The Enduring Legacy of the Black Church

The Black Church stands as one of the most enduring and transformative institutions in American history. It has been the spiritual, cultural, and political center for African Americans, rooted in a deep faith that inspired resistance, resilience, and hope in the face of slavery, segregation, and systemic oppression. Historically, the "Black Church" was forged out of slavery and oppression, not as a separation from the body of Christ that is the church, but as a result of the rejection of whites who wouldn't accept blacks as brothers and sisters in Christ.

A common misconception when we speak of the "Black Church" is that this was the beginning of Africans receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This couldn't be further from the truth, Blacks or Africans had the Gospel more than a thousand years before the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the 15th Century. Scholar John S. Mbiti is just one great source that identifies the Christian Witness in Africa

• "Christianity, the religion which puts its faith in Jesus Christ, came to Africa shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is believed in Egypt that Christianity was first brought there by St Mark, one of the writers of the Bible, in the year 42AD. Since then Christianity has spread to other parts of Africa and remained there. In the first six hundred years of its era, Christianity spread all over North Africa, reaching as far west as the present Morocco. It also spread up Nile Valley to what is now the Sudan, and to Ethiopia. Thus, by the beginning of the seventh century, probably one-third of Africa followed the Christian Faith." (John S. Mbiti, Introduction to African Religion, pg. 180)

  
  

• Even Dr. Vince Bantu has done some critical scholarship work revealing sources that prove Christianity was in West Africa well before the enslavement of Africans in Europe and the Americas.

  
  

While we recognize that in the New Testament, the Gospel indeed spread to Africans and that within the first few hundred years after Jesus' resurrection (In the 1st Century AD), we have many witnesses of faithful disciples of Christ who were Africans such as: Perpetua, St. Antony, Pachomius, Athanasius, Tertullian, Augustine, King Ezana and many more. However, we must acknowledge that many Africans, even those who practiced traditional African religions, were stolen from their land and made to suffer the horrible voyage of the Middle Passage (millions never surviving the journey).

Initially, the Bible was used by slave owners, plantation preachers, the government, and even the church in America to justify the slavery of Africans. Unfortunately, the Bible in many cases was corrupted and manipulated, and passages that talk about Freedom were ripped out (this is known as the Slave Bible).

However, once enslaved Africans got their hands on the Bible or heard the uncorrupted truth of the Gospel of Jesus, they quickly connected with the biblical story of deliverance, especially the Exodus.

• Though denied full participation in white churches, they clung to the promises of the Bible—that all people are created in God’s image and are worthy of dignity and freedom.

• They identified with the suffering of Christ and the Israelites, using Christian faith as a foundation to demand freedom and human equality.

Jupiter Hammon in his 1787 Address to Negroes in NY stated, "Those of you who can read I must beg you to read the Bible, and whenever you can get time, study the Bible, and if you can get no other time, spare some of your time from sleep, and learn what the mind and will of God is. But what shall I say to them who cannot read... get those who can read to learn you, but remember that what you learn for, is to read the Bible..." (Swing Low, Vol. 1, pg. 42)

Before we can talk about the establishment of the Independent Black Church, we must begin with what is known as the Invisible Institution.

The Invisible Institution refers to the secret worship gatherings of enslaved people in hush harbors, woods, and cabins, away from the watchful eyes of slaveholders.

• These services were deeply spiritual, filled with prayers, preaching, songs (spirituals), and the sharing of hope.

• It became a safe space for community, identity, and the belief in a God who would deliver them from bondage.

In many of the slave narratives, they would recall how the real preaching and teaching wouldn't happen from the preaching brought in by the slave owners but in the darkness of the night in the hush harbors where the enslaved would come together to worship without corruption and hear the word of God that leads to salvation.

Out of the Invisible Institution rose the abolitionist movement and the independent black church. Both of these movements were forces against oppression and slavery. We could go on and on about the heroes of these times, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Bishop Henry Turner, Fredrick Douglass, Reverend George Leile, Reverend T.J. Jemison, and so many more, but time and pages wouldn't allow for this rich history to be expressed in this course alone. However, out of the many impactful events that point to the power and necessity of the Black church during this time, perhaps none is more worth being highlighted than the work and courage of Absalom Jones and Richard Allen.

• In 1787, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones famously walked out of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia after being forcibly removed from the prayer altar due to their race.

  That same year, they founded the Free African Society, which provided mutual aid and spiritual support. Richard Allen would later establish the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1816—the first independent Black denomination in the United States. These churches gave African Americans spiritual autonomy, leadership opportunities, and a base for social and political action.

Historian Carter G. Woodson in his book The History of the Negro Church glosses how the Negro or Black Church was the force of the Black Community both prior and after emancipation. Following emancipation, the Black Church became one of the first institutions established by freed African Americans. It was more than just a house of worship—it was a school, a bank, a political headquarters, and a safe haven. Churches trained leaders, founded colleges (like Howard and Morehouse), organized civil rights efforts, and fostered a sense of dignity and identity among a people long denied both.

In the face of Jim Crow segregation, economic oppression, and racial violence, the Black Church remained the primary institution of independence, resilience, and hope for the Black community. Denominations such as the AME, AMEZ, CME, COGIC, and the National Baptist Convention grew rapidly, giving voice and structure to a historically oppressed people.

Throughout the 20th century, the Black Church played a central role in the Civil Rights Movement, with pastors like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Fred Shuttlesworth leading marches, organizing boycotts, and preaching justice from their pulpits. The church became both a spiritual anchor and a strategic force for social change.

Today, the Black Church remains a vital institution in American life. It continues to shape spiritual life, influence culture, and serve as a moral voice on issues of race, justice, and community. Rooted in centuries of struggle, the Black Church is a living testimony to a faith that resisted bondage, demanded justice, and celebrated freedom in Christ.