African Influences

• For the most part, enslaved Africans that were brought to North America were unable to fully practice their native religions. However, when they converted to Christianity, certain elements were retained especially in black churches. These aspects---including call-and-response interactions between pastor and congregation, dancing, and loud singing---comprise an exuberant form of worship that trademarks black churches today.
  
  

The First Black Churches

• Blacks---both those that were slaves and free---resented the discrimination they encountered in churches. For this reason, the African Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church were founded in the early 19th century.
  
  

Reconstruction and Jim Crow Eras

• After slavery ended, more black churches sprouted throughout the country and became the focal points of black communities. Black churches encouraged education and even established schools and preached economic progress. The heads of these churches were seen as community leaders.
  
  

The Civil Rights Movement

• By the 1950s, figures of authority in black churches were seen as community leaders. Thus they were well-equipped for the moral struggle that characterized the Civil Rights Movement.
  
  

Today

• Black churches today tend to focus on social issues that specifically affect black urban communities or black Americans as a whole, such as crime, poverty and racism.