This House Of Power

Hosted by CBS anchor Hosea Sanders, This House of Power is a historical tribute to the African-American church, from its earliest stirrings as a church without wall, where slaves sang spirituals in the fields, to its current efforts to revitalize the family structure and rebuild inner cities. Although the white plantation owners didn't quite get it, blacks singing about the plight of the Israelites ("let my people go") surely saw a parallel with their own predicament. In the wake of the Great Awakening, the religious revival which swept America during the mid-18th century, blacks flocked to the church, and as early as 1773 had their own. Interviews with contemporary preachers from the African Methodist Episcopal and other churches chart the role of the church in helping slaves escape to the North, as well as the vital contributions the church made to the civil rights movement. Although primarily a spiritual place where the weary could find succor in promises of the afterlife, the church was also a real "house of power" in secular affairs, helping to make great changes in the social and political landscapes over the years. A good overview. Recommended. (R. Pitman)