{"id":2194,"date":"2012-04-17T16:55:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T16:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/04\/blacks-gospel-music-and-the-pursuit-of-diversity-in-the-american-church.html"},"modified":"2012-04-17T16:55:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-17T16:55:00","slug":"blacks-gospel-music-and-the-pursuit-of-diversity-in-the-american-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/04\/blacks-gospel-music-and-the-pursuit-of-diversity-in-the-american-church.html","title":{"rendered":"Blacks, Gospel Music, and the Pursuit of Diversity in the American Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>By Gerardo Martin<\/p>\n

In conducting interviews for my book Worship across the Racial Divide, I enjoyed talking with a Caucasian worship leader at an outdoor caf\u00e9 on Los Angeles\u2019 Westside. We drank coffee as he described his enthusiasm for racial diversity and the type of music he worked into each Sunday service. Then, in the middle of our conversation, he suddenly blurted out, \u201cI just wish I could be black!\u201d<\/p>\n

I was struck. Although it was not the first time I had heard a white person admire black music performers and styles, this blunt yet seemingly natural statement stuck out as one of the most significant. This leader\u2019s abrupt remark crystallized observations that had been building on racialized perceptions of worship over the previous months. Over and over again, non-blacks expressed a profound belief in the ability of African Americans to attain a deep, emotional, and, for many, inspiring worship through sacred music. Even African Americans themselves agreed that they had a racially-specific connection to worship.
Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gerardo Martin In conducting interviews for my book Worship across the Racial Divide, I enjoyed talking with a Caucasian worship leader at an outdoor caf\u00e9 on Los Angeles\u2019 Westside. We drank coffee as he described his enthusiasm for racial diversity and the type of music he worked into each Sunday service. Then, in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBlacks, Gospel Music, and the Pursuit of Diversity in the American Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Gerardo MartinIn conducting interviews for my book Worship across the Racial Divide, I enjoyed talking with a Caucasian worship leader at an outdoor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/04\/blacks-gospel-music-and-the-pursuit-of-diversity-in-the-american-church.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blacks, Gospel Music, and the Pursuit of Diversity in the American Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Gerardo MartinIn conducting interviews for my book Worship across the Racial Divide, I enjoyed talking with a Caucasian worship leader at an outdoor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/04\/blacks-gospel-music-and-the-pursuit-of-diversity-in-the-american-church.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-17T16:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/files\/2012\/04\/Gerardo-Marti-Worship-across-the-Racial-Divide.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. 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