“She begged me and implored me to come back,” he said. Gates resisted at first, not wanting the series to focus on him. It was executive producer Stacy Holman’s idea to film him there. The series ends with Gates visiting his childhood church for the first time in decades. You were men and women with dignity,” said Gates, 70, who went to church regularly growing up in small town in West Virginia. “You could be denigrated six days a week by white racism, but once inside the church building, you were king and queen. “That is the most important miracle to me of the Black church: a belief in a future where their children or grandchildren would one day be free.” Explore Georgia Senate election put Black church traditions in the spotlightĬovering four centuries of history in four hours was challenging, but ultimately, it’s what Gates said he could afford.Įach hour unfolds chronologically, and he wanted to weave in interlocking themes including the origins of denominations such as the Baptist, Pentecostal and Methodist churches and how the church built self-respect. “It was through the church they learned to defer gratification,” Gates said. They still found joy and laughter and music. They continued to fall in love and have children. The church helped provide many Blacks a sense of control even under slavery. And by that, I mean by fighting for the rights of Black people politically.” During the early years, he noted, “It wasn’t only about eternal life and doing good and getting to heaven.
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