‘The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song’ Premieres Feb. 16 on PBS Wisconsin

February 15, 2021 Alyssa Beno Leave a Comment

For many, it’s their house of worship. For some, it’s ground zero for social justice. For others, it’s a place of transcendent cultural gifts exported to the world, from the soulful voices of preachers and congregants to the sublime sounds of gospel music. For the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., going to church in America also was “the most segregated hour” of the week.

In The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song – a four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates Jr. premiering 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 on PBS Wisconsin – trace how this came to be in the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America. It reveals how Black people have worshipped, and through their spiritual journeys, improvised ways to bring their faith traditions from Africa to the New World.

In part one, airing 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the roots of African American religion, beginning with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He shares the extraordinary ways enslaved Africans preserved and adapted their faith practices from the brutality of slavery to emancipation.

In part two, airing 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, discover how the Black church expanded its reach to address social inequality and minister to those in need, from the Jim Crow South to the heroic phase of the civil rights movement and the Black church’s role in the present.

Black History Month The Black Church Religion African-American Henry Louis Gates Jr