The Black Churches of Brooklyn [Paperback]

Clarence Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0231099819 | ISBN-13: 978-0231099813

-- The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is an informative though not comprehensive study of black churches. Taylor, who teaches history at LeMoyne College in upstate New York, focuses on Brooklyn because by mid-century, "many of [its] churches had thousands of members, offered a variety of social services to the black community, were important cultural centers, and had nationally renowned pastors." He traces the values, theology and public profile of the late 19th-century churches, noting that while African Methodist and Baptist denominations were initially dominant, by the mid-20th century, Holiness-Pentecostal became the fastest-growing. He charges black ministers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, tied to the major political parties, with doing too little to stem the neighborhood's deterioration in the 1960s, a topic Taylor might have probed further. He also devotes a chapter to the role of black women in the church and concludes with brief sketches of six politically active ministers, including the Reverend Al Sharpton.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This detailed history surveys a vital force within the Bedford-Stuyvesant community, showing how 19th-century black churches emulated the white mainstream, Pentecostalism became a major force in the early 20th century, and civil rights issues came to the fore during the 1963 Downtown Medical Center job protests. Applying hindsight, Taylor (history, LeMoyne Coll.) harshly criticizes ministers as ineffectual outside of the religious arena before this radicalizing event. Yet in a closing survey of current church leaders, he portrays the Rev. Al Sharpton as a counterproductive charlatan. The brief portrait of the Rev. Johnny Youngblood does not cite Samuel G. Freedman's Upon This Rock (LJ 1/93), an exciting survey of Youngblood's ministry. For informed lay readers.
Richard S. Watts, San Bernardino Cty. Lib., Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 297 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231099819
• ISBN-13: 978-0231099813
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,041,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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