Teacher's Guide prepared by: Celestine Smith Candida

Objectives:

• to place in a historical context the role of the black church in African American culture
• to illustrate the role of women in the black church
• to define the role of the black church and the Civil Rights Movement

Use the articles in this issue as the basis for your research.

1. Use the article "Church and Community" to answer the following questions:
   • How did the black church help African Americans?
   • Why were white Southerners uneasy about exposing slaves to Christianity?
   • Why was the Bible important to African Americans?
   • How did slaves use their worship services?


2. "The Early Years" relates the experience of slaves "illegally" gathering together for services without whites before the Civil War. Write a descriptive paragraph describing what it would be like attending one of these "invisible institutions."



3. What was the role of the black church before and after the Civil War?



4. Identify the following:

   Bethel AME Church
   Richard Allen
   Absalom Jones
   Free Produce Movement
   Garrison Frazier
   Special Field Order 15
   African American Baptist Churches
   Andrew Bryan
   Jesse Peters
   George Liele
   Rev. E.C. Morris
   Lott Carey Foreign Missionary Convention

5. There were some black men and women who did not practice Christianity, but Islam, the religion that they brought with them from Africa. Compare and contrast the two religions.



6. Negro spirituals were songs that blacks created to express their emotions, needs, and hopes for a better future. Have a listening party of black spirituals and gospel music. After listening, discuss their meanings.



7. What is the role of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference today?



8. Black churches played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Are there any social justice issues today that the black church has become an advocate of?



9. Have a debate or write a persuasive essay on the role of black churches and politics.



10. Copy all of the photos in this issue and create an illustrated time line of the history of the black church in America.



11. Use the information from the articles "Committed to her Beliefs" and "Credentials from Heaven" to create a newspaper on women and their roles in the black church. Research other denominations -- Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. -- to find other prominent black women leaders.