Since under the peculiar circumstances of the black man’s environment they were the one expression of his higher life, they are of deep interest to the student of his development, both socially and psychologically.
From "The Souls of Black Folk," this passage explains why the study of Black religious life is crucial for understanding Black development.
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Such an assumption is the arrogance of peoples irreverent toward Time and ignorant of the deeds of men.
Actively we have woven ourselves with the very warp and woof of this nation,—we fought their battles, shared their sorrow, mingled our blood with theirs, and generation after generation have pleaded with a headstrong, careless people to…
Around us the history of the land has centred for thrice a hundred years; out of the nation’s heart we have called all that was best to throttle and subdue all that was worst; fire and blood, prayer and sacrifice, have billowed over this…
But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins.