I gotta admit- books are what keep me up late at night. It seems I want information, all the time. And somewhere in America, there is usually someone out there who has written a book (if not only an article) that has some of the answers I'm looking for. Right now, I am reading a book called "The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion, and the Church of God in Christ" (by author Calvin White, Jr.). For those who aren't familiar with the Church of God in Christ, it is a predominately African American Pentecostal denomination, with nearly 5 million members in the US. and (as the author puts it) is "debatably" the fourth largest religious organization in the US. I am personally a member of this organization, which is one of the reasons I chose to read the book. I wanted to find out more about the organization to which I've belonged since birth. My father was a COGIC pastor.
That being said, what actually LED ME to the book was my desire to know how African Americans went from being once a pretty religious, God-fearing, conservative, hard working, striving-to-advance group of people to the present day more liberal, self-absorbed, not-so-motivated, and often angry people. [In defense, we are not all the same, nor act the same (as with any race of people)] But, I am concerned about the Black community. So, while searching for a book on the history (mainly, the religious history) of Blacks, I came across Calvin White's book. Other than being a very good source of info about the COGIC orginization, it is actually opening my eyes to what went wrong in the Black community. So far, I'm gathering that there has always been this "need" of Black to gain the respect of their White counterparts. That being said, I want go any further. But, it is a great book! I'm almost half finished. Think I'll read a little more before I go to bed.
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