AA

lecture recording on 09 September 2025 at 15.13.57 PM

Context and setup

  • Instructor announces adjustments to the syllabus: today’s topic is the black church in African spirituality; pushed to Thursday; optional extra reading time if needed.
  • Quiz logistics:
    • A quiz on ancient African civilization is coming; do not open it yet.
    • For accommodations, students should inform the instructor before or after class so time can be adjusted.
    • About 80% attendance at the moment; no negative judgment for those not here.
  • Student accommodations and sensitivity to health: appreciate well-wishes; masking advised if sick.
  • Classroom management philosophy: since many students aren’t doing the readings, the instructor will adjust to ensure fairness; will operate with clear expectations.
  • Administrative note on Canvas:
    • Black Atlantic submission status; quizzes section; initial 6-point setup adjusted by instructor to become a 20-question quiz.
  • Open-notes guidance:
    • Open notes may be a disservice due to time constraints; the class has 30 minutes for the quiz.
    • Short-answer questions are emphasized; some questions may be duplicated by human error; aim for clarity across all students.
  • Practical guidance: begin quiz when ready; take a deep breath; reflect on whether the quiz is easy or hard; identify which questions were harder (multiple choice vs short answers).

Big picture question: why this sequence of topics?

  • The instructor asks students to justify the lecture sequence: diaspora, ancient African civilizations, then the black church.
  • Core answer: African American history does not begin on the shores of this land, nor with the enslavement period.
  • Pan-Africanism and the Black Atlantic frame the journey: you track origins in Africa, then trace its transmission through the diaspora, then connect to ancient African civilizations as they reappear in the diaspora.
  • Conceptual metaphor: the spray bottle represents the diaspora; whatever is in the bottle (e.g., Kool-Aid, water) will be sprayed out in the diaspora.
  • The Black Atlantic acts as the vehicle for transmission of cultures and civilizations from Africa to the Americas and beyond.

Core concepts introduced

  • African American studies as interdisciplinary under one umbrella rather than siloed disciplines.
  • The Black Church as the umbrella institution:
    • Not merely religion or spirituality, but a cultural, community, political, and educational center.
    • It houses a wide range of activities and identities, including African American religious and secular life.
  • Inclusive frame: discussion includes Muslim perspectives; the Black Church is not limited to Christianity but encompasses sacred spaces used by Black communities to meet all needs.
  • African cosmology vs European dichotomy:
    • In African cosmology, sacred and secular are not strictly separated; the sacred does not sit apart from the everyday.
    • The European model separates sacred and secular (church vs state), which the instructor critiques as a false dichotomy.
  • Contemporary politics and religion:
    • The intertwining of religion and state as seen in debates over Roe v. Wade and Christian nationalist perspectives.
    • Historical example: Adam Clayton Powell Jr. – pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church (Harlem) and U.S. congressman; civil rights organizing often occurred in church spaces (Fellowship Hall, sanctuary).

Key historical anchors and interpretations

  • The Black church as the first independent institution built by African Americans in the United States; it functioned across spiritual, political, social, cultural domains.
  • Civil rights movement origins and church-based organizing: meetings in church spaces, especially Fellowship Halls and sanctuaries.
  • Adam Clayton Powell Jr. example as a bridge between church leadership and political leadership.
  • The church as sanctuary and as a site of resistance against racial oppression and cultural domination.

Diaspora, Black Atlantic, and ancient Africa

  • Central assertion: African history begins before 1619 and the transatlantic slave era; the diaspora carries African traditions into new contexts.
  • Transmission through diaspora: ancient African civilizations influence the diaspora, just as diaspora spread African civilizations to places where the Black Atlantic established communities.
  • Metaphor: the spray bottle; the content in the bottle (culture) gets sprayed into different contexts, altering but retaining core elements.
  • The Black Atlantic is the historical space where cultures are transmitted, transformed, and reconstituted across oceans and generations.

Ancient African civilizations: scope and continuity

  • The instructor references different kingdoms and their cultural emphases and specialties.
  • The goal is to connect those cultures (ancient Africa) with their re-emergence and adaptation in the diaspora.
  • Emphasizes the continuity of culture: transmission through diasporic networks preserves core ideas while adapting to new environments.

Double consciousness: concept, metaphor, and lived experience

  • Definition and origin (implicitly connected to W. E. B. Du Bois): a tension where African American identity exists in two simultaneous contexts.
  • Demonstrations and metaphors used in class:
    • Visual demonstration with the Virginia Tech (VT) basket analogy:
    • The letters V and T stand for Virginia and Ted; the nickname “Tech” is commonly used to refer to Virginia Tech.
    • The