Therefore, with our knowledge of how successful the mixing of black and white music was in promoting integration, and also the fact that gospel music was a genre greatly impacted by black sound, why does the church, of all places, still remain the most segregated area in southern american culture even today? It would make sense that the church, a place where acceptance and love are preached daily, would be the place where we see the most fruitful integration. Yet, sunday remains the most segregated day of the week. Is this because religion and the church is a social institution at its root? Or is it because true gospel-centered theology is not the actual root of the church?
A Blog for the "Civil Rights in Memphis" Class at Rhodes College
Monday, March 3, 2014
Why is Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week?
As we spend more time examining the history of civil rights in Memphis, it becomes increasingly evident to me the immense role music played in promoting integration. In our class discussion over the "Lost Revolutions"piece we read, we spend a lot of time discussing how music effected the many aspects of southern Memphian culture-- both black and white. However, we did not spend any time talking about the religious aspect of culture, which was and still is a significant part of southern culture. In the text, the author tells us of the many different genres of music that were heavily influenced and changed by integrating african american sound. In each case when the different genres are mentioned, gospel music was always included in the list. In addition to this, if we analyze the characteristics of a christian church (the most prominent religion in the south during this time), the general sense we get is an atmosphere based on love, acceptance, and forgiveness. In "Lost Revolutions" the author even quotes a young girl from this time when she says, "We were really taught that Jesus loves the little children of the world, red and yellow, black and white." Clearly, christian thought was evident in the culture.
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Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteWhat interesting points you bring up. I have never given much thought as to how segregated congregations can be and why they are this way. I just found an interesting CNN article from 2008. You might want to check it out. One statistic given states, "Only about 5 percent of the nation's churches are racially integrated, and half of them are in the process of becoming all-black or all-white." I, too, wonder why that is. Coming from a small, rural town in Kentucky and not growing up around any church, I never paid attention to the religious dynamic in my own area. Now that I think about it, out of the hundred churches in my county alone, I could easily classify the churches as being mostly segregated areas. While this is quite bizarre, it is interesting to see the prevalence of history in religion today. http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/04/segregated.sundays/index.html?eref=bia_all
Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a very interesting topic for discussion. However, I believe that there is a difference in what it takes to integrate the sacred versus the secular. Although music is not always secular, if you look back to the first black churches built during the time of slavery, you will find sacred music at the core. Gospel was the foundation for Jazz, Blues, and R&B genres of music. I think that it easier to first integrate these newer concepts than it is to go back to the source and change that.
This post reminds me of a few years ago when an African American minister from a largely African American Church in Chicago came to preach at my mainly white Church in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. During his sermon he commented on how quiet we all were, how polite...in my words "how Scandinavian (not showing any provocative outer emotions)" we were. He was used to people verbalizing their agreement, or making comments during the service. For him it was a culture shock to come to our silent congregation where we sometimes do not even applaud the choir or band for playing for us. It was also a contrast for me when as part of Confirmation we attended a different Church that was predominantly African American and I was able to experience some of the differences the minister meant. To answer one of your questions, as much as I appreciated the more emotional (for lack of a better word) reception that I got at that Church, I did not change which Church I attended. I believe this is mostly because I wanted to continue to go to the same Church as my mother (where I had been all of my life). So in part I definitely think that choosing which Church you attend is social.
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