Historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Discusses His New Book, The Black Church
"The Church became a laboratory for the creation of a new culture," Gates says.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the renowned historian and Harvard professor, has written a new book, released February 16, 2021. The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (Penguin Press) is the remarkable companion to a PBS/WETA two-part documentary series (which debuted February 16 at 9 p.m. Eastern) featuring interviews with Oprah, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, and many others.
The book and series trace the 400-year journey of the Black Church in America, exploring how it became the center of Black culture in American life and politics. As Gates writes: "The Black Church was the cultural cauldron that Black people created to combat a system designed in every way to crush their spirit...And the culture they created was sublime, awesome, majestic, lofty, glorious, and at all points subversive of the larger culture of enslavement that sought to destroy their humanity."
The volume is dedicated to the memory of Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon who himself was an ordained Baptist Minister.
View the full story on OprahMag.com: Historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Reveals Details of His New Book and TV Series, The Black Church.
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