Billingsley expands upon the issue of male youth in relation to the Black church in his chapter, “The Black Church and the Male Youth Crisis”. In the section, Billingsley introduces the issue of youths being uninvolved in the church making it difficult for the church to fulfill the necessary function of addressing youth concerns such as drug abuse, academics, etc. The issue is particularly salient when it comes to young black males because they lack many of the other role model’s others would have to help them. Yet, in response, Billingsley questions the legitimacy of the church non-action by discussing four churches who have already addressed the issue. His main example is seen with Rev Tillman who illustrates the impact a church can have …show more content…
This concern comes forth most strikingly in Tillman’s comment, “it is the mission of the church to help [people]…take the matter of our youth…many of them have gotten into drugs and other trouble...We should reach out to those young people and try very hard to meet their needs, whatever they are; whether they are members or not” (Billingsley, pp.103). This quote fully summarizes Billingsley’s attitude throughout the chapter. There is never a question of whether the church should be involved or to what extent as seen by his focus on churches succeeding in helping these youths, discussions with youth ministers, and the emphasis on the crucial impact the church has on the community. Instead, Billingsley pulls example after example of exactly how these churches are going beyond their congregation and religious function in order to help alienated young black men reconnect with their identity and help them succeed even though they are not part of the church. It is through this that one sees a direct challenging of comments seen elsewhere, where the church is continuously giving reasons why they are unable to help youths including youth disinterest, church alienation as a natural part of youth experience, and so on (Lincoln). The youth in the community, particularly …show more content…
True, when it comes to young black males the church can provide after-school services, education, anti-violence, and more. Yet, even in this chapter, Billingsley says that one of the reasons the St. Paul Academy was established was to move black males into a less “feminine” environment even though middle school normally have a 50/50 gender divide for teachers (Billingsley, pp. 107). With this mindset, the church will have a hard time addressing many young male’s concerns about masculinity and their ability to be emotional. Furthermore, every initiative besides the first example specifically sought to include religious study or teaching in its program. Yet, there are youths who are trying to bring together their racial identity and their homosexuality, something that conflicts with religious doctrine. In these cases, issues the church does not recognize on religious and cultural grounds are still problems for youth. Should we accept that the church is unable to address these issues, or do we push the church to take a step back from their religious or cultural base to address the
Allen Dwight Callahan’s The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible connects biblical stories and images to the politics, music and, religion, the book shows how important the Bible is to black culture. African Americans first came to know the Bible because of slavery and at that time the religious groups would read it to them instead of teaching them by letting them encounter it for themselves. Later the Bibles stories became the source of spirituals and songs, and after the Civil War motivation for learning to read. Allen Callahan traces the Bible culture that developed during and following enslavement. He identifies the most important biblical images for African Americans, Exile, Exodus, Ethiopia, and Emmanuel and discusses their recurrence and the relationship they have with African Americans and African American culture.
There are many open wounds in the African-American community that have not healed what so ever. Disintegration of family structures in the African-American community has been a persistent problem for far too long. High out of wedlock birth rates, absent fathers, and the lack of a family support network for many young African-Americans have led to serious problems in America's urban areas. The persistence of serious social problems in inner-city areas has led to a tragic perpetuation of racial prejudice as well. African Americans still face a litany of problems in the 21st century today.
Isidore E. Sharpe Professor Kenneth Yelverton CH 103: African-American Church History 18 January 2018 African-American Church History Mid-Term • Describes the Dialectical Model of the Black Church There are surly other models that describes and provide a snapshots of the Black Church. The “Dialectical Model” offers the most positive understanding of the Black Church, as an ethnic community-prophetic” model. This model is closer to the Nelsen’s model. Black churches has been confronted with persistent series of dialectical tensions, which is related to the reasonable discussion of ideas and opinions. This is no new model by far.
The Cross and the Lynching Tree The Cross and the Lynching tree is a recent work from James H. Cone. Currently a Systematic Theology professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, he is renowned as a founder of black liberation theology. In this book, he reflects on the most brutal chapter of white racism in the 20th century America where 5,000 innocent blacks were lynched to death by white mobs. And he tells us how blacks were able to survive the unspeakable reality of violence and torture with faith and hope in Christ.
After reading, The Other Wes Moore, it intrigued me how so many of our young people are growing up in families where the parent or parents cannot provide a suitable environment that provides fundamental resources. This book talks about two males that could have ended up with the same fate only if there had not been any assistance to guide one of them on a different path. It is evident that our environment is an essential factor in how we adapt and attain the life that we live. With limited resources, our youth has become a statistic of their environments. As these generations continuously extend, minorities have become the target of a huge issue such as teen pregnancy.
Civil disobedience is the refusal of one individual to obey certain laws of a government. Civil disobedience was first introduced in the 19th century by Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau, writer of “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, was an individual who strived for the idea of an individual’s conscience to be morally based. He believed that the American government was being corrupt in 1849 due to an unnecessary war against Mexico and slavery becoming a necessity. He states his opinion of how Americans have no morality when it comes to the deciding their nations actions.
Dailey stages the allegation of miscegenation being the root religious civil rights issues with the theology of Segregation, the effects of the Brown decision, and the Ministers march. As a whole, Dailey emphasizes the importance of the testimonies that segregation was “the commandment and law of God”. Also, that most historians tend to “pass” over this topic, condemning “the most lasting triumph of the civil rights movement: its successful appropriation of Christian Dogma” (Dailey 122). “…why
African Americans should rethink Christianity in their community, such as how was Christianity introduced to them, does Christianity help the African American community,
In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to “A Call for Unity,” a declaration by eight clergymen, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Through powerful, emotionally-loaded diction, syntax, and figurative language, King adopts a disheartened tone later shifts into a determined tone in order to express and reflect on his disappointment with the church’s inaction and his goals for the future. King begins this section by bluntly stating that he is “greatly disappointed” (33) with the church, though he “will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen” (33). By appealing to ethos and informing the audience of his history with the church, he indicates that he is not criticizing the church for his own sake, but for the good of the church.
This week’s assignment is to answer questions, in essay format, on “The Religious Dimension and Black Baptists.” In order to explore the topic and try to answer the assigned questions, reading chapters one and two of the textbook, “The Black Church in the African American Experience,” by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, provided answers. Below are responses to the five questions. 1. What is the "Black Sacred Cosmos" (Chapter 1)?
In black theology the goal is to discern what God is up to and how God is working on behalf of the downtrodden and fighting for them against their oppressors. This line of thinking led Cone to make the bold claim, which must have been quite shocking and offensive, especially to white Christians in the late 60s and early 70s, that “any message that is not related to the liberation of the poor in the society is not Christ 's message,” which for him meant that “Christian theology must become Black Theology” that has as its primary consideration the needs of the oppressed and marginalized in society
This week, the readings point the spotlight at the some of the depressing hardships that the African-American population frequently experience. In “Naughty by Nature”, Ann Ferguson covers the different perceptions that society has of colored boys. David Knight’s work “Don’t tell young black males that they are endangered” seeks to explain the differents outcomes of African-American youth that arise when society constantly oppresses them. The last article by Carla O’Connor, “The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success”, focuses on the image of African-American woman that is created as a result of them attempting to preserve in a system that opposes them.
Righteous Religion James Baldwin, a writer from Harlem, New York, is particularly studied because of how he addresses race in the United States. Though he saw himself as a “witness to the truth,” Baldwin becomes a leader in black freedom particularly in his collection of essays, The Fire Next Time (The Chicago Tribune). In the essays explored in class, “My Dungeon Shook” and “ Letter from a Region in My Mind,” religion is a reoccurring theme that played an integral part in Baldwin’s life. Although the streets would usually be seen as a more dangerous and deteriorating lifestyle than the church; chapters from The Fire Next Time demonstrate that the institution of the black church created an equally negative and lasting impression that mirrored the impact of street life. Though “My Dungeon Shook” focuses less on religion and more on identity, the first paragraph introduces religion with a negative implication attached.
For centuries, Christianity has been used by white supremacists as a tool of oppression against people of color. More recently, Christianity has been used to justify the subjugation of black people through their enslavement and later segregation. Despite this, the black community has often been attracted to Christianity, “the religion of their oppressors,” for numerous reasons, including the hope for liberation (Brown Douglas xii). Black people raised in the Christian tradition have also rejected the religion in recognition of its unjust qualities. The challenge facing black Christians and those who deny white supremacy is whether to have faith in the liberating and positive aspects of Christianity, or to doubt the religious institution in light of its history of oppression.
During the civil rights era, the black church stood as a foundation for the African American community. It was a safe haven for those who felt like they didn’t have a voice outside of the church. The black church used to be a political atmosphere especially for those advocating black rights. It gave blacks the pedestal to vocalize the issues in the community and in the world to the oppressed. This was during a time when African Americans received no respect and were placed at the feet of injustice by the American society.