Rock of Ages: A Tribute to the Black Church - Hardcover

Spurned, burned, driven underground, the Black Church in America has long managed to thrive in spite of oppression and prejudice. In Tonya Bolden's rhythmic ode to this wellspring of compassion, creativity, and support, the church comes to life as a woman: "She has done so much / to make her people strong, / to keep so many alive in their bodies, in their souls. / Multitudes she has mothered / in times of dense distress." From slavery times, when the church was forced to be invisible, "her roof nightsky"; through the times when African Americans were "go-to-the-back-door people," and Martin Luther King Jr., Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, and Leontyne Price were growing up in the church community; to the present; Bolden's passionate words embrace the gathering place of countless hopeful worshippers. Striking, angular, acrylic and colored pencil artwork by two-time Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner R. Gregory Christie (Only Passing Through) beautifully captures the fervor, joy, and sorrow of the churchgoers. Detailed notes at the end of the book provide historical context. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

Tonya Bolden is the author of the children’s book Through Loona’s Door: A Tammy and Owen Adventure with Carte G. Woodson. Her books for teenagers include the novels Mama, I Want to Sing (co-authored with Vy Higginsen) and Just Family; the anthology Rites of Passage: Stories About Growing Up by Black Writers from Around the World; and a collection of biographies of ten epic women, And Not Afraid to Dare. Her books for grown-ups include The Book of African American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters. She is a native New Yorker.

R. Gregory Christie is the illustrator of Only Passing Through by Anne Rockwell, for which he received his second Coretta Scott King Honor Award.