Black Church innovation and resistance
Despite many enslaved populations being exposed to widespread pro-slavery Biblical interpretations, enslaved people converted to Christianity at high rates after the American Enlightenment (roughly 1680 to 1820). [1]
Unsupervised worship, even if integrated, did not appease all African Americans, and the pro-slavery stance of evangelicals led Black religious leaders like Andrew Bryan to establish their own churches. Andrew Bryan established the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, in 1790. He was followed by the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, established in 1793 by Richard Allen in Philadelphia.
Although the A.M.E. and Black Baptist churches would expand to nationwide reach over the years, many African American Christians in the antebellum period (roughly 1812 to 1861) worshiped in praise houses. These were small structures on the edges of plantation spaces for Black worship. These spaces became preferred worship sites for African Americans, although white enslavers built them to control social mobility and to prevent enslaved people from worshiping and intermingling with enslaved people from other plantation spaces.[2] These restrictions, to the enslaver, reduced the likelihood of a large-scale revolt. Nevertheless, praise houses were the site of expressive forms of worship comparable to some traditions found in West Africa. One of those expressions is known as the “ring shout,” and is still performed in African American churches today. It is the fusion of the multitude of cultures who survived the Middle Passage and “the means by which [enslaved people] achieved oneness in America.”[3] At the time of the census of 1890, Black churches across the country bolstered a total population of 2.5 million members. In the south, this meant that nearly 1 in every 2 black persons was a church member.[4]
The Ring Shout:
This shout was a call-and-response style of worship that consisted of heightened, energetic expressions during preaching and both planned and spontaneous spiritual singing. Some were popular enough to be passed down via oral tradition, while others only existed when the congregation brought them to life mid-sermon. However, these were informal compositions.[5] Worship among enslaved populations, usually aided by drum rhythm that was forbidden in the United States, was often accompanied by dancing, foot-tapping, hand clapping, rhythmic preaching, and antiphonal - call and response - singing. Words of the Bible were sung to fit into the rhythm of the African people’s music.[6] Slave spirituals, born of the folk traditions of both African and European influences, told of faith in moving and dramatic fashion. These songs, more than just words on the pages of hymnals or notes on sheet music, were communal experiences. As more voices joined in, the spiritual excitement in the air spread like wildfire.[7] Shouters would act these out in the ring shout just as worshippers would sing them during Sunday worship. This call-and-response style between a leader and the chorus would become the iconic sounds of the fields and set the groundwork for black music as we know it today across all genres.
Example:
(Chorus)
O shout, O shout, O shout away
And don’t you mind,
And glory, glory, glory in my soul!
(Verse)
And when ‘twas night I thought ‘twas day,
I thought I’d pray my soul a-way,
And glory, glory, glory in my soul![8]
Black Churches and Civic Influence
When it comes to Black professionals, ministers were some of the first appointed to high positions in government and civic influence. Even before the Great Migration era (roughly 1910-1970), it was common for African American residents to make their first “call” to the local church rather than relatives when they settled in a new town. Betty Brenner, on behalf of the Flint Journal AP member exchange, wrote in the South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana) that:
The black church is black in a way the white churches are not white…. Some congregations are pentecostal, with the fervor of dancing in the aisle and speaking in tongues. Other services are quieter and more solemn, especially that of conservative Baptist and Methodist churches. A few black congregations here are related to predominantly white denominations, with seminary-educated clergy…. Most belong to independent denominations patterned after white denominations. Many belong to no denomination at all.
As the years went on, Black church leaders worked behind the scenes with those power structures and encouraged churchgoers to educate themselves, to work hard, and to live moral lives.[9] Black ministers knew that they had to advocate for those under their leadership through reform. All ministers agreed that there was a responsibility for how those in poverty or experiencing food insecurity were properly clothed and fed. However, there are differing opinions as to who holds such responsibility. For some, the church bore the responsibility, as their leaders had proven that they had access to the appropriate political channels to influence helpful change. For others, the church was in no way responsible. Such actions appeared detrimental to the church’s image, as it prioritized political power rather than getting to the roots of the issues that had left so many community members in need of help. Another stance existed that the church simply lacked the political influence it once had, losing its original focus on education over the years. One conclusion existed among all trains of thought, however, a preacher served as head of a church and the duty fell upon him/her and their institution to prepare and encourage members within the Black community, wherever their paths led them; hopefully with God at the center.[10]
A Local Response to a Nationwide Issue
The Indianapolis Citizens Council was such an answer; a powerhouse made up of several denominations; members of the Indianapolis church federation, the Catholic diocese, the Jewish federation, various women's groups, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Indianapolis Council of Social Agencies, and the 11th district American Legion formed its ranks. This specific group held a “Race relations clinic” in June of 1945. There, the members sat down and wrote out an extensive list of issues that prevented racial uplift. Members of the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths, social clubs, labor unions, Boy Scouts, YMCA, and YWCA all attended a 300-person summit that addressed housing, recreation, and employment within the community with the common goal of interracial harmony in the future.[11] The Black Church remained as the standing beacon of the community, calling out injustices in policing and court systems. However, as the invisible class lines began to appear in the Black community, churches had greater difficulty in formulating unified responses to issues as they did in the past.[12] Even as the Black community saw the issues of the “ghetto” fade into the rear-view, this was not a monolithic experience by any means. The church preached the word, and gospel music targeted the core moral character that had always been present in the black community. However, the passage of time saw new forms of mass media bleed into new facets of life. Soon, the media’s role began to portray material wealth, sexuality, and self-gratification as the most important things in life. Nevertheless, churches of nearly every denomination persisted with their doors open to any in the world who needed respite and redirection.
Of Indiana’s historic urban churches, several congregations still meet to worship today. The church of 702 W North Street, the first home to the Jones Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion Church, served as headquarters for many congregations. The building on the northwest corner of North and Blackford Streets, was built around 1882. The first known occupants were the members of the Zion A.M.E. Church, later renamed the Jones Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion Church, which remained there until 1920 when they moved to the corner of Michigan and Blackford. From 1920 onwards, the church building was home to The Good Samaritan Baptist Church, The Israelite Church, The Abyssinian Baptist Church, and The Church of God in Christ. The church’s final residents were the congregation of the Immanuel Temple of Christ, who moved out sometime before 1987.[13]
The church of 428 W Michigan Street was a gradual building project that was started in the last years of the 1800s and finished sometime between the 1910s and the 1930s. Until the late 1900s, the building was home to the Second Baptist Church. Founded in 1846, Second Baptist church was founded in 1846 by Reverend Charles Sachel, the Second Baptist Church was originally located on Missouri Street, between New York and Ohio. In 1851, the church's original building was deliberately set on fire and destroyed. Although it was rebuilt, its growing congregation became too big for the space and moved to Michigan Street. Perhaps the most influential and well-known pastor of the church was Pastor Moses Broyles. Pastor Moses Broyles advocated for the rights of African American men and women throughout his entire life. One of his first campaigns was in the fight for the integration of schools in Indianapolis. The Indiana Historical Society credits him for enrolling the first African American student, Mary Rann, to Shortridge High School. Pastor Broyles also helped officiate an interracial wedding, which was illegal in the state of Indiana at the time. Additionally, Pastor Broyles helped combat racially motivated incarceration. Even though his church has relocated, the building at 428 W Michigan Street was redeveloped to become part of an apartment complex. The building’s facade and structure still appear as they did throughout history, aside from the removal of its stained glass windows.[14] The next group to call 312-314 Bright Street home, for a short time, was Western Star Baptist. The congregation stayed for a decade from 1964-1975, which held many women’s day events during its time and still congregates today on Ketchum Avenue. The Western Star church, founded by the illustrious Rev. Frank L. Snyder, who facilitated its move and worked as a mail handler for the U.S. Postal Service, would be the final group to occupy the space until its move out in 1975.[15]
428 W Michigan Street in 2019 |
Second Baptist Church in 1975 |
Works Cited
[1] Wallach, Every Nation has its Dish, 34.
[2] Jason Young, “African and African American Religions in the Early Americas,” in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Race in American History, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 349.
[3] Young, “African and African American Religions in the Early Americas,” 352.
For more on Richard Allen, his ministry, and the formation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church see, Richard Allen, The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Reverend Richard Allen, Philadelphia, 1833, Documenting the American South, https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/allen/allen.html.
[4] Sterling Stuckey, Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America, 2nd. Ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 11.
[5] Abbington, James, Readings in African American Church Music and Worship. Chicago, IL: (GIA Publications, Inc., 2001), 6.
[6] Albert J. Raboteau, Slave Religion: The ‘Invisible Institution’ in the Antebellum South. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1978), 41-42.
[7] Raboteau, Slave Religion, 65.
[8] Raboteau, Slave Religion, 243.
[9] Raboteau, Slave Religion, 245.
[10] Betty Brenner, “Black church in change”, The South Bend Tribune, Sunday, September 17, 1978.
[11] Vivial Aluko, “Black churches role in change”, The Herald (Jasper, Indiana), Fri, Apr. 28, 1978, 8.
[12]Daniel R. Green, Crossing Over the Line: The Undoing of Jim Crow in Indianapolis, 1945-1965. (The Department of History, Indiana University, 2004), 20.
[13]Thornbrough, Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, 129.
[14] Hannah Ryker, “702 W NORTH STREET,” 1908 Baist Atlas, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, With contributions by Jessica Petty, May 6, 2020, Accessed 11/19/2021, https://exhibits.ulib.iupui.edu/CanalCollection/exhibits/show/changing-faces-of-jones-ame-ta/changing-faces-of-702-w-north-
[15] Abigail Ellenburg, “THE CONGREGATIONS OF 312-314 BRIGHT STREET,” 1908 Baist Atlas, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Edited by Hannah Ryker, May 28, 2020, Accessed 11/19/2021,https://exhibits.ulib.iupui.edu/CanalCollection/exhibits/show/baptist-church/bright-street
Image Citations
[1]"Wade in the Water." Postcard of a river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina. Circa 1900. Courtesy of https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/River_baptism_in_New_Bern.jpg
[2]Andrew Bryan. Reprinted drawing done by permission of the University Library. University of North Carolina.
[3] Historic American Buildings Survey. First African Baptist Church, 23 Montgomery Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington. 1933.
[4]Woman Speaking at Pulpit, Bethel A.M.E. Church. Photographic print. Indiana Historical Society. Circa 1985.
[5]DeJong, Lisa. Betty Brenner (File photo). Photograph. The Flint Journal. Circa 2019.
[6]Children at the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, 1960. Photograph. Indiana Historical Society. 1960.
[7]Katia Avila Vasquez, “428 W MICHIGAN STREET,” 1908 Baist Atlas, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Edited by Hannah Ryker, March 20, 2020, Accessed 11/19/2021, https://exhibits.ulib.iupui.edu/CanalCollection/exhibits/show/second-baptist-church/second-baptist-church
[8]Katia Avila Vasquez, “428 W MICHIGAN STREET,” 1908 Baist Atlas, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Edited by Hannah Ryker, March 20, 2020, Accessed 11/19/2021, https://exhibits.ulib.iupui.edu/CanalCollection/exhibits/show/second-baptist-church/second-baptist-church