African American Church

Before Jamaal’s seventeenth birthday, he’s appointed as his preacher uncle’s designated driver and unwilling personal confidant. Behind the fine outfits and hats, behind the harmonious singing and delicious cooking, Jamaal is exposed to crazy aunties, sexy church sisters, corrupt pastors, and predator deacons. A good kid who just wants time to finish his homework and kiss a nice girl his own age, Jamaal is dragged through the strange world of the Black church. You best pray for him.— An offensive dark comedy by the author of BLM-PD and Monuments: A Deadly Day at Jefferson Park.

It’s real simple. Either you pay the money and live or refuse and come up missing. The Church Street District in downtown Orlando never had a close brush with organized crime - that is, until Patrick Washington arrived on the scene. His ruthless shakedown tactics forced nearly every business owner in the downtown district to relinquish a percentage of their earnings in exchange for his protection. But one owner in the district was not willing to give in to the extortion attempt.

The emotional equivalent of a Category Six hurricane is raging through the small Southern town of Barksdale in the form of a rumor that a provocative African American newcomer might be of supernatural origin.

On July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt.

Tressie faithfully prayed every night that God would send her a thug. It wasn't long before her prayers were answered and she met a handsome ex-convict named Payce Boyd. Payce is a fine roughneck and everything Tressie ever imagined and more. That is until Tressie experiences firsthand the reality of being a thug's girl. Seeking solace and comfort in the sanctuary, Tressie soon learns valuable lessons and shocking truths about herself and others.

Racial Justice and the Catholic Church examines the presence of racism in America from its early history through the Civil Rights Movement and the election of Barack Obama. It also explores how Catholic social teaching has been used - and not used - to promote reconciliation and justice.

When her husband hears God's call to become a preacher, Rachel Jackson Adams is distressed - she grew up a preacher's daughter, and knows how difficult life under the microscope can be for a reverend's family. But hot-headed Rachel has toned down her wild ways, and for the sake of her marriage and her two children, she is now the reluctant first lady of Zion Hill, unafraid to rock the boat with her unconventional ideas for revitalizing the church.

Meet the members of the Love, Joy, Peace, and Deliverance Community Choir, a group of young adults joined together through their passion for singing the Lord’s praises - although their hearts are far from the things of God. Patrice Russell was raised in the church, but she is hell bent on living like the devil, not even trying to get help for the sex addiction she knows she has. Lorene McCall has been Patrice's best friend since childhood. When she's not singing, Lorene is cussin' like a sailor.

Reverend Simon Jackson has always felt destined to lead and he's done a good job of it, transforming his small Houston church into one of the most respected and renowned in the region. But while the good Reverend's been busy tending his flock, his family's gone astray. His 19-year-old daughter, Rachel, gives new meaning to "baby mama drama." Crazy in love with her son's father, she's wreaking havoc on the man's life, even though he's about to marry another woman. David, Simon's oldest at 27, has been spiraling downward ever since a knee injury ended a promising football career.

The number three signifies divine wholeness. After the devastating loss of their friend, the remaining Church Girls fight to the death to get their friendship back intact. In this third installment of Church Girls, will a black cloud, life's conundrums, and distance become their demise? Or will the Church Girls finally discover the path that leads to wholeness?

Eva spends much of her life torn between the man she had and the man she has. On paper they both look like ideal husband material. But looks, as we all know, can be bought, faked, or photoshopped. Everyone around Eva seems to keep shoveling lies to bury their secrets. As Eva starts to dig for the truth, she realizes it's impossible to stay clean, especially while playing in someone else's dirt.

Sheridan S. Davis, author of Saved Sex, Pretty for a Dark-Skin Girl, and I’m Nobody’s Ruth is all too familiar with Chicago’s church scene. The city, mostly known for its heavily portrayed violence in media, is also the birthplace of Gospel music and has a rich history in God. As a church girl herself, Sheridan decided to pen a fictional tale about the friendship between five church girls. Join Shyanne, Selena, Kyra, Miriam, and Lisa as they plow through the ups and downs of friendship.

Angelic Essie Belle Johnson and devilish Laura Reed both agree that they need to do something to spice up their lives and earn more money. So, they start their own church on the street in front of their Harlem apartment. With Laura's gift for performing and Essie's melodious voice, the two quickly become a hit and must move their services into a renovated theater. But as their congregation grows, a host of misfits enter the scene - some honest, but others who just want a piece of the pie.

For generations, the Black church has been a cornerstone of resilience, community, and empowerment, serving as a sanctuary for African Americans facing systemic oppression. Rooted in liberation theology and social activism, it has played a crucial role in social movements and cultural identity. However, while the Black church continues to be a source of strength, it also mirrors the complexities and contradictions of the communities it serves.

On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, was bombed, killing four young girls. Who were the perpetrators? Due to reluctant witnesses and racial prejudice, the FBI closed the case without any indictments. But as Martin Luther King, Jr., claimed, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Bending Toward Justice is a detailed account of this key moment in our national struggle for equality and the long road to prosecuting those responsible for the tragedy, related by an author who played a major role in the investigation.

In January of 1950, Mary Church Terrell, an 86-year-old charter member of the NAACP, headed into Thompson’s Restaurant, just a few blocks from the White House, and requested to be served. She and her companions were informed by the manager that they could not eat in his establishment, because they were “colored.” Terrell, a former suffragette and one of the country’s first college-educated African-American women, took the matter to court. Three years later, the Supreme Court vindicated her outrage: District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc. was decided in 1953.

DeShawn lives a high, creative, and promiscuous life in San Francisco. But when he’s called back to his cramped Alabama hometown for his uncle’s funeral, he’s hit by flashbacks of handsome, doomed neighbors and sweltering Sunday services. Amid prickly reminders of his childhood, DeShawn ponders family, church, and the men in his life, prompting the question: Who deserves love?