Trotter Review

A Profile of the Reverend Michael E. Haynes of Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Kimberly R. Moffitt — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14:03 PDT

The hand-clapping of "happy souls" stops. The singing of the choir's songs of Zion ceases; and the minister no longer stands in the pulpit conducting his sermon. Sunday morning worship service is now over at Twelfth Baptist Church; but the work of the church's senior minister, Reverend Michael E. Haynes, is not. For approximately forty years Reverend Haynes has made himself available in a variety of capacities to his congregation, his friends and family, and especially, the young people of Roxbury, Massachusetts. At times when it seemed others "threw in the towel," he has simply stood steadfast, as his scriptures advise him, and persevered in his work to help young people.

An Interview with Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr., President of The Interdenominational Theological Center Atlanta, Georgia

Harold W. Horton — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14:02 PDT

In 1996 the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia named Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr. as its sixth president of the seminary. Previous to this appointment, Dr. Franklin was Program Officer for The Ford Foundation. He is a graduate of two theological seminaries, The Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbus, Ohio and the McCormick Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago.

The Sacred as the Basis for Human Creativity and Agency in the Black Church

Cheryl Townsend Gilkes — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14:01 PDT

Religion is, I believe, the most important site for human creativity, innovation, and agency. In the world of the sacred in any social context, one is able to find the widest variety of human constructions of meaning. Indeed, the true understanding of human diversity may be found in the study of religion and the processes through which people sustain and renew their religious organizations and their religious world views. It is important, I think, to apply these new insights to the study of the African-American religious experience. The Black church, or the collective experience of African-American Christians in the United States, is important for a number of reasons but most especially because it had been the basis for an ethnic identity and the context for mobilization for social change.

The discussion in this essay attempts to integrate several lines of inquiry related to this observation. It is based on a research project focused on the Sanctified Church. Initially fueled by an interest in the emergence of new African-American religious congregations and denominations at a critical juncture in America's racial-ethnic historical outline—in other words a problem focused on social change and community reorganization at the end of Reconstruction and during the rise of Jim Crow, that interest broadened into an examination of the way in which religion fostered cultural identity and community, especially among African Americans. The research occurred at a moment of unprecedented interaction among African Americans from diverse strands of the African-American religious experience as the "golden cohort" benefitting from the open doors created by the Civil Rights Movement entered colleges, changed churches, and provided the nucleus for the growth of African-American mega-churches and the rise of what Lincoln and Mamiya have called "Neo- Pentecostalism." Observations of key congregations and national meetings of the Sanctified Church underscored the dynamics of continuity across denominational boundaries in spite of the still-salient histories of conflict with Baptist and Methodist churches.

The Substance of Things Hoped For: A Memoir of African-American Faith by Samuel DeWitt Proctor: A Review Essay

Donald Cunnigen — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14:01 PDT

The following article is a review of The Substance of Things Hoped For: A Memoir of African-American Faith by Samuel DeWitt Proctor, written by Donald Cunnigen.

Building on a Radical Foundation: The Work of Theologian Howard Thurman Continues

Stephanie Athey — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14:00 PDT

Howard Thurman (1900-1981), whose life spanned most of this century, was a prodigious intellect and a pioneering theologian; his persistent effort, especially over the period of 1930s-1960s, to grapple with racism and classism within American Christianity paved the way for intellectual, political and religious leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Through his contact with Mahatma Gandhi, Thurman became convinced that African Americans might bring the "unadulterated message of non-violence to all people everywhere." Determined to find a moral and practical method to unite the concerns of the human spirit and the immediate material and social needs of disenfranchised people, Thurman moved against the advice of his own mentors and the racial proscriptions and patriotic zeal of Cold War Christianity. His study of Native American and Eastern spiritualities, his growing international frame of reference, his exploration of mysticism and suspicion of formal creeds as divisive, all distinguished him within an American and a Black tradition of religious practice.

Public Sector and Black Church Partnerships: A New Public Policy Tool

Marjorie B. Lewis — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:54 PDT

Since the mid-sixties, local, state and federal policies and their resulting agencies have been involved in an ongoing war on poverty. The goals of this effort have been to eradicate poverty through exogenous motivators, which include "work fare" programs, "head start" programs, and welfare "reform" initiatives. As well-intentioned as these efforts may have been, results have proven less than successful, particularly for inner-city African-American youth. In his paper, "The Rich Get Richer and the Black Poor Get Poorer," Samuel Myers reiterates this assessment, and shows that the plight of the inner-city dweller who is poor, uneducated, and African American has degenerated over the last twenty-five years. The plight of this group, according to Myers, is in part, due to the marginalization of African-American males. This marginalization has resulted in unprecedented gang violence, school dropout rates, imposition of violence to property and persons in African-American inner-city communities, and a high proportion of African-American female-headed households with no, or low incomes below the poverty level.

Strengthening Black Churches: A Collaborative Approach

Sylvia R. Johnson — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:54 PDT

Throughout United States history the Black Church has played a significant role in the Black community. As one of a few truly African-American institutions, the Black Church, led by skilled, committed pastors and lay leader, has served as an anchor for the survival and achievement of the African-American community. Black churches bring to their social ministries and neighborhood revitalization efforts a wealth of strengths and assets including a set of values, a self-help philosophy, an emphasis on leadership development, and human resources which are all brought to bear on the myriad of social, economic and moral issues confronting Black people. In the early 1990s, Boston-area foundations began supporting the work of several Black churches in the community. After initial data gathering and reflection, foundations concluded that Black churches have a unique and critical role to play in building and sustaining the Black community and that foundations can further their own goals by forming new partnerships with Black churches.

A Time to Question: The Role of the Black Church in British Society

Paul Grant — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:53 PDT

In this essay I raise some questions concerning the role of Black faith and religious institutions in Britain. It seems to me that certain assertions made -concerning the progressive nature of this role have remained unquestioned. Lest this be perceived as yet another attack on Black faith from an outsider, it will be presented in terms of an exercise in self-criticism. I will use a collection of papers on Black theology in Britain, which I co-edited, to illustrate my argument concerning the limitations of our faith-based radicalism.

Given that the aim here is less precise conceptual clarity and more broad political mapping, debates concerning the exact composition of the Black Church in Britain need not detain us. It is suffice for current purposes to say that I will use the term to refer to those denominations and fellowships that could be regarded as Black-led, as well as Black Christians involved in white-led churches. Furthermore, discussions concerning the exact ethnic or national origin of the churches are less important than the trends in their concerns, structures and responses to social injustice that seem to cut across ethnic boundaries.

The Black Church: The 'Cocoon' for the Black 'Butterfly' and the African-American Music Idiom

Hubert Walters — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:52 PDT

An interesting phenomenon takes place in the world of nature when the larvae of the Monarch butterfly goes through the period of metamorphosis in the protective cover of the cocoon, and emerges as one of the most beautiful butterflies in North America. This phenomenon seems to be an appropriate metaphor to use in our discussion of the African-American Music Idiom. This idiom was developed and nurtured in the "cocoon" of the Black Church, while undergoing the "metamorphosis" of slavery, second-class citizenship, and segregation and emerge as the beautiful Black musical, "Butterfly," which stands at the very foundation of the only true American music. A casual look at the world of popular music would reveal that African-American music and musicians are being imitated the world over. As Dave Clark, the leader of a British Group in the fifties called, The Dave Clark Five, stated in an interview almost three decades ago, "we are all trying to sing colored."

Burning Hate: The Torching of Black Churches

Salim Muwakkil — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:52 PDT

Nearly 100 predominantly Black churches have been torched since 1990, their congregations forced to watch in horror as the very centers of their communities were consumed by the flames of racial hatred. Americans of all races have recoiled in shock—and often with genuine shame—as the attacks have escalated in past months. But despite President Clinton's call for interracial solidarity and the belated appeals of white evangelical Christian leaders for racial reconciliation, many African Americans are left wondering whether white America grasps the meaning and significance of this reign of terror.

Black Church Politics and the Million Man March

William E. Nelson Jr. — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:51 PDT

October 16, 1995 will be recorded as one of the most important days in the political history of African Americans in the United States. This day witnessed the largest mass political demonstration in the history of this nation—the assemblage of more than 1.2 million African-American men in Washington, D.C. under the banner of the Million Man March. Both the size and the overt political objectives of the march set it firmly apart from the pallid, feeble demonstrations in Washington led by the NAACP in the 1980s; in its size and character, the march echoed the focus on power and system level change that emerged as the hallmark of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and the national mobilization against the war in Vietnam.

Religious Institutions and Black Political Activism

Frederick C. Harris — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:51 PDT

During the modern Civil Rights Movement religious institutions provided critical organizational resources for protest mobilization. As Aldon Morris' extensive study of the southern Civil Rights Movement noted, the Black Church served as the "organizational hub of Black life," providing the resources that fostered—along with other indigenous groups and institutions—collective protest against a system of white domination in the South.

The Church and Negro Progress

George E. Haynes — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:50 PDT

The marked progress of the Negro in America in which the church has been a factor has been of three general types. The first is intra-group advancement in such phases of life as education and wealth. The second is inter-group adjustments between the Negro population and the white population in such matters as economic relationships, citizenship rights and privileges, interracial contacts and fellowship. There is a third type of progress which touches both the internal and external life of the Negro group such as the cultural contributions of Negroes which have gradually been incorporated into our common life. There are, of course, the emotional attitudes, the growing group solidarity and consciousness, the development of moral customs and similar mental and social factors which the church has profoundly influenced but which are not measurable by the data and objective tests now available.

Introduction

James Jennings — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:49 PDT

In order to understand and appreciate the critical importance of the Black Church in the empowerment of Blacks and, indeed, other communities of color in the United States, I am pleased to introduce the Spring 1997 issue of the Trotter Review. As noted above, we begin this issue with a reprinting of an essay by George E. Haynes, originally published in 1928, as part of a report issued by the Commission on the Church and Race Relations and sponsored by the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. Haynes described the involvement of the Black Church in the Black community during the 1920s, and illustrates the critical role that this institution played in the social and economic, as well as spiritual, survival of Black people in this country. Special appreciation and thanks are extended to Sage Publications for allowing us to reprint this important article.

Signs, Symbols, and Slave Culture: Representations in Black Thunder

Sandra M. Grayson — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:45 PDT

Black Thunder (1936), by Arna Bontemps, is a historical novel that recreates Gabriel Prosser's 1800 slave revolt. This novel is useful in reviewing some of the historical and cultural linkages between Black slaves in the U.S. and African cultures. Thematically, Black Thunder does more than represent Black people's self-assertion through revolt, it also shows their assertion of identity through practicing Atlantic (or western) African traditions, especially those of the Kongo. This is a topic that continues to be significant in light of greater contemporary political and economic linkages between U.S. Blacks and Africans, as well as increasing African immigration into the U.S. Black community.

Leadership in the African Immigrant Community: Conflict and Coalition

Mfon Ufot — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:44 PDT

Whenever African immigrants gather, most assuredly the conversation of their plight to the United States, will be a heated topic. Most of the discussion laments the apparent apathy in the African community and the lack of collective leadership to mobilize it. According to the 1990 census, there are over 350,000 African in the United States and that number is increasing every year. The State Department's Information on Immigration reports about 20,000 Africans won the "immigration lottery" to emigrate to the United States last year. This year, about 20,000 slots are allotted to the African continent. This program is a part of the diversity immigrant visas given to countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Nevertheless, all 20,000 of the lottery winners may not be able to emigrate to the United States because of stringent requirements by the State Department. It is therefore timely and important to examine the leadership development in the evolving and ever-changing African immigrant community already living here, as citizens of the United States.

Community leadership infers the ability to have a vision, interpret that vision, and carry it to fruition. Surely, there are outstanding and successful individuals, organizations, and even businesses in the African immigrant community, which although confronted with serious obstacles, have managed to build strong coalitions that address issues affecting most African-born groups in the U.S. Through personal leadership African-born groups have combined individual efforts to mobilize their community or groups to achieve given goals. Unfortunately, there are also many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve those goals.

The Political Issues for African Immigrants in the United States

Paul E. Udofia — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:43 PDT

Since the 1970s the African-born population in the United States has grown steadily in numbers. This increase of African immigrants offers an historic opportunity for sustained reconstruction of ancestral relationships with Black America. At this point, however, Africans who are mostly English-speaking and highly educated, remain largely isolated and even ostracized. So, what must be done for these groups, Blacks and African immigrants, to begin working together effectively? This essay begins with one basic query necessary for understanding this potential development: What is the current status of African immigrants in the United States? After providing a brief overview in response to this query, I will highlight a few issues relevant to understanding emerging political relations between U.S. Blacks and African immigrants.