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68-716: Shiloh Baptist Church may refer to: in the United States (by state) Shiloh Baptist Church disaster , a stampede at a church in Birmingham, Alabama Shiloh Baptist Church (Sacramento, California) , listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in Sacramento County Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church and Cemetery , Buena Vista, Georgia, listed on

136-570: A "cyber congregation." From the Black theology movement also came a more feminine form, in reaction to both the male-dominated nature of the field and the White-dominated nature of Feminist theology . Major figures in this reaction included Afro-Latino thinkers as well as Black women. Black Catholic womanists also played a major role, including Sr Jamie Phelps , OP, M. Shawn Copeland , and Diana L. Hayes . The black church continues to be

204-416: A dispute with the choir leader concerning an unoccupied seat. Someone in the choir yelled, "There's a fight!". Mistaking the word "fight" for "fire," the congregation rose en masse and started for the door. One of the ministers quickly mounted the rostrum and urged the people to keep quiet. He repeated the word "quiet" several times, and motioned to his hearers to be seated. The excited congregation mistook

272-643: A leadership role in the American civil rights movement . Their history as centers of strength for the black community made them natural leaders in this moral struggle. In addition they had often served as links between the black and white worlds. Notable minister-activists of the 1950s and 1960s included Martin Luther King Jr. , Ralph David Abernathy , Bernard Lee , Fred Shuttlesworth , Wyatt Tee Walker , C. T. Vivian , and Fr. Ted Hesburgh , who would later be recruited by President Johnson to help craft

340-593: A majority of black Protestants remained opposed to same-sex marriage as of 2015, support grew to a majority of both black Protestant and black Catholic respondents in later surveys. Nevertheless, some denominations have been discussing this issue. For example, the African Methodist Episcopal Church prohibits its ministers from officiating same-sex weddings, but it does not have a clear policy on ordination. Some African American clergy have not accepted same-sex marriage. A group known as

408-508: A more aggressive approach to combating racism using the Bible for inspiration. Black liberation theology was first systematized by James Cone and Dwight Hopkins . They are considered the leading theologians of this system of belief, although now there are many scholars who have contributed a great deal to the field. In 1969, Cone published the seminal work that laid the basis for black liberation theology, Black Theology and Black Power . In

476-583: A result of the Great Awakening : First Baptist Church (1774) and Gillfield Baptist Church (1797). Each congregation moved from rural areas into Petersburg into their own buildings in the early 19th century. Their two Black Baptist congregations were the first of that denomination in the city and they grew rapidly. In Savannah, Georgia , a Black Baptist congregation was organized by 1777, by George Liele . A former slave, he had been converted by ordained Baptist minister Matthew Moore. His early preaching

544-543: A separatist impulse as blacks exercised the right to move and gather beyond white supervision or control. They developed black churches, benevolent societies, fraternal orders and fire companies. In some areas they moved from farms into towns, as in middle Tennessee, or to cities that needed rebuilding, such as Atlanta. Black churches were the focal points of black communities, and their members' quickly seceding from white churches demonstrated their desire to manage their own affairs independently of white supervision. It also showed

612-558: A source of support for members of the African American community, like encouragement to obtain immunizations . When compared to American churches as a whole, predominantly African American churches tend to focus more on social issues such as poverty , gang violence , drug use , prison ministries and racism . A study in 1996 found that African American Christians were more likely to have heard about health care reform from their pastors than were white Christians. As of 2024,

680-583: A successful megachurch following the theology developed by Cone, who has said that he would "point to [Trinity] first" as an example of a church's embodying his message. Scholars have seen parallels between the Black church and the 21st Century Black Girl Magic movement, with social media interactions involving the Black Girl Magic hashtag seen as a modern extension of "[t]he Black church traditions of testimony, exhortation, improvisation, call and response, and song," which Black women can use to form

748-608: A young man in Maryland . Free black Americans in both Northern and Southern U.S. cities formed their own congregations and churches before the end of the 18th century. They organized independent African American congregations and churches to practice religion apart from white oversight. Along with white churches opposed to slavery, free blacks in Philadelphia provided aid and comfort to slaves who escaped and helped all new arrivals adjust to city life. In 1787 in Philadelphia,

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816-547: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Church building disambiguation pages Shiloh Baptist Church disaster On September 19, 1902, a stampede occurred at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham , Alabama , resulting in the deaths of 115 people. At the time of the crush, 3,000 people were gathered to hear Booker T. Washington address

884-589: The First African Baptist Church in 1827. It was the first African American church west of the Mississippi River . Although there were ordinances preventing African Americans from assembling, the congregation grew from 14 people at its founding to 220 people by 1829. Two hundred of the parishioners were slaves, who could only travel to the church and attend services with the permission of their owners. Following slave revolts in

952-793: The Underground Railroad , and Black communities in the North hid freedom seekers in their churches and homes. Historian Cheryl Janifer Laroche explained in her book, Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad The Geography of Resistance that: "Blacks, enslaved and free, operated as the main actors in the central drama that was the Underground Railroad." After emancipation , Northern churches founded by free blacks, as well as those of predominantly white denominations, sent missions to

1020-589: The United Church of Christ (which developed from the Congregational Church of New England), integrated denominations such as the Church of God , others are independent congregations. There are also Black Catholic churches. In many major cities, Black and predominantly white churches often exist within close proximity to each other, however, they remain segregated by race, a division which

1088-406: The camp meetings of other denominations, the rope in the congregation that separated whites and blacks was untied "and worshipers of both races approached the altar to pray". Though outsiders would sometimes attack Church of God services and camp meetings for their stand for racial equality, Church of God members were "undeterred even by violence" and "maintained their strong interracial position as

1156-1048: The slave Peter Durrett . The oldest Black Catholic church, St. Augustine in New Orleans, was founded by freedmen in 1841. However, Black religious orders such as the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore have existed since the 1820s. After the American Civil War, many white Protestant ministers moved to the South to establish churches where both Black and white congregants could worship together. However, these efforts were often met with resistance, particularly from white Southerners who opposed racial integration. Despite these initial efforts toward inclusive worship, most integrated churches did not survive long due to racial tensions, societal segregation, and differing cultural and religious practices. Over time,

1224-400: The 1890s. It brought together the areas of mission, education and overall cooperation. Despite founding of new black conventions in the early and later 20th century, this is still one of the largest black religious organizations in the United States. These churches blended elements from underground churches with elements from freely established black churches. The postwar years were marked by

1292-501: The 19th century, Methodist and Baptist chapels were founded among many of the smaller communities and common planters. During the early decades of the 19th century, they used stories such as the Curse of Ham to justify slavery to themselves. They promoted the idea that loyal and hard-working slaves would be rewarded in the afterlife. Slaves who were literate tried to teach others to read, as Frederick Douglass did while still enslaved as

1360-461: The 19th century, during a time when race-based slavery and racial segregation were both commonly practiced in the United States. Blacks generally searched for an area where they could independently express their faith, find leadership, and escape from inferior treatment in white dominated churches. Throughout many African American houses, churches reflect a deep cultural emphasis on community and shared spiritual experience. For African Americans,

1428-465: The American Civil War. While mostly led by freedmen, most of their members were slaves. In plantation areas, slaves organized underground churches and hidden religious meetings, the " invisible church ", where slaves were free to mix Evangelical Christianity with African beliefs and African rhythms. With the time, many incorporated Wesleyan Methodist hymns, gospel songs, and spirituals . The underground churches provided psychological refuge from

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1496-515: The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church . By July 29, 1794, they also had a building ready for their worship. The church adopted the slogan: "To Seek for Ourselves." In recognition of his leadership and preaching, in 1799 Bishop Francis Asbury ordained Allen as a Methodist minister. Petersburg, Virginia had two of the oldest black American congregations in the country, both organized before 1800 as

1564-596: The Black church emerged as a vital and independent institution for African Americans, offering not only spiritual sustenance but also a space for community organization and social activism, distinct from the predominantly white congregations. In Wesleyan-Holiness denominations such as the Church of God , the belief that "interracial worship was a sign of the true Church" was taught, with both whites and blacks ministering regularly in Church of God congregations, which invited people of all races to worship there. In some parts of

1632-761: The Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP), maintains their opposition to gay marriage. The CAAP president, Reverend William Owens Sr., asserts that the marriage equality act will cause corruption within the United States. The organization insists that a real union is between a man and a woman. They also believe that the law prohibiting gay marriage should have been upheld. Other African American religious leaders that echoed Owens' position were Bishop Janice Hollis, presiding prelate for Covenant International Fellowship of Churches in Philadelphia; Bishop Charles G. Nauden of Holyway Church of God in Christ of Southern California; and

1700-634: The First African Church (now known as First African Baptist Church ) in Lexington, Kentucky about 1790. The church's trustees purchased its first property in 1815. The congregation numbered about 290 by the time of Durrett's death in 1823. The First African Baptist Church had its beginnings in 1817 when John Mason Peck and the former enslaved John Berry Meachum began holding church services for African Americans in St. Louis. Meachum founded

1768-744: The Methodist doctrine and elected their first two bishops, William H. Miles of Kentucky and Richard H. Vanderhorst of South Carolina. Within three years, from a base of about 40,000, they had grown to 67,000 members, and more than ten times that many in 50 years. The Church of God , with its beginnings in 1881, held that "interracial worship was a sign of the true Church", with both whites and blacks ministering regularly in Church of God congregations, which invited people of all races to worship there. Those who were entirely sanctified testified that they were "saved, sanctified, and prejudice removed." When Church of God ministers, such as Lena Shoffner, visited

1836-760: The NRHP in Hamilton County Shiloh Baptist Church (Gregg County, Texas) Shiloh Church (Newport, Rhode Island) , listed on the NRHP as Shiloh Baptist Church in Newport County Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) , a historic Baptist church in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia Shiloh Baptist Church (Powhatan, Virginia) Shiloh Baptist Church (Alexandria, Virginia) Shiloh Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.) See also [ edit ] Shiloh Church (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

1904-962: The NRHP in Marion County Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church , Brogden, North Carolina, listed on the NRHP in Johnston County Mount Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church , New Bern, North Carolina, listed on the NRHP in Craven County Shiloh Baptist Church (Cleveland, Ohio) , listed on the NRHP in Cuyahoga County Shiloh Baptist Church (Columbus, Ohio) , listed on the NRHP in Columbus, Ohio Shiloh Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee (now known as First Baptist Church ), listed on

1972-491: The National Black Church initiative had 27.7 million members in the United States. Most surveys indicate that while blacks tend to vote Democratic in elections, members of traditionally African American churches are generally more socially conservative than white Protestants as a whole. Same-sex marriage and other LGBT issues have been among the leading causes for activism in some black churches; though

2040-556: The National Convention of Negro Baptists. The stampede occurred after the end of Washington's speech, when someone yelled "There's a fight!". The word "fight" was mistaken for "fire", causing the congregation to head for the exit en masse . Many people died after they got stuck between the brick walls of a stairwell that led to the street. Most of the dead were women. Physicians said in many cases they fainted and died from suffocation. The Shiloh Baptist Church, also known as

2108-662: The Pew Research Center in 2005, there were approximately 25,000 Black churches across the country, encompassing a wide range of denominations and independent congregations. A majority of African American congregations are affiliated with Protestant denominations, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), or the National Baptist Convention and related churches , some of them are affiliated with predominantly white Protestant denominations such as

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2176-635: The Reverend Dean Nelson, vice chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation. The CAAP members agree that the Supreme Court had no right to overturn the constitutional ruling. Although black urban neighborhoods in cities that have deindustrialized may have suffered from civic disinvestment , with lower quality schools, less effective policing and fire protection, there are institutions that help to improve

2244-681: The Scriptures and found inspiration in stories of deliverance, such as the Exodus out of Egypt. Nat Turner , an enslaved Baptist preacher, was inspired to armed rebellion against slavery, in an uprising that killed about 50 white people in Virginia . Both free African Americans and the more numerous slaves participated in the earliest Black Baptist congregations founded near Petersburg, Virginia , Savannah, Georgia , and Lexington, Kentucky , before 1800. The slaves Peter Durrett and his wife founded

2312-606: The Shiloh Negro Baptist Church, located at the corner of 7th Avenue and 19th Street, was at the time the largest black church in Birmingham. The church was crowded with approximately 3,000 people to hear Booker T. Washington address the National Convention of Negro Baptists. In contemporary accounts published in The New York Times , the disaster occurred after Washington concluded his remarks. A convention delegate from Baltimore engaged in

2380-563: The South in the Great Awakening of the late 18th century. They appealed directly to slaves, and a few thousand slaves converted. Black individuals found opportunities to have active roles in new congregations, especially in the Baptist church, where slaves were appointed as leaders and preachers. They were excluded from such roles in the Anglican or Episcopal churches. As they listened to readings, slaves developed their own interpretations of

2448-625: The South to minister to newly freed slaves, including to teach them to read and write. For instance, Bishop Daniel Payne of the AME Church returned to Charleston, South Carolina in April 1865 with nine missionaries. He organized committees, associations and teachers to reach freedmen throughout the countryside. In the first year after the war, the African Methodist Episcopal Church gained 50,000 congregants. By

2516-496: The black church was born out of protest and revolutionary reaction to racism. Resenting being relegated to a segregated gallery at St. George's Methodist Church , Methodist preachers Absalom Jones and Richard Allen , and other black members, left the church and formed the Free African Society . Richard Allen, a Methodist preacher, wanted to continue with the Methodist tradition. He built a congregation and founded

2584-553: The book, Cone asserted that not only was black power not alien to the Gospel, it was, in fact, the Gospel message for all of 20th century America. In 2008, approximately one quarter of African-American churches followed a liberation theology . The theology was thrust into the national spotlight after a controversy arose related to preaching by Rev. Jeremiah Wright , former pastor to then-Senator Barack Obama at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago . Wright had built Trinity into

2652-497: The church had been practically cleared. Down the aisles and along the outside of the pews there were dead bodies of men and women, and there were still many injured people among the bodies. The work of removing the bodies was begun at once. The church in which the convention was held is located just on the edge of the South Highlands, a then-fashionable residential section of Birmingham, and physicians living in that part of

2720-413: The church is a dynamic, living body of believers whose collective faith and fellowship are central, regardless of the physical space. This difference highlights the unique cultural and historical significance that the African American community places on the act of gathering and the people themselves, rather than the location. The number of Black churches in the United States is substantial. According to

2788-705: The churches always were connected to political goals of advancing the race. There grew to be a tension between black leaders from the North and people in the South who wanted to run their churches and worship in their own way. Since the male hierarchy denied them opportunities for ordination , middle-class women in the black church asserted themselves in other ways: they organized missionary societies to address social issues. These societies provided job training and reading education , worked for better living conditions, raised money for African missions, wrote religious periodicals, and promoted Victorian ideals of womanhood, respectability, and racial uplift. Black churches held

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2856-595: The city. Before 1850, First African Baptist in Lexington, Kentucky grew to 1,820 members, making it the largest congregation in that state. This was under its second pastor, Rev. London Ferrill, a free black, and occurred as Lexington was expanding rapidly as a city. First African Baptist was admitted to the Elkhorn Baptist Association in 1824, where it came somewhat under oversight of white congregations. In 1841, Saint Augustine Catholic Church

2924-409: The clergy that April. A Black Catholic revolution soon broke out, fostering the integration of the traditions of the larger (Protestant) Black Church into Black Catholic parishes. Soon there were organizations formed for Black religious sisters (1968), permanent deacons, seminarians, and a brand-new National Black Catholic Congress organization in 1987, reviving the late 19th-century iteration of

2992-453: The core of their message of the unity of all believers". At the same time, Black Baptist churches, well-established before the American Civil War, continued to grow and add new congregations. With the rapid growth of black Baptist churches in the South , in 1895 church officials organized a new Baptist association, the National Baptist Convention . This was the unification of three national African American conventions, organized in 1880 and

3060-494: The country, such as New Orleans , Black and white Catholics had worshiped together for almost 150 years before the American Civil War—albeit without full equality and primarily under French and Spanish rule. During the era of slavery in the United States, many slave owners strategically used Black churches and Black preachers to propagate messages of obedience, submission, and compliance among enslaved people. This

3128-459: The crowd which had gathered around the front of the church. A squad of police was also hastened to the church, and with the firemen, finally succeeded in releasing the victims from their positions in the entrance. The dead bodies were quickly removed and the crowd inside finding an outlet poured out. Scores of them lost their footing in their haste and rolled down the long steps to the pavement suffering broken limbs and internal injuries. In an hour,

3196-520: The early 19th century, including Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831, Virginia passed a law requiring African American congregations to meet only in the presence of a white minister. Other states similarly restricted exclusively African American churches or the assembly of black Americans in large groups unsupervised by whites. Nevertheless, the Black Baptist congregations in the cities grew rapidly and their members numbered several hundred each before

3264-494: The early years of the First Great Awakening , Methodist and Baptist preachers argued for manumission of slaves and abolition, by the early decades of the 19th century, they often had found ways to support the institution. In settings where whites supervised worship and prayer, they used Bible stories that reinforced people's keeping to their places in society, urging slaves to be loyal and to obey their masters. In

3332-589: The end of Reconstruction, AME congregations existed from Florida to Texas. Their missioners and preachers had brought more than 250,000 new adherents into the church. While it had a northern base, the church was heavily influenced by this growth in the South and incorporation of many members who had different practices and traditions. Similarly, within the first decade, the independent AME Zion church, founded in New York, also gained tens of thousands of Southern members. These two independent black denominations attracted

3400-427: The entrance, and the weight of 1,500 persons in the body of the church was pushed against it. More than twenty persons lying on the steps underneath the heap of bodies died from suffocation. Two men who were in the rear of the church when the rush began realized the seriousness of the situation and turned in a fire alarm after escaping. The Fire Department answered quickly and the arrival of the wagons served to scatter

3468-529: The first Black congregations and churches which were formed before 1800 were founded by freedmen —for example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Springfield Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia) ; Petersburg, Virginia ; and Savannah, Georgia . The oldest black Baptist church in Kentucky, and third oldest Black Baptist church in the United States, the First African Baptist Church , was founded about 1790 by

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3536-525: The idea that slavery was divinely sanctioned. Some slaves were already Christian before colonization, however, and some were Muslim. Slaves from the Congo coming to America were Catholics . During this era, there is evidence of Christian practice and "specific dedicated places for worship[pers]" called praise houses from before the first organized African American Christian denominations. Evangelical Baptist and Methodist preachers traveled throughout

3604-513: The legislation that would later become the 1964 Civil Rights Act. During this movement, many African American Baptists split over using black churches as political centers alongside spiritual centers; this led to the formation of the Progressive National Baptist Convention . After the assassination of Dr. King in 1968, by James Earl Ray , African American Catholics began organizing en masse, beginning with

3672-694: The most new members in the South. In 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee , with support from white colleagues of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, more than 40 black Southern ministers, all freedmen and former slaves, met to establish the Southern-based Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church), founded as an independent branch of Methodism. They took their mostly black congregations with them. They adopted

3740-617: The physical and social capital of black neighborhoods. In black neighborhoods the churches may be important sources of social cohesion. For some African Americans the kind of spirituality learned through these churches works as a protective factor against the corrosive forces of poverty and racism. Churches may also do work to improve the physical infrastructure of the neighborhood. Churches in Harlem have undertaken real estate ventures and renovated burnt-out and abandoned brownstones to create new housing for residents. Churches have fought for

3808-413: The prior strength of the "invisible church" hidden from white eyes. Black preachers provided leadership, encouraged education and economic growth, and were often the primary link between the African American and white communities. The black church established and/or maintained the first black schools and encouraged community members to fund these schools and other public services. For most black leaders,

3876-403: The right to operate their own schools in place of the often inadequate public schools found in many black neighborhoods. Like many Christians, African American Christians sometimes participate in or attend a Christmas play . Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a re-telling of the classic Nativity story with gospel music . Productions can be found at black theaters and churches all over

3944-439: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Shiloh Baptist Church . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shiloh_Baptist_Church&oldid=1140566438 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

4012-544: The same. This era saw a massive increase in Black priests, and the first crop of Black bishops and archbishops. One formalization of theology based on themes of black liberation is the black theology movement. Its origins can be traced to July 31, 1966, when an ad hoc group of 51 black pastors, calling themselves the National Committee of Negro Churchmen (NCNC), bought a full-page ad in The New York Times to publish their "Black Power Statement" which proposed

4080-514: The sidewalk from the lobby, just outside the main auditorium. Brick walls extend on each side of these steps for six or seven feet (1.8 or 2.1 m), and this proved a veritable death trap. Those who had reached the top of the steps were pushed violently forward and many fell. Before they could move others fell upon them, and in a few moments persons were piled upon each other to a height of ten feet (3.0 m), where they struggled vainly to extricate themselves. This wall of struggling humanity blocked

4148-637: The singing had commenced when some woman back of me was heard to scream. A member of the choir yelled, 'Quiet!' which the gallery understood to be 'Fire.' This was repeated and started the stampede. I found on investigation that a Birmingham man had stepped on the toes of a delegate from Baltimore named BALLOU. BALLOU resented it and made a motion as if to draw a gun. This caused the woman to scream." Local relief efforts were led by banker William R. Pettiford . 33°30′47″N 86°53′38″W  /  33.513°N 86.894°W  / 33.513; -86.894 Black church Black churches primarily arose in

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4216-475: The town went to the aid of the injured. At least fifteen of those brought out injured died before they could be moved from the ground. Most of the dead were women, and the physicians said in many cases they fainted and died from suffocation. Little or no blood was seen on any of the victims. They were either crushed or were suffocated to death. Booker T. Washington was quoted after the disaster as saying, "I had just finished delivering my lecture on 'Industry' and

4284-476: The white world. The spirituals gave the church members a secret way to communicate and, in some cases, to plan a rebellion. Slaves also learned about Western Christianity by attending services led by a white preacher or supervised by a white person. Slaveholders often held prayer meetings at their plantations. In the South until the Great Awakening, most Christian slaveholders were Anglican. Although in

4352-471: The word "quiet" for a second alarm of fire and again rushed for the door. Men and women crawled over benches and fought their way into the aisles, and those who had fallen were trampled upon. The screams of the women and children added to the horror of the scene. Through mere fright many persons fainted and as they fell to the floor were crushed to death. The level of the floor of the church is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above ground level, and long steps lead to

4420-660: Was encouraged by his master, Henry Sharp. Sharp, a Baptist deacon and Loyalist , freed Liele before the American Revolutionary War began. Liele had been preaching to slaves on plantations, but made his way to Savannah, where he organized a congregation. After 1782, when Liele left the city with the British, Andrew Bryan led what became known as the First African Baptist Church . By 1800 the church had 700 members, and by 1830 it had grown to more than 2400 members. Soon it generated two new black congregations in

4488-660: Was established by the Creole community of New Orleans. This church is the oldest black Catholic parish in the United States. In 1856, First African Baptist built a large Italianate church, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. By 1861, the congregation numbered 2,223 members. Free Black communities in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York helped freedom seekers escape from slavery. Black Churches were stops on

4556-984: Was part of a larger system of control that sought to use religion as a tool to maintain the institution of slavery. Select Parts of the Holy Bible for the use of the Negro Slaves , sometimes referred to as the Slave Bible , was created in the British West Indies and is an abbreviated version of the Bible specifically made for teaching a pro-slavery version of Christianity to enslaved people. Slave owners often introduced Christianity to enslaved Africans, selectively emphasizing biblical teachings that they believed justified slavery and encouraged submission to masters. Scriptures such as Eph 6:5 ("Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear...") and Col 3:22 were frequently cited to reinforce

4624-535: Was shaped by deep historical, cultural, and social factors, including racism . During the eras of slavery and segregation , African Americans were largely excluded from white churches, which often upheld racial hierarchies and discrimination . This exclusion led to the creation of Black churches, which became vital spaces for community support, activism, and spiritual freedom. Even after formal segregation ended, white churches frequently resisted integration, preferring to maintain homogenous congregations. Most of

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