The Talking Book: African Americans and the BibleA striking narrative of the Bible’s central role in African-American history from the early days of slavery to the present The Talking Book casts the Bible as the central character in a vivid portrait of black America, tracing the origins of African-American culture from slavery’s secluded forest prayer meetings to the bright lights and bold style of today’s hip-hop artists. The Bible has profoundly influenced African Americans throughout history. From a variety of perspectives this wide-ranging book is the first to explore the Bible’s role in the triumph of the black experience. Using the Bible as a foundation, African Americans shared religious beliefs, created their own music, and shaped the ultimate key to their freedom—literacy. Allen Callahan highlights the intersection of biblical images with African-American music, politics, religion, art, and literature. The author tells a moving story of a biblically informed African-American culture, identifying four major biblical images—Exile, Exodus, Ethiopia, and Emmanuel. He brings these themes to life in a unique African-American history that grows from the harsh experience of slavery into a rich culture that endures as one of the most important forces of twenty-first-century America. |
From inside the book
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... once wrote in defense of his own eclectic method, “Whoever is functioning at the level of the pursuit of truth can completely make do without the advice of the specialist.” I cannot be as dismissive as Lacan: I invite the reader to ...
... twenty-eight-year-old English cleric, Alexander Glennie, as an Episcopal missionary. Glennie rotated among the plantations so that he visited each one once or twice a month, and his slave congregations 10 the talking book.
... once every fortnight. He always came to dinner, after which he would teach the Negro children their catechism and preach to all of my Negroes at night. They always had a half-holiday on these occasions, so as to let them brush up and ...
... of the law they found in the inaccessible letters of the Book. “We are by no means, as it is said of the Jews, 'people of the Book,'” novelist Ralph Ellison once observed. “Our expression has been oral 18 the talking book.
African Americans and the Bible Allen Dwight Callahan. novelist Ralph Ellison once observed. “Our expression has been oral as against literary.”56 So wrote the man who, in the age of Charlie Christian and Charlie Parker, forewent a ...
Contents
1 | |
21 | |
41 | |
49 | |
5 Exodus | 83 |
6 Ethiopia | 138 |
7 Emmanuel | 185 |
Postscript | 240 |
Notes | 247 |
Subject Index | 275 |
Scripture Index | 284 |