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Nathalie Lissain

Explorations in Black Literature

Professor Quandra Prettyman

December 8, 2011

Nl2273@barnard.edu

The Secret Religion of the Slaves: African – American Religious Experience in the North and South

“Those who have not thus witnessed the frenzy of a Negro revival in the untouched backwoods of the South can but dimly realize the religious feeling of the slave; as described, such scenes appear grotesque and funny but as seen they are awful… Finally, the frenzy with “Shouting,” when the Spirit of the Lord passed by, and seizing the devotee, made him mad with supernatural joy.” (DuBois 135).

On a Sunday or weekday afternoon a small group of slaves gather for an hour of informal

worship services. Today, they will be held in the woods. Yesterday, the slaves met at Lucy’s cabin.

The day before that, service was secretly held at master’s cow pen. Regardless of the location, the

scene remains the same. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious, the temperature - hot and

humid. The crowd usually gathers around a central figure – the black preacher. On most days he is

a black male; however, every so often there is a woman. Prayer meetings are more than just silent

protest and prayer. There is stamping, shrieking, moaning, shouting, and dancing. Women and

men violently wave their arms and clap their hands. The music converges with the souls of the

slaves. In one hour, these black souls are uplifted; however, upon returning home to their masters,

it takes just a few minutes for slaves to sink into a state of misery, sorrow, and depression.

Photos and slave narratives vividly reveal the religious experience of slaves on the

plantation. For one hour, African Americans gathered as a collective unit to share a heartfelt

expression of the black Christian experience. Prayer meetings offered slaves a place and space to

overcome notions of black inferiority found in messages of obedience preached by white

ministers. Despite the brutalities of slavery on the plantation, religion offered slaves a moment of

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freedom that allowed them to emerge with a new found self – hood and identity. Author W.E.B Du

Bois describes three central aspects of slave religion in his novel the Souls of Black Folk – “the

preacher, the music, and the frenzy [or witchcraft].” These terms paint a telling picture of the

religious experience of slaves on the plantation.

Passages from the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (1845), Narrative in

the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), Mrs. T.C. Upham’s Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs

(1850), and Harriet Jacob’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) are a vivid analysis of the

black experience with “secret churches” in the United States. In each of these narratives, female

and male preachers, spiritual song and dance, along with mental exhilaration and superstitious

beliefs are crucial components of prayer meetings. They are the foundation that later give rise to

the black church – a powerful establishment created to address the concerns of a black community

plagued by slavery and oppression (Hayes 8).

The black preacher has always been considered an institution. These women and men

provide the black community with a sense of structure and religious instruction. Post – bellum

images of black preachers often depict these religious leaders as confident and liberated black

men. Photographs such as David Hunter Strother’s The Negro Preacher offer a one – sided

representation of the black preacher. He is a confident, black male “semi – God” and is the largest

figure on the page. Many of these drawings fail to highlight the few female preachers who

influenced members of the black church. Although female preachers posed a threat to the male –

dominated black church, these women still felt that their voices and religious presence were of

utmost importance to the black community. In the following narratives, black preachers not only

serve as religious role models. They are also venerated as educators and promoters of intellectual

curiosity.

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In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass refers to Charles Lawson as his

“spiritual father” and “uncle”. Although he lacks the ability to read and write, this preacher is

confident in his ability to provide Douglass with a type of mental instruction that further ignites

Douglass’ intellectual curiosity. Uncle Lawson is Douglass’ “principle instructor” who, much like a

teacher, propels Douglass on a life changing journey to knowledge, liberation, and self - fulfillment.

Douglass states, “The old man could read a little, and I was a great help to him in making out the

hard words, for I was a better reader than he. I could teach him "the letter," but he could teach me

"the spirit," and refreshing times we had together, in singing and praying” (Douglass 83).

Douglass and Lawson are actively engaged in this process of learning. Although it appears as it

Douglass only receives from Lawson a sense of religious instruction, Lawson assists Douglass in

“religiously seek[ing] knowledge”. Douglass, then, uses the bible as a stepping stone to further

enhance his own literary skills. He states:

My desire to learn increased, and especially, did I want a thorough acquaintance

with the contents of the Bible. I have gathered scattered pages of the Bible from the

filthy street-gutters, and washed and dried them, that in moments of leisure I might

get a word or two of wisdom from them. (Douglass 83).

These learning moments are pivotal moments in Lawson’s life. Douglass feels that he is in control

of his religious instruction and has the freedom to learn the unadulterated word of Christ.

Moreover, Charles Lawson has the ability to transform his prayer meetings into spaces of

freedom and consciousness. Douglass explains, “…I finally found my burden lightened, and my

heart relieved. I loved all mankind, slaveholders not accepted, though I abhorred slavery more

than ever. I saw the world in a new light” (Douglas 82). In this passage, he highlights the

consciousness and sense of freedom that emerges after consulting Lawson during a prayer

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meeting. At Lawson’s home, Douglass freely practices Christianity and teaches others the tools

needed to attain freedom and enlightenment – reading and writing. Thus, Uncle Lawson plays a

significant role as a black preacher and father figure for Douglass. It is under his leadership that

Douglass is able to grow spiritually and emerge with greater religious consciousness.

Like Charles Lawson, Phebe Anne Jacobs is also depicted as a strong presence in her

community. Mrs. T.C. Upham’s short narrative of her life reveals the great deal of influence that

black female preachers had over their congregation. Jacobs’ short spiritual biography highlights

the value of black female preachers and also describes the unifying properties of the female prayer

meeting: “In the female prayer-meeting, all loved to kneel when Phebe prayed. The last Sabbath

she spent on earth she was at church as usual, and stopped at noon, and was conversing on the

value and importance of this meeting” (Upham 5). Slaves marvel at her humility and deeply

religious nature. There is a sense that Phebe’s followers prefer her style of preaching which differs

drastically from traditional white male preachers. Her female prayer meetings offer something

that white ministers generally cannot through their sermons – a “pure, practical, and truthful”

teaching of Christ.

Jacobs also considers literacy and education as an important aspect of her work as an

influential black preacher. Like Lawson, Jacobs is constantly furthering her education for the

betterment of her community:

There the promises, and the threatenings and warnings too, are marked or

underscored by her pen or pencil. Phebe's marks beneath or beside a passage, made

often with a heavy stroke of her pencil, come to our minds with the force of a

commentary, for she was herself a "living epistle," "known and read" by us all. Said

her pastor, "If a thousand devoted Christians were requested to mark their favourite

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texts and expressions, it is believed they would hardly mark one not understood by

Phebe (Upham 3).

Jacobs closely analyzes passages with the “heavy stroke[s]” of her pencil to highlight important

aspects of the bible that she wishes to share with her congregation. This passage certainly

emphasizes that whatever knowledge she gains from the text is also shared with believers. She is

described as an epistle “known and read by us all”. Thus, everyone is engaged in the learning

process. Jacobs really ignites this religious and educational learning experience for other slaves.

When coerced into captivity, slaves feel the need to “sing and shout” and let out the

frustration that comes with being someone else’s property (Forten 215). Through song, slaves

briefly escape their condition and forget their identity as property – if only for an hour. In

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs describes the slave musical experience at the

“little church in the woods” after being disheartened by Mr. Pike’s sermon. She states:

It was so long before the reverend gentleman descended from his comfortable

parlor that the slaves left, and went to enjoy a Methodist shout. They never seem so

happy as when shouting and singing at religious meetings. Many of them are

sincere, and nearer to the gate of heaven than sanctimonious Mr. Pike... (Jacobs

107).

For just an hour, Jacobs participates in “shouting and singing” at the prayer meeting. The

integration of music and religion provides slaves with a temporary sense of pleasure and

liberation that they could not experience when attending their master’s sermons. Jacobs feels that

an energetic hour of singing and dancing provides most slaves with temporary relief from the false

and corrupt teachings of Mr. Pike. For the slave community, music and performance is considered

a “tonic for suffering” and a “tool in the struggle of existence” (Landies 21). Jacobs describes the

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long lasting, positive effects of prayer meetings by explaining that “an hour of shouting [can]

sustain [her] through the dreary week” (Jacobs 109).

Slaves also expressed their discontent with the false teachings of Christianity through song.

At prayer meetings, slaves generally sang songs confirming Christ’s true love for them and Satan’s

ability to prevent this true Christian message from being heard. The following verse reiterates that

slaves are not born sinners and still have the potential to enter the promise land:

Ole Satan thought he had a mighty aim; He missed my soul, and caught my sins. Cry Amen, cry Amen, cry Amen to God!

He took my sins upon his back; Went muttering and grumbling down to hell. 

Cry Amen, cry Amen, cry Amen to God!

Ole Satan's church is here below. Up to God's Free Church I hope to go. 

Cry Amen, cry Amen, cry Amen to God! (Jacobs 109)

The “institutionalized” Christian message of the slave masters has been subverted in this song.

These slaves are aware that they are not inherently sinful rather; these lines emphasize slaves’

innate spiritual natures and suggest that Satan is the true sinner because he “takes [slaves’] sins

upon his back.” While this song clearly expresses slaves sentiments regarding religion on the

plantation, many Negro spirituals contained lyrics with covert meanings. The words, tunes, and

beats of Negro spirituals are replete with messages deeply rooted in uplift ideology. In them,

Jacobs and the members of her prayer meeting momentarily attain liberation in the midst of

oppression. Thus, song, dance, and prayer are the primary means by which all slaves can uplift

their spirits and find momentary freedom in their oppressive circumstances.

Henry Bibb searches for a superstitious aspect of southern black Christianity to “palliate his

sufferings” and to fulfill an emotional void. He finds that outlet in witchcraft, a spiritual belief

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contributing to frenzy1. Bibb meets with other slaves for spiritual meetings in order to find a

solution to his master’s abuse. He enters the realm of the religious and superstitious to alleviate

his condition as a slave. He further describes these superstitious notions “shared by the great

masses of Southern slaves,” that legislators had a problem with. Nonetheless, slaves still managed

to covertly practice their religious traditions. He states:

It was given to them by tradition, and can never be erased while the doors of

education are bolted and barred against them. But there is a prohibition by law of

mental and religious instruction. The state of Georgia, by an act of 1770, declared

that it shall not be lawful for any number of free Negroes, mulattoes, mestinos, or

even slaves, in company with white persons, to meet together for the purpose of

mental instruction, either before the rising of the sun or after the going down of the

same (Bibb 451).

He refers to witchcraft and other superstitious beliefs as a form of “mental instruction”. Similar to

religion, witchcraft is an alternative belief system that provides slaves with a covert and passive

means of “fighting back” their masters. He subtly addresses the abuse of his master by “sprinkling

a mixture of cow manure and white people’s hair” among other substances in his master’s room

because he believes this will palliate his master’s violent nature. Although these “spells and

potions” do not work all the time, witchcraft offers Bibb a sense of freedom and control over his

life that is not offered on the plantation.

Religion is an aspect of life on the plantation that cannot be understood without a true

understanding of the impact preachers, music, and witchcraft had on the lives of slaves. These

1 Oxford English Dictionary definition: “A crazy notion or wild idea.”

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narratives shed light on the humble beginnings of an early black church in the United States.

Former slave John Brown expressed his sentiments regarding the invisible institution and the

“temporary freedom” that slaves acquired during prayer meetings. He states, “White folks ‘fraid

the niggers git to thinkin’ they was free, if they had churches and things.” And they did. The black

church is an institution that not only provided slaves with a temporary sense of freedom but also,

laid the foundation for a spirit of rebellion that eventually lead to their actual freedom.

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Works Cited

Gates, Henry Louis. The Classic Slave Narratives. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Hayes, John. "Hard, Hard Religion: The Invisible Institution of the South." Web. 21 Oct. 2011.

<http://jsr.fsu.edu/Volume10/Hayes.pdf>.

Landies, M. E. (2009). The Band Carries Medicine: Music, Healing and Community in

Haitian/Dominican Rara/Gaga. Columbia University. ProQuest Dissertations and

Theses, Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/

304863762?accountid=10226

Maffly-Kipp, Laurie. "The Church in the Southern Black Community." Documenting the American

South. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/intro.html>.

Mrs. T. C, Upham. "Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs: Electronic Edition." Documenting the American

South. University of North Carolina, 2000. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.

<http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/upham/upham.html>.

Raboteau, Albert. "ChristianityToday.com." ChristianityToday.com | Magazines, News, Church

Leadership & Bible Study. Christianity Today International, 1 Jan. 1992. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

<http://www.christianitytoday.com/global/printer.html?/ch/1992/issue33/3342.html>.

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Appendix (Photos/Drawings of Black Preachers and Prayer Meetings)

http://aamr.alexanderstreet.com/View/309646

The Black Preacher As An Institution Images: Iconography of Music African American Culture, 1700s-1920s Wright, Josephine (author); Garland Publishing, Inc. (publisher); New York (place);

published 2000

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[p. 131]

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[p. 132]

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