African American church
Black Christian community
African American church refers to Protestant Christian congregations and denominations with predominantly Black membership and leadership, rooted in the religious traditions that developed among enslaved Africans and their descendants in America.
These churches—Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and others—have historically served as centers of community life, political organizing, and civil rights activism: The African American church was central to the movement.
The phrase often appears as a collective singular denoting this institutional tradition as a whole.
- gospel musicChristian songs with strong harmony
- spiritualsEnslaved people's sacred songs
- voter registration drivesEfforts to sign up electors
- food banksDonation-based hunger relief centers
- sacred poetryVerse with religious themes
baptism · prayer meetings · Martin Luther King Jr. · stained glass art · storytelling traditions · Pentecostalism · sermons · scholarship funds · building fund · hymnody · health clinics · altar calls · communion · Sunday school · daycare services · literacy programs · Mahalia Jackson · religious festivals
- American ReligionChristianity, Catholic, Catholics, Baptist, Baptists