Kevin McAfee…
“I do believe the Black church still has influence in the Black community but I also believe that because all the information that is out now and the access to information, sometimes it can be convoluted, diluted, I think that people’s lives have changed to the fact that they may be living without God or turning their backs on God to a certain degree and you’re finding more people being more spiritual as they say and neglecting the fellowship of the church. I think it will always have an influence but I think the way the world is going and the power of the devil has taken its toll on the Black church.”
Orlando Hartwell…
“Yes, I still think the Black church holds influence in the Black community. As a Black gay male what I find is that the message that people are still hearing is that homosexuality is wrong, there are no real clear passages in the bible that state that. I think that as a community we need to embrace all our people especially in this time and age. We need to come together, we need to stop finding ways to be divisive, we need to find ways to support one another. People need to understand the importance that today is a different day and that this day requires that we approach life in a different fashion”
Allen Brooks…
“At the end of the day no I do not believe that the church has the influence that it once had. I think that we’ve just gotten to far away from the things that were valuable in the past, we’ve lost track of family, we’ve lost track of all these things and I just don’t see the church reaching out the way that it used to. It used to be a safe haven, it used to be a place to go when you were in need, it used to be a place to go when you needed mentorship, it used to be place to go when you didn’t have food. At this point in time I feel like it’s gotten caught up in too many different things, it’s political, it’s really self absorbing, so to answer the question just simply no, I do not believe that it has the influence that it used to have.”
Catherine Alexander…
“Yes I think the Black church still has a place in today’s society, but I also think that the Black church needs to update the way it educates it’s members. We’re in a different environment and this is not your daddy’s Civil Rights Movement.”
Arlen Bell…
“I do believe the church has a nice standing in the community, they need to have more outreach and do more in the community for these young Black brothers and sisters. There’s a reason why they’re not being brought up the way we were brought up, because everybody knows it takes a village to raise a child.”
Nathaniel Armour…
“Here’s my opinion on whether the Black church still has influence on the Black community. It’s affect is definitely diminishing among the youth, among people in their twenties and thirties, it doesn’t have the affect of say the HipHop culture or things we see on TV, reality TV and things like that. But, as for our older Black folk fifties, sixties and seventies it’s consolidated in their culture. I hope it changes but right now it’s impact has diminished.”
Images By Aaron Allen
