Lost Voices
THE CHURCH
All the churches had much to do with the moral living. . .they had a lot of revivals and people would come and they would join and if they were livin bad, they’d quit, and if they were gamblin, most likely they’d have to quit awhile...They had their chitlin’ dinners and chicken suppers and the sweet potato pie suppers, everything. Memphis T. Garrison
The church in the
African American community has occupied a unique
position. West Virginia’s Bureau of Negro Welfare
and Statistics concluded that "The influence of the
church upon the life of the Negroes in West Virginia
cannot be overestimated. It was the one uplifting agency
that came with the Negroes
who migrated from the South. .
. and it has played a role vastly more important than is
generally known in the moral and civil life of the
race."
It was the recreation center, the political meeting house, the schoolhouse, the psychologist’s office for the poor, the performance auditorium for the arts, business recruitment center, as well as the spiritual worship place. In West Virginia, the church has served these functions and many more for African Americans. In the coal fields of southern West Virginia, the church provided a place for socializing, for solace. Later the state often used the churches for extension educational training. In the urban centers of Huntington and Charleston, it provided the first schools, and served as the training ground for leaders in political and civil rights endeavors.
The men of the church were prominent in obvious roles as ministers, deacons and trustees. Women played significant roles by supporting programs that sustained the growth and vibrancy of the church. In many black churches, women served as ministers and leaders; in others they accepted second level positions as program initiators of Sunday School classes, music ministry, fundraising, the upkeep of parsonages and buildings.