The Stamping Ground Baptist Church in Scott County, Kentucky represents a common historical trajectory of many Baptist congregations formed in the South at the turn of the 19th century. Founded by Baptist pioneers relocating to the Southern frontier, the Stamping Ground church from its inception is comprised of both white and black members, the latter…
Southern slave holders long ago staked out the public position that their African slaves are happy and fulfilled in their lives of bondage. Africans’ inherent intelligence, so the reasoning goes, is suitable–at its best– for a life of enslavement consisting of social and racial isolation, hard work, meager rations, primitive housing, no familial bonds, and…
As the year draws to a close, a total of eleven Baptist churches are active in the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia, including three African churches. A number of the urban congregations have, by this time, settled into a weekly routine of Sunday AM, Sunday PM, and Wednesday PM services that will remain familiar…