African-American Church
Introduction
There is great difficulty in defining the field of Cultural Studies, as it takes an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to studying the art, beliefs, politics, and institutions of ethnic cultures and pop culture. For the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham, one of the central goals of Cultural Studies was “to enable people to understand what (was) going on, and especially to provide ways of thinking, strategies for survival, and resources for resistance (Grossberg 2). Cultural Studies draws from whatever fields are necessary to produce the knowledge required for a particular project (Grossberg 2). It is a field that has no one unique narrative. Taking that into account, for the purposes of this essay I will examine one of many narratives Cultural Studies derives from – that of the African-American tradition. Even in focusing on it’s derivation from the African-American tradition, this will be but one path, not intended to serve as the sole trajectory within the African-American tradition of Cultural Studies.
The Black Church
The African-American tradition begins with the black church. In the African-American community the black church has always been more than a religious institution. From the establishment of the first black church in America, throughout slavery and beyond, the church has been the foundation of the black community. During the horrific days of slavery it provided relief and nourishment for the soul with its promise of a better life after death. The church permitted self-expression and supported individuality as well as creativity, behavior that could have eventually lead to death. An example is found in the spirituals, gospel and other forms of music that helped blacks explain and endure their sojourn in America. The black church gave slaves a sense of dignity and lead them to believe they too were equal in the sight of God. The black church occupies such an important role in the black community
There is great difficulty in defining the field of Cultural Studies, as it takes an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to studying the art, beliefs, politics, and institutions of ethnic cultures and pop culture. For the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham, one of the central goals of Cultural Studies was “to enable people to understand what (was) going on, and especially to provide ways of thinking, strategies for survival, and resources for resistance (Grossberg 2). Cultural Studies draws from whatever fields are necessary to produce the knowledge required for a particular project (Grossberg 2). It is a field that has no one unique narrative. Taking that into account, for the purposes of this essay I will examine one of many narratives Cultural Studies derives from – that of the African-American tradition. Even in focusing on it’s derivation from the African-American tradition, this will be but one path, not intended to serve as the sole trajectory within the African-American tradition of Cultural Studies.
The Black Church
The African-American tradition begins with the black church. In the African-American community the black church has always been more than a religious institution. From the establishment of the first black church in America, throughout slavery and beyond, the church has been the foundation of the black community. During the horrific days of slavery it provided relief and nourishment for the soul with its promise of a better life after death. The church permitted self-expression and supported individuality as well as creativity, behavior that could have eventually lead to death. An example is found in the spirituals, gospel and other forms of music that helped blacks explain and endure their sojourn in America. The black church gave slaves a sense of dignity and lead them to believe they too were equal in the sight of God. The black church occupies such an important role in the black community