Religion has always been a focal element in the long and tortured history of American ideas about race. In The Burden of Black Religion; Curtis Evans traces ideas about African American religion from the antebellum period to the middle of the twentieth century.Central to the story; he argues; was the deep-rooted notion that blacks were somehow "naturally" religious. At first; this assumed natural impulse toward religion served as a signal trait of black people's humanity -- potentially their unique contribution to American culture. Abolitionists seized on this point; linking black religion to the black capacity for freedom. Soon; however; these first halting steps toward a multiracial democracy were reversed.As Americans began to value reason; rationality; and science over religious piety; the idea of an innate black religiosity was used to justify preserving the inequalities of the status quo. Later; social scientists -- both black and white -- sought to reverse the damage caused by these racist ideas and in the process proved that blacks were in fact fully capable of incorporation into white American culture.This important work reveals how interpretations of black religion played a crucial role in shaping broader views of African Americans and had real consequences in their lives. In the process; Evans offers an intellectual and cultural history of race in a crucial period of American history.
#897311 in Books 2006-08-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x 1.10 x 9.10l; 1.34 #File Name: 0195310195416 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Pretty GoodBy GreeneA decent historical read though he fails to adequately tie the Northern finances to the domestic slave trade. Deyle claims to convince the reader of the significance of the domestic slave trade on America as a whole; but spends most of the book beating up the same old dead Southerners while only touching on the North. Most Civil War readers like to use the South as a pinata and ignore the rest of the country which gets tiresome. That being said; the overall scholarship of the book was excellent and he makes some original and interesting arguments.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A good book on the domestic slave trade in Virginia.By Hartwell B. LutzWell written;easy to read; Lots of good details. One criticism might be that it gets a little repetitious. Maybem not repetition of the same incident but in reporting very similar incidents that could have been left out or all covered in one chapter.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. First Rate HistoryBy David L.This is an excellent coverage of the the extensive internal slave trade in the American south. It's an "academic" book but accessible to the general reader. Well written without academic pretension prose but with high quality research.
