

Louisiana’s Black Church: The Politics of Perseverance
Season 2021 Episode 3 | 38m 3sVideo has Closed Captions
How has the Black Church helped Louisiana’s African American community persevere?
How has the Black Church helped Louisiana’s African American community persevere through centuries of turmoil? From the Civil Rights Movement of days past to the struggles of the modern age, LPB’s Kara St. Cyr explores the importance of the Black Church in Louisiana, taking you on a journey across our state to show you the history and the culture that makes our state so unique.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting Presents is a local public television program presented by LPB
The Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Louisiana’s Black Church: The Politics of Perseverance
Season 2021 Episode 3 | 38m 3sVideo has Closed Captions
How has the Black Church helped Louisiana’s African American community persevere through centuries of turmoil? From the Civil Rights Movement of days past to the struggles of the modern age, LPB’s Kara St. Cyr explores the importance of the Black Church in Louisiana, taking you on a journey across our state to show you the history and the culture that makes our state so unique.
How to Watch Louisiana Public Broadcasting Presents
Louisiana Public Broadcasting Presents is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipPROVIDED BY -- WHEN MORNING CAME TO LOUISIANA, WE WERE HOPEFUL, NOT HIBERNATING.
WE WERE STRONGER, READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT, AND TOGETHER AS WE BUILD ANEW BLUE CROSS STANDS READY TO SUPPORT YOU.
HI.
I'M PATRICK.
I'M SO GLAD EXXON MOBIL IS RESPONDING WRING LOUISIANA'S BLACK CHURCH FOR LPB.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY WATCHING.
BUILDING STRONGER, SMARTER COMMUNITIES TOGETHER.
AND FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU.
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪♪ ♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪♪ ♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪♪ WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVES IN PEOPLE THEY WILL CHANGE EVEN IF THEY DON'T WANT TO.
THEIR HEARS WILL CHANGE.
THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE THE BLACK CHUMP WILL ALWAYS BE RELL VENT, IT WILL ALWAYS BE VITAL AND IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE VIBRANT BECAUSE IT HAS THAT SPIRIT.
[SINGING] IT'S AT THE CENTER BECAUSE IT'S WHERE ALL OF THE FAITH COMES FROM, IT'S WHERE THE STRENGTH OF THE COMMUNITY COMES FROM.
THE BLACK CHURCH IS SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND ALL ASPECTS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIFE.
THE PEOPLE THAT CAME TO THIS CHURCH CAME BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE HERE.
THEY ARE EXCITED ABOUT THEIR RELIGION.
THEY BLEETHE IN CATHOLICISM AND THEY PRACTICE IT HERE FREELY.
[SINGING] THE ONE THING THAT WE ALL HAVE IN COMMON, WE LOVE MUSIC, BLACK, WHITE, RED OR YELL LOW.
WE LOVE MUSIC AND IT'S THE ONE THING THAT WILL ALLOW TO PULL US TOGETHER.
THE YEAR IS 1719 AND THE FIRST ENSLAVED PEOPLE ARE ARRIVING ON SHIPS FROM AFRICA IN THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS, JUST ONE YEAR AFTER THE CITY'S FOUNDING.
THE JOURNEY FROM FREEDOM TO SLAVERY, FROM HOME TO AN ALIEN LAND HAS BEEN UNSPEAKABLY BRUTAL YET IN THE MIDST OF THIS SUFFERING THE SEEDS OF LOUISIANA'S BLACK CHURCHES ARE PLANTED.
THAT LONG JOURNEY, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, WITH THE TEMPORAL DISLOCATION, IN THE HULL OF A SHIP, IN DARKNESS AND EXCREMENT AND DISEASE WHERE YOU DIDN'T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE AS THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU THAT LIKE THE QUESTION IS WHAT KIND OF UNIFIED AFRICAN CULTURE AND PRACTICES COULD HAVE SURVIVED THAT?
THAT'S THE QUESTION.
AND THE ARGUMENT THAT SOME WOULD MAKE, BUT THE TRUTH IS THEY DID SURVIVE.
WEST AFRICAN RELIGION IS ROOTED DEEPLY IN COMMUNITY.
THAT'S HOW THESE FORMERLY FREE PEOPLE HAVE WORSHIPED IN THEIR HOMELAND FOR YEARS BUT THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE DISPERSES THAT.
NOW EVEN FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE BEING SEPARATED AND GIVEN A NEW RELIGION.
LOUISIANA WAS COLONIZED BY THE FRENCH AND SPANISH.
THEY ARE BOTH CATHOLIC.
THEY START TO CONVERT THEIR SLAVES TO CATHOLICISM.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WELCOMED PEOPLE OF COLOR BUT ONLY TO A POINT.
THE CHURCHES WERE VERY, VERY SEGREGATED.
THE EUROPEANS AND THE SLAVE MASTERS DID WANT TO MAKE SURE SLAVES GOT SOME KIND OF RELIGION AND REALLY WAS MEANT TO MAINTAIN THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY.
THEY PRACTICED OBEYING YOUR MASTER, BEING OBEDIENT, BUT YOU HAD A RACIAL HIERARCHY WHERE YOU HAVE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE MIDDLE AND THE SLAVES WERE IN THE BOTTOM SPHERE OF THAT.
THESE CHURCHES WERE JUST AS ANTI-BLACK AS THE REST OF THE WORLD.
CONJURE, VOODOO.
IT WAS INTERACTIVE.
EVERYONE WOULD DANCE AND CHANT.
THERE WAS NONE OF THAT IN WHITE CHURCHES.
THE SLAVES SEEMED TO COMPLY BUT WHEN YOU 1KR567D BETWEEN THE SURFACE -- WE HAD A LARGE INFLUX OF HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS BECAUSE OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION.
WHEN THEY CAME THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM THE PRACTICE OF VOODOO.
IT WAS ALREADY HERE BUT MORE PREVALENT WHEN THE HAITIANS CAME IN.
YOU STARTED TO SEE THAT A LOT OF THE VIDEO DO DEITIES WERE GOING TO BE A MASS AS CATHOLIC SAINTS.
SO INSTANCE ST. PETER BECOMES PAPA LEGBA.
WHITE PEOPLE, EUROPEAN PEOPLE DIDN'T REALIZE THEIR RELIGION WAS STILL BEING PRACTICED.
AS THE YEARS PASSED THEY WORSHIPED THE WAY THEIR MASTERS DO.
THIS IS TRUE ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL AS BAPTIST, EPISS COCOA PAL AND OTHER DENOMINATIONS.
OVER TIME SPLITS BEGAN TO OCCUR.
SOMETIMES BECAUSE OF THE LEADERSHIP.
SOMETIMES THE CONGREGANTS WANT THEIR OWN SPACE.
THIS IS ST. JAMES AFRICAN METHOD EU69 I PISS CO-PAL.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT DID IN THE 1840s LIKE WHEN WAS BUILT.
ALL PLAY DOWN TO THE PEWS INSIDE.
IT'S ALL ORIGINAL.
THE PEOPLE WHO STARTED THE CHURCH WENT TO A METHODIST CHURCH BUT THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED -- THEY HAD TO SIT IN THE BACK AND THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO GO TO THE ALTAR TO PRAY OR ANYTHING.
THE METHODIST CHURCH WAS A WHITE CHURCH.
THESE FOLKS DECIDED WE DON'T WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS, WORSHIP LIKE THIS.
SO THEY LEFT THAT CHURCH IN 1844.
IT WAS STARTED BY FREE MEN OF COLOR AND SLAVES TO BUILD THIS CHURCH WHEN THEY DID BUILD THIS CHURCH, THE LADIES CARRIED THE BRICKS FROM THE RIVER IN THEIR APRONS.
THE MEN CARRIED THE BOARDS ON THEIR SHOULDERS.
THIS CHURCH WAS CLOSED DOWN A LOT OF TIMES BY POLICE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WANT THE SLAVES TO COME HERE AND WORSHIP.
RIGHT AT THE VERY BACK THROUGH THAT ROSE WINDOW THEY WOULD WATCH, MAKING CERTAIN THAT WATCHING FOR THE SHERIFFS AND THE POLICE WHO WAS LOOKING FOR SLAVES ROAMING THE STREETS THAT TIME FOR THE DAY TRYING TO SNEAK INTO SERVICES.
THEY WOULD LOOK AND WATCH.
WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE HERE.
BUFFALO SOLDIERS.
FOR PEOPLE TO PULL OFF BUILDING A NEW CHURCH IS MONUMENT NOT JUST FOR ST. JAMES AME, BUT FOR BLACK CONGREGATIONS ACROSS THE STATE THAT NEEDED A SAFE SPACE AND A UH IN MESSAGE.
THIS WAWR WAS ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1920, BUT PRIOR TO 1920, THESE PEOPLE FROM THIS CONGREGATION ATTENDED ST. LANDRY CATHOLIC CHURCH NEXT DOOR.
BUT OF COURSE AT THAT TIME BECAUSE OF THE SEGREGATION BLACK PEOPLE HAD A SPECIAL PLACE TO SIT DOWN.
WE HAD TWO PEWS LITERALLY, WE HIT THE BACK, THE LAST FEW PEWS IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH.
THE DETERMINATION THAT OUR PARENTS AND FOREPARENTS HAD TO HAVE THEIR OWN CHURCH, HOW THEY WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT.
THEY WERE SO DEGRADED THE MEN AND WOMEN HAD TO WATCH THE WOMEN AND CHIRP GET UP IN A WHITE PERSON WALKED INTO THE CHURCH AND THEY NEEDED THE SPACE.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT YOU WOULD STAY STILL SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU REALLY WASN'T WANTED AND YOU REALLY WASN'T INVITED BUT YOU WERE THERE FOR GOD.
BLACKNESS SEEPS IN MORE AND MORE.
RACISM AND SOCIAL AWARENESS IS MARRIED INTO THE HOMILIES.
WHEN IT COMES TO CHURCH WHEN YOU WALK IN THE DOORS YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU'RE IN AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH.
YOU SHOULD NOT ONLY SEE THE SYMBOLIZATION BUT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FEEL THE SPIRIT.
WE WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH IN OUR DIOCESE OR IN THE SOUTH THAT HAS A RISEN CHRIST.
EVERYTHING WE DID WAS CONTROVERSIAL.
IT BRINGS PEOPLE TO RELATE.
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE JESUS LIKE YOURSELF.
WE ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WITH WANT TO SEE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN JESUS AND THAT BRINGS THE WORSHIP CLOSER.
WE WANTED JESUS IN OUR IMAGE AND IT BRINGS IT CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE AND MAKES THEM BELIEVE, HEY, JESUS IS JUST LIKE ME.
YOU CAN BE AUTHENTICALLY CATHOLIC AND AUTHENTICALLY BLACK BECAUSE THAT'S WHO GOD MADE US.
HE DIDN'T MAKE A MISTAKE.
IN BOTH CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT SERVICES ACROSS LOUISIANA PASTORS TALKED ABOUT JESUS AND GOD IN A NEW WAY.
FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS JESUS WAS SOMEONE MUCH MORE INTIMATE.
JESUS WAS FRIEND.
JESUS WASN'T SOMEONE DISTANT AND THIS ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGION, NOT IN REVERSE.
WE HAVE ALWAYS PREACHED.
THAT GOD WANTS US TO HAVE HEAVEN HERE TOO.
HE WANTS US TO LIVE GOOD HERE.
THE WHITE MAN PREACHED TO THEM THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IT WHEN YOU GUY AND GO THERE IF YOU DO WHAT YOU'RE POSED TO DO HERE.
HE THINKS, OH, GOD, WANTS US TO SUFFER AND YOU LIVE GOOD?
SOMETHING NOT RIGHT ABOUT THAT.
HAVING THEIR OWN CHURCHES GIVES BLACK CONGREGANTS THE ABILITY TO HEAL THEMSELVES AND HOPE FOR BETTER DAYS.
[SINGING] HOPE TRANSLATES TO INTENSE WORSHIP.
WE'RE EMOTIONAL, WE'RE VERY SOULFUL, BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT WE -- IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S IN US.
YOU CAN GO TO A UNITED METHODIST, WHICH IS OUR SISTER DENOMINATION, AND HEAR A SONG OR HIM THAT'S BEING SUNG AND THEN COME TO AN AME CHURCH.
[SINGING] OH, YEAH, SOMEBODY GETTING HAPPY AS WE LIKE TO SAY.
SOMEBODY'S GETTING HAPPY AND RUNNING DOWN THE AISLE AND US AS KIDS GO RUNNING DOWN THE AISLE.
IF THERE'S ANY SIMILARITY BINDING BLACK CATHOLICS AND BLACK PROTESTANTS TOGETHER ACROSS LOUISIANA IT'S THEIR ABILITY TO POUR THEMSELVES INTO PRAYER AND SONG.
IN THE EARLY 1900S THIS MUSIC WOULD HAVE BEEN UNTHINKABLE IN BLACK CHURCHES, DRUMS, PIANO WAS ALTA BOO.
THE MUSIC WAS SIMPLE, KIND OF LIKE THIS.
[SINGING] SONGS LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW.
SOME OF THEM HAD A SLOWER BEAT AND SOME OF THEM HAD A FASTER BEAT AND SO FORTH, BUT IT WAS ALL HAND-CLAPPING AND HIP-SLAPPING THAT WE CALLED IT BACK THEN.
NO MUSIC.
REVEREND STERLING WRIGHT HAS BEEN PERFORMING WITH THE LEGENDARY LIGHTHOUSE GOSPEL SINGERS SINCE 1948.
WHEN HE WAS A KID A TEACHER CAUGHT HIM, HIS BROTHERS AND A COUSIN SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC.
WE WOULD GO LIKE TO WILSON, LOUISIANA, TO BATON ROUGE, DENHAM SPRINGS, PINE GROVE, DIFFERENT LITTLE COUNTRY TOWNS THAT WE WOULD GO TO TO SING AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.
IT WAS NO OUT OF STATE OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN MISSISSIPPI.
[LAUGHTER] WHEN WRIGHT WAS COMING UP THE CHURCHES WERE TRYING TO AVOID THIS SOUND.
IN THE 1940S THE BLUES WAS REALLY PICKING UP.
THIS WAS THE MUSIC OF JUKE JOINTS AND CLUBS AND CHURCHES DIDN'T WANT ANY PART OF THAT.
YOU KNOW IF YOU SANG THE BLUES YOU WERE DOOMED FOR HELL, SO THAT WAS INSTILLED IN US.
[SINGING] NO, THEY DIDN'T WANT THOSE INSTRUMENTS IN THERE BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE THAT WAS FOR THE WORLD, NOT THE CHURCHL.
THEY YOU HAVE THIS SEPARATION OF MUSIC BETWEEN CHURCH AND THE WORLD.
SACRED AND SECULAR.
IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO YES THEY HAD TO USE THEIR FEET, THEY HAD TO USE THEIR HANDS AND THEY WERE FORMING THOSE HAR MO NIECE WITH THEIR VOICE.
THE LEGENDARY LIGHTHOUSE GOSPEL TINKER'S MANAGER GERARD ROBINSON.
THE SUFFERING THAT WAS ENDURED BY OUR ANCESTORS AND FOREFATHERS THE ONLY BASIC WAY TO EXPRESS THAT WITHOUT CAUSING TROUBLE ON THE PLANTATION WAS THROUGH THE SOUL OF THEIR MUSIC.
SO THAT SPIRITUAL SOUL ASPECT OF GOSPEL MUSIC HAS BEEN THE THING THAT BROUGHT OUR FOREFATHERS DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS.
IT GAVE THEM HOPE.
IT GAVE THEM INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION TO KEEP MOVING WHEN THEY FELT LIKE GIVING UP.
CHANGE IS GONNA COME.
THAT WAS INSTILLED IN MANY OF US ON PLANTATIONS THAT IF YOU STAY WITH THE LORD, EVENTUALLY A CHANGE WILL COME.
FOR THE SLAVES I BELIEVE IT WAS A SENSE OF BELONGING, SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
THEIR SONGS WERE ABOUT JUBILEE, BEING FREE, ON THEIR WAY TO FREEDOM LAND.
THE ORIGIN OF BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT.
[SINGING] HARRIET YET TUBMAN USED CERTAIN SONGS.
THEY USED CERTAIN SONGS AS SIGNAL SONGS.
FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD AND THAT JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE RIVER.
AND TO FREEDOM WAS TO HARRIET TUBMAN BECAUSE SHE WAS CARRYING THEM TO FREEDOMLAND.
THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE.
THEY HAD SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF THOSE MESSAGE SONGS THAT THEY USED AS SIGNALING FOR ONE THING OR ANOTHER.
SHAVES WARNED EACH OTHER IF SOMEONE WAS CONGRESS.
SONGS WERE A LIST OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR ORGANIZED REBELLION, A LYRIC COULD TELL YOU WHERE TO MEET, WHAT TIME AND WHAT TO BRING.
IT WAS A CODED LANGUAGE THAT ONLY THEY COULD UNDERSTAND.
A NEGRO SPIRITUAL WOULD CAR LONG NOTES WITHOUT MUCH VARIATION.
[SINGING] ONE PERSON WOULD SING APPEARED THE REST OF THE FIELD WOULD MIMIC THE SAME LINE.
IT'S A PATTERN THAT CONTINUES TO THIS VERY DAY IN THE BLACK CHUMP.
IN THE CHURCH YOU WOULD HAVE CALL AND RESPONSE, DIFFERENT SONG TITLES.
THE OLD ONE HUNDREDS I CALLED OUT TO THE LORD AND HE HEARD MY CRY.
ALL OF THOSE SONGS WERE EXAMPLES OF CALL AND RESPONSE.
OVER TIME YOU SEE THAT CHANGED TO HAR MO NIECE, TWO PART TO THREE PART TO FOUR PART.
[SINGING] BY THE 60s AND '70s, THE MUSIC EVOLVES EVEN MORE AS ARTISTS LIKE MAHALIA JACKSON, A NEW ORLEANS-BORN STAR, BLENDS THE BLUES WITH GOSPEL.
[SINGING] SMEES JUST ONE OF MANY BLACK ARTISTS WHO MOVES AWAY FROM SIMPLE BEATS.
THE ORGAN IS NOW A GOSPEL STAPLE AND THE DRUMS AND EVEN THE GUITAR ARE NOW USEFUL.
YOU EVEN HAVE A MORE MODERN CHORAL SOUND COMING FROM GROUPS SINGING TOQUE LIKE THE BATON ROUGE ZION TRAVELERS.
[SINGING] TRADITIONAL QUARTET MUSIC IS STILL ROOTED IN THE TRADITIONAL GOSS PEOPLE MUSIC FEEL, AND WHAT I MEAN BY FEEL I MEAN BY THE MOVEMENT, THE LONG MELODIES OF TRADITIONAL GOSPEL MUSIC, SO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH THE GOSPEL SINGERS IS MOVE FROM SOMEWHERE FROM THE LONG TONE TO UPBEAT -- KEEP THE TRADITIONAL SOUND BUT MOVE IT TO UPBEAT TO KEEP UP WITH THIS NEW GENERATION OF GOSPEL LISTENERS.
[SINGING] IT'S CLEAR THAT THE WORLD IS PLAYING A ROLE IN BLACK CHURCH MUSIC BUT THE CHURCH IS ALSO LEAVING ITS MARK ON THE WORLD PROVIDING A SMALL PROFOUND MESSAGE OF HOPE DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
FOR INSTANCE SAM COOKE'S MUSIC HAS DISTINCT ORIGINS IN THE CHURCH.
HE USES HIS VOICE TO DRAG OUT LONG MELODIES AND GIVE A MESSAGE OF CHANGE, WHICH IS A DEEPLY BLACK SENTIMENT.
WHEN YOU GET TO THE POINT THAT HE SAID, OH, JUST LIKE A RIVER I BEEN RUNNING EVER SINCE, IT'S BEEN A LONG, A LONG TIME COMING, AND IF YOU LISTEN TO HIS GOSPEL RECORDS THEY HAVE THE SAME TUNE, THE SAME MUSIC.
IN FACT THE SOUL STIRRERS SING THAT SONG IN THE CHURCH.
AND MANY OF THE GOSPEL GROUPS SANG THAT SONG IN THE CHURCH.
CHANGE IS GONNA COME, YOU KNOW.
WHEN YOU LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF THE SONG, CHANGE IS GONNA COME, JUST THE WORDS OF THE SONG CHANGE IS GONNA COME AND EVENTUALLY CHANGE IS GOING TO COME FOR US!
[LAUGHTER] [SINGING] YOU HEAR THIS IDEA A LOT IN THE '60s ALL OVER THE SOUTH INCLUDING LOUISIANA, JIM CROW LAWS PROHIBITED BLACKS FROM DRINKING AT THE SAME WATER FOUNTAIN AS WHITES, ATTENDING THE SAME SCHOOLS OR EVEN SITTING WHERE THEY WANTED TO ON THE BUS.
I VIVIDLY REMEMBER MY MOTHER USED TO TAKE US FOR RIDES AT NIGHT ON THE BUS, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO SIT BEHIND THE SCREEN.
THE SCREEN WAS NOT A STABLE SCREEN.
IT MOVED.
IT MOVED ACCORDING TO HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ON THE BUS.
THE SCREEN MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON THE FRONT BUT AS MORE CAUCASIAN PEOPLE GOT ON THE BUS THE SCREEN MOVED FURTHER BACK.
AS THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT GAINED MOMENTUM IN THE 1950'S THE OPPOSITION AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE GREW STRONGER.
IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT LIFE.
YOU KNEW THAT THESE WHITE PEOPLE WERE MEAN, VISION, THE POLICE WOULD CLUB YOU IF YOU WERE CAUGHT BEING OUT OF LINE.
YOU TRIED TO HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF CONTACT WITH WHITES AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD.
ONE OF THE ONLY SAFE PLACES FOR LOUISIANA'S BLACK COMMUNITY WAS IN THE CHURCH.
AS A RESULT PASTORS OF BLACK CHURCHES PARTICULARLY PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONING PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE.
THE POWER AND INFLUENCE THEY WIELDED BECAME A DRIVING FORCE IN THE STRUGGLE TO GAIN EQUAL RIGHTS.
THE CHURCH ESPECIALLY THE BAPTIST CHURCH IS HUGE IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
THE REASON IS WE HAVE THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE.
IT WAS LED BY MARTIN LUTHER KING, RAFFLE ABERNATHY AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT BAPTISTS MINISTERS AND IT ACTUALLY STARTED HERE IN NEW ORLEANS.
YOU HAVE THESE CHURCHES CREATED AND THEY CAN FOLLOW THEIR OWN STRUCTURE.
THEY DON'T HAVE COMPLETE TIES WITH LIKE REGIMENTED VATICAN CY, A POPE AND SO ON SO THEY ARE ABLE TO BE MORE INVOLVED AND EVEN START THOSE MOVEMENTS AND BE EXTREMELY INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHEREAS THE CATHOLICS NOT SO MUCH.
THIS CHURCH IS NOT A BLACK CHURCH BECAUSE IT WANTED TO BE A BLACK CHURCH.
IT IS A BLACK CHUMP WAS IT WASN'T ALLOWED TO BE A PART OF THE WHITE CHURCH SO AS A RESULT YOU HAVE BLACK LEADERS, AND IN MANY CASES THEY WERE THE ONLY MEN THAT WERE EDUCATED.
SO AS A RESULT, YOU GOT THE EDUCATED PREACHER, WHICH THEN BECOMES THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE HE CAN ARTICULATE THE VIEWERS OF THE PEOPLE.
IN JUNE 1953, TWO YEARS BEFORE ROSA PARKS FAMILIOUSLY REFUSED TO MOVE OUT OF THE WHITE SECTION OF THE BUS, IT WAS ON THE MOVE.
BLACKS HAD TO BE AT THE BACK OF THE BUS AND THE WHITES WERE UP FRONT.
THAT'S THE BASIC ISSUE.
THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT WORRY OCCUPYING THE BUS WERE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
THAT WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE WHOLE DEAL.
YOU GOT US, WE ARE THE MAJORITY RIDER AND THEN YOU PUT US IN THE BACK OF THE BUS.
OUR MONEY IS JUST AS GOOD AS EVERYBODY ELSE.
YOU STILL HAD THE ISSUES WITH THE SEGREGATION AND WHERE YOU COULD SIT AT THE COUNTERS AND ALL OF THAT IN WOOLWORTH.
THAT WAS RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY.
THEN YOU HAD THE SMITH BROWN UNION AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY.
ALL THAT STUFF WAS RIGHT HERE HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME.
SO THE MOVEMENT WAS JUST ONE THAT THE PEOPLE OF COLOR, BLACK FOLK JUST SAID, HEY, WE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS.
MT.
ZION'S PASTOR LED A BOYCOTT OF BATON ROUGE'S BUS SYSTEM.
HE CALLED THE PASTORS TOGETHER AND THEY KIND OF PUT THEIR STRATEGY TOGETHER AND WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO AND HOW THEY WERE GOING TO UTILIZE THE MEMBERSHIP AND THERON THEY PUT TOGETHER THOSE WHO HAD CARS.
WITH BLACK RIDERS REFUSING ITS SERVICES THE BUS SYSTEM WAS ON THE BRINK OF FINANCIAL RUIN WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS.
IT WASN'T A LONG TIME.
THEY GOT THAT TURNED AROUND@?
WE'LL QUICK.
AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED THAT ALLOWED MORE SEATING FOR BLACKS ON THE BUS BUT DID NOT END THE SEGREGATED SYSTEM.
THE BATON ROUGE BUS BOYCOTT PAVED THE WAY FOR WHAT WAS TO COME.
THIS BECAME THE TEMPLATE FOR THE MONTGOMERY ONE BECAUSE THEY SET UP SEVERAL THINGS.
THEY DIDN'T ACHIEVE AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD HAVE IN BATON ROUGE BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO GET BETTER SITING.
THE SAME THING WITH DR. KING IN MONTGOMERY.
IN 1956 THE SUPREME COURT DECLARED THE SEGREGATED BUSING WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
MORE JIM CROW LAWS WERE OVERTURNED BUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS FOR FROM OVER.
VINCENT SMITH WAS A YANK MAN IN WEST FELICIANA PARISH WHEN HIS FAMILY GOT AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR.
FRANK DUNBAR WAS A LAWYER FROM WASHINGTON, A MAN BY THE NAME OF RONNIE MOORE COME TO OUR HOUSE AND TOLD MY DWAT THEY WERE THERE FOR.
THEY WERE THERE TO GET US TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
THEY SAY THAT CIVIL RIGHTS HAS BEEN PASSED AND TIME FOR THESE RURAL COMMUNITIES.
NOBODY IN WEST FELICIANA PARISH BLACK WHO WERE REGISTERED TO VOTE.
NOBODY COULD VOTE AND THAT DISPLEASED MY DAD BIG TIME.
A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ST. FRANCISVILLE WEREN'T PLEASED BUT WHAT COULD THEY DO?
ANY PERSON OF COLOR WHO CHALLENGED JIM CROW MIGHT HAVE TO GO AGAINST THE KLAN.
CROSS BURNINGS AND VIOLENT ATTACKS WERE COMMON AND THE STAKES WERE AS HIGH AS THEY COME.
SOMEBODY MAY LOSE THEIR LIFE, SOMEBODY MIGHT GET BEAT.
IT WAS A RISK VINCENT'S DAD WAS WILLING TO TAKE, THOUGH PRECAUTIONS WERE IN ORDER AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE PLACE TO MEET SAFELY.
A CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS WAS THE PILLAR COMMUNICATION.
YOU GO TO THE CHURCH.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A TELEPHONE, TELEVISION.
SO IF SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN SOMEBODY HEAR ABOUT IT THEY GO TO THE CHURCH AND RANG THE BELL.
RONNIE MOORE TOLD MY DAD TO GET SIX OR SEVEN MEN, PREACHERS, DEACONS THAT YOU CAN TRUST, THAT CAN KEEP THEIR MOUTH CLOSED.
AND HE DID IT.
IT TOOK MORE THAN A YEAR FROM MARCH 1962 TO JULY 1963 TO GET ENOUGH PEOPLE TO HAVE A MEETING.
IT STARTED AT PLEASANT GREEN BAPTIST CHURCH BECAUSE THE PASTOR OF THAT CHURCH AND THE DEACON WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WOULD AGREE TO HAVE IT AT THEIR CHURCH.
THEY WERE JUST SIMPLY SCARED.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING ALTOGETHER NEW TO BLACK PEOPLE AND THEN ALL THE BRITS COME OUT AND THAT SCARED ME.
ABOUT 100 PEOPLE SHOWED UP AT PLEASANT GREEN BAPTIST CHURCH TO LEARN TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
THEY WERE TAUGHT TECHNIQUES TO AVOID CONFRONTATION WITH WHITE PEOPLE BUT THEY WERE TAUGHT SOMETHING EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
LITERACY.
WE HAD A FOUR-PAGE FORM TO FILL OUT, THREE PAGES.
AND WE HAD TO RECITE THE CONSTITUTION.
THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD NEVER HEARD OF NO PREAMBLE.
SO THAT'S REASON IT TOOK SO LONG BECAUSE ALL OF US WAS FAR MORE THAN YOU KNOW, AND A LOT OF THEM COULDN'T READ AND WRITE.
THE SECRET MEETINGS CONTINUED AT THE CHURCH UNTIL WORD LEAKED OUT.
NOW HOW IT GOT OUT IT WAS THE JUDEAS IN THE BUNCH I RECKON LIKE WITH JESUS CHRIST.
WE DIDN'T MIND IT GETTING OUT BUT YOU JUST DIDN'T WANT IT TO GET OUT AT THAT POINT IN TIME BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE DOING WAS GONNA BE PUBLISHED.
YOU CAN'T KEEP IT SECT RECEIPT.
WHITES IN THE AREA RETALIATED DURING SUNDAY SERVICE.
THEY WENT IN THERE AND DISCONNECTED THE OLD GAS HEATERS, THE BUTANE GAS.
THEY HAD DISCONNECTED THE HEATER.
IT HAD A TIMER ON IT TO GO OFF AT 12:30, BUT IT IT DIDN'T GO OFF UNTIL 2:00 AND CHURCH WAS OVER.
THEY BLOW A HOLE IN THAT WALL FROM HERE TO THAT WALL.
ONE MAN WAS IN THERE SITTING THERE WHEN HE GOT HURT A LITTLE BIT.
NOT REAL BAD.
IT WAS SCARY TIME, A REALLY SCARY TIME BECAUSE NOBODY KNEW YOU KNOW WHAT THE NEXT GONNA BE.
THE CHURCH MOVED VOTER REGISTRATION TO THE MASON HALL BUT EVEN THAT WASN'T SAFE.
WE WENT TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
OCTOBER 17, 1963.
WE WANTED 100 PEOPLE BUT COULDN'T GET BUT MORE THAN 43 OUT THERE.
THAT NIGHT THEY TRIED TO BLOW THE HALL UP.
VINCENT'S FAMILY KNEW VIOLENCE WAS COMING THEIR WAY.
WE STAYED UP ALL NIGHT LONG.
BUT THE NEXT NIGHT IS WHEN THEY SHOT OUT ALL THE WINDOWS AT OUR HOME.
THEY DIDN'T DO NOTHING TO THE HOME.
AND WE WAS SITTING THERE, DIDN'T KNOW NOTHING WAS GOING ON UNTIL THE SHOTS STARTED AND THE GLASS STARTED FALLING.
WE HIT THE FLOOR.
IN SPITE OF THE THREAT MORE THAN 40 BLACK PEOPLE IN WEST FELICIANA PARISH VOTED THAT FALL, A TRIUMPH FOR VINCENT AND HIS FATHER.
HE ALWAYS WAS A CHRISTIAN, HE NEVER BELIEVED IN FIGHTING, CUTTING OR SHOOTING, HE DON'T BELIEVE IN NO VIOLENCE.
HE SAID YOU THROW A STONE AND I WILL THROW YOU BREAD.
HE BELIEVED POWER OVER HATE IN THE LONG RUN.
IT'S BEEN MORE THAN 60 YEARS SINCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT BUT BLACK CHURCHES IN LOUISIANA ARE STILL HAVING TO OVERCOME HATE.
THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL IS INVESTIGATING A FIRE THAT DESTROYED A CHURCH EARLY THIS MORNING.
THE FIRE DISTRICT 3 IS FIGHTING THE BLASE AT MOUNT PLEASANT CHURCH GREATER UNION BAPTIST CHURCH IS IN COMPLETE DEVASTATION AFTER SEEING THIS IS WHAT'S LEFT OF THEIR CHURCH.
I'M CHERYL WALLS RICHARD FROM OPELOUSAS, LOUISIANA.
I HAVE LIVED HERE FOR 59 YEARS.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE RIDING OUT TO MY CHURCH, GREATER UNION BAPTIST CHUMP.
IN 2019 CHERYL LAW RICHARD'S CHURCH WAS SECOND IN A STRING OF CHURCH ARSONS IN ST. LANDRY PARISH.
THE FIRST WAS ST. MARY MISSIONARY BAPTIST IN PORT BARRE RE.
TEN DAYS LATER HER CHURCH GREATER UNION BAPTIST CHURCH WENT UP IN SMOKE.
TWO DAYS LATER, MOUNT PLEASANT BAPTIST WAS HIT.
COLLECTIVELY THAT'S MORE THAN 300 YEARS OF BLACK HISTORY IN THOSE ASHES.
IT'S A WHOLE FLOOD OF EMOTIONS COMING OUT HERE, WALKING OUT HERE.
THE FRONT PART OF THE CHURCH WAS OVER THIS WAY.
YOU ENTERED THE CHURCH FROM THE HIGHWAY AND YOU START IMAGINING WHAT WAS.
YOU CAN STILL REMEMBER WHEN YOU WALKED IN THE FOYER OF THE CHURCH.
HOLE DON MATTHEWS, THEN 21, WAS ARRESTED FOR THE ARSONS.
HE WAS HEAVY INTO BLACK METAL MUSIC AND WANTED TO PROVE A POINT.
HE WROTE ON FACEBOOK, CAN'T STAND ALL THESE BAPTISTS AROUND HERE, BURCH OF PEOPLE TRYING TO FIND HAPPINESS IN A RELIGION THAT WAS FORCED ON THEIR ANCESTORS JUST IT IT WAS ON MINE.
I WISH MORE BLACK PEOPLE WOULD LOOK INTO ANCIENT BELIEVES OF PRE-CHRISTIAN AFRICA.
DOMESTIC TERRIFIC ISN'T THE ONLY CHALLENGE BLACK PARISHES FACE TODAY.
GREATER THREAT IS LOSS OF INTEREST.
YOU THINK ABOUT THIS GENERATION AND THE GENERATION OF THE OLD.
THE NUMBER OF CONGREGANTS ARE STARTING TO DROP AT BLACK CHURCHES ACROSS THE NATION.
FOOTBALL FIELDS, SOCCER FIELDS, DANCE HAD MORE YOUNG PEOPLE THAN THE CHURCH.
THE QUESTION WAS HAVE WE BEEN INTENTIONAL ABOUT CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE CONNECTED.
TODAY'S GENERATION REJECTS THE OLD WAY THAT BLACK CHURCHES WORSHIPED.
FOR SOME THE REJECTION OF GAY MARRIAGE IS ENOUGH REASON TO CANCEL CHURCH ALTOGETHER.
HE SAID I'M A QUEER BLACK GUY AND THIS IS SOMETHING THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO SEE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A GOD OF LOVE BUT YOU'RE GOING TO CAST ME OUT AS A DEMON AND NOT ACCEPT ME FOR WHO I AM.
WHO AM I TO TELL THIS INDIVIDUAL THAT THEY CANNOT BE0?
USED BY G?
WE THE CHURCH COME WITH OUR OWN POLITICS -- I KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS AT THE END OF THE DAY IT ALSO SAYS GRACE ABOUNDS MUCH.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
EACH CHURCH BURNED RECEIVED A LITTLE OVER $1 MILLION TO HELP WITH THE REBUILDING PROJECT BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EDIFICE OF AT LEAST 200 CAPACITY.
WE'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE THAT FELLOWSHIP HALL.
THE FIELDS WHERE THE BUILDINGS ONCE STOOD ARE NOW EMPTY BUT THE SPIRIT OF THE GONG CASES THAT ONCE GATHERED HERE IS FULL.
LIKE THE GENERATIONS OF CHURCH GOERS BEFORE THEM THAT HAVE WITHSTOOD TRIALS THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN CREATE A NEW FIRE, A SPIRITUAL ONE.
GREATER UNION MEMBERS, ALTHOUGH WE MAY SEEM SCATTERED, WE STRONG, CONTINUED IN THE FAITH, CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL GATHER AGAIN BECAUSE WE'RE STRONGER TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE THE BLACK CHURCH IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE RELEVANT, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE VITAL AND VIBRANT BECAUSE IT HAS THAT SPIRIT THAT A LOT OF OTHER CHURCHES HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND OR EXPLAIN.
IT'S A SPIRIT THAT WILL ONLY BE PASSED DOWN IF THE STORIES OF LOUISIANA'S BLACK CHURCHES CONTINUE TO BE TOLD.
I THINK THE KEY THING AT LEAST FOR ME IS THE MAINTAINING OF THE BLACK CHURCH'S HISTORY.
UNDERSTANDING WHY IT'S STILL NEEDED.
NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE BLACK, NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO EXCLUDE OTHER PEOPLE.
SOMEBODY HAS TO SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.
YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU STAY TOGETHER.
TOGETHER WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
WHEN YOU GOT PEOPLE THAT STAY TOGETHER NO MATTER WHAT THEN YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.
OH, YEAH.
YEAH.
YOU REALLY CAN.
FUNDING FOR THE STORIES OF LOUISIANA'S BLACK CHURCH PROVIDED BY -- WHEN MORNING CAME TO LOUISIANA WE WERE HOPEFUL.
NOT HIBERNATING.
WE WERE STRONGER.
READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT AND TOGETHER AS WE BUILT ANEW BLUE CROSS STANDS READY TO SUPPORT YOU HI.
I'M PATRICK.
I'M GLAD EXXON MOBIL IS INVOLVED.
I'M SO GLASS EXXON MOBIL IS SPONSORING BLACK CHURCHES ON LPB.
BUILDING STRONGER, SMARTER COMMUNITIES TOGETHER.
AND THE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU.
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The Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting