastures”, what did William Lloyd Imes describe Fisk University as?
“A Black Educational Pasture”
According to “Black Pastures”, what monopoly can’t the black race claim?
A monopoly of the best part of religion
What response to churches being too costly does Imes have in “Black Pastures”?
That no one criticises costly secular organizations
According to “Black Pastures”, leadership like whose is needed in 1935?
Lincoln’s
In “Black Pastures”, what does the modern world feel little need for?
The other-worldly point of view
According to “Black Pastures”, what does the world need more of?
“Practical saints”
In “Black Pastures”, why should preachers not “thrill”?
Have to keep to the simplicity that is in Christ
In “Black Pastures”, what war is the real war?
The war against hatred, greed etc.
According to “Black Pastures”, what has the Negro Church been in black history?
The one steady and dependable force
What argument is given in “Black Pastures” against war?
Should we prove our superiority by our using of the same methods of oppression and evil that they use?
