Synopses & Reviews
From the darkest days on slave ships to the defiant times of the Civil Rights Movement, prayer has embodied the most intense expression of African and African-American spirituality. As Mrs. Coretta Scott King writes in her foreword to andlt;Iandgt;Standing in the Need of Prayerandlt;/Iandgt;, "It is said that every prayer is heard and every prayer is answered in some way [and] I still believe that the millions of prayers spoken by African Americans from the Middle Passage on down to today have been heard by a righteous and loving God." andlt;BRandgt; In this remarkable book, striking photographs and powerful prayers drawn from the unparalleled collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture span the broad spectrum of black religious traditions during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. From the plaintive Yoruba prayer to "Look after us,/Look after our children" and the humble opening prayer of the Qur'and#226;n to "Guide us on the right path" to W. E. B. Du Bois's prideful prayer to "Let [Thy children] grow in the capacity for worthy work...and may they in the end prove worthy of their great heritage," this extraordinary volume reflects the struggle, despair, determination, and triumph of the black experience through the ages. Drawing from faiths as diverse as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Vodou, the book also includes prayers from some of history's most powerful voices, among them Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King, Jr. andlt;BRandgt; At once beautiful and evocative, andlt;Iandgt;Standing in the Need of Prayerandlt;/Iandgt; captures the most varied, striking, and powerful photographic and poetic expressions of prayer in a joyous celebration of the rich spiritual roots of a courageous people whose incredible spiritual journey will inspire generations to come.
Review
"This well-designed gift book pairs photographs and prayers to help readers understand the richness and diversity of African-American spirituality." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A moving testament to the importance of prayer in African American history and to the enduring belief that prayer changes things." Booklist
Review
"[R]emarkable....There cannot be many books that are at once first-rate documentaries, coffee-table books, and works of spiritual inspiration but this is one....[I]nspiring and unique portrait of people at prayer. Highly recommended." Library Journal
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Libraryandlt;/Bandgt;, is the most comprehensive public research library in the world devoted exclusively to the preservation of materials on the global black experience. Created in 1926, the Center now holds more than five million volumes, manuscripts, paintings, and other materials in its collections. A major hub of black cultural life, the Center is located in historic Harlem in New York City.