Reviews the significant and complex relationship between churches and the African-American community with regard to civil rights, politics, and poverty, the role they have played in changing history, and the opinions given on the topic by such notable figures as Benjamin Mays and Charles S. Johnson.

Even before the emergence of the civil rights movement with black churches at its center, African American religion and progressive politics were assumed to be inextricably intertwined. In her revelatory book, Barbara Savage counters this assumption with the story of a highly diversified religious community whose debates over engagement in the struggle for racial equality were as vigorous as they were persistent. Rather than inevitable allies, black churches and political activists have been uneasy and contentious partners. From the 1920s on, some of the best African American minds—W. E. B. Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson, Benjamin Mays, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Mary McLeod Bethune, Charles S. Johnson, and others—argued tirelessly about the churches’ responsibility in the quest for racial justice. Could they be a liberal force, or would they be a constraint on progress? There was no single, unified black church but rather many churches marked by enormous intellectual, theological, and political differences and independence. Yet, confronted by racial discrimination and poverty, churches were called upon again and again to come together as savior institutions for black communities. The tension between faith and political activism in black churches testifies to the difficult and unpredictable project of coupling religion and politics in the twentieth century. By retrieving the people, the polemics, and the power of the spiritual that animated African American political life, Savage has dramatically demonstrated the challenge to all religious institutions seeking political change in our time.

While many of the most significant black intellectual movements of the second half of the twentieth century have been perceived as secular, Josef Sorett demonstrates in this book that religion was actually a fertile, fluid and formidable force within these movements. Spirit in the Dark examines how African American literary visions were animated and organized by religion and spirituality, from the New Negro Renaissance of the 1920s to the Black Arts movement of the 1960s.

After relentless suffering, a woman decides to end her life—until a few real-life angels start showing up . . . A model-turned-wife-and-mother, Willow Adair lives with her husband and kids in Bexley, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. On the outside, she has everything. On the inside, she struggles with her self worth. Spurned by her neglectful husband and defied by her rebellious teen daughter, Willow never feels she’s good enough, and fears everyone she loves will leave. Piece by piece, the cornerstones of Willow’s life begin to crumble. A routine operation goes horribly wrong, requiring a long recovery. A yoga injury leads to pain, surgeries, and misdiagnoses, ending in a permanent loss of motion in her arm. Then, as if she hasn’t suffered enough, Willow is diagnosed with breast cancer. Convinced no one will stand by her for one more day of sickness and depression, she prepares to end her life. But Willow’s friends go with her to chemo. They sleep over at her house. They lift her spirits when she’s sad, and weep with her when she’s hurting. They walk beside her literally, on sidewalks from Cleveland to Miami. And they walk beside her spiritually and emotionally, soothing her heartache, healing her self-esteem, and reminding her that every single minute of her life is abundantly worth living. Walk Beside Me is a tale of sickness and triumph, of being comfortable in your own skin, of valuing the things that have true value, and of learning to fight for yourself and what you truly want. It’s the story of a woman who peels away the layers to find her inner warrior, a woman who faces insurmountable odds and—thanks to her earthly Angels—learns to treasure the gift of God’s infinite light and love.

“A Wildly inventive and surprisingly playful sci-fi thriller.”—Washington Post Roommates Jaimie Locke and Kim Calloway are each looking to find a new life at college. It’s Jaimie’s first time Outside—away from her large, complicated family and their magical traditions—and she wants to learn what nonmagical life is like. Kim is anxious to escape the depression that’s been dragging her down since last year so she can make new friends and create the art she loves. But almost as soon as they unpack, Jaimie realizes that Kim’s depression is different from normal sadness. Something outside of Kim is literally forcing her to be depressed, pursuing and draining her. Just like that, the two girls—along with Jaime’s cousins and a Presence named Rugee—try to capture and rout the creature that is following Kim. No one said that college would be easy....

When Miranda Barnes first sees the sleepy town of St. Yvette, Louisiana, with its moss-draped trees, above-ground cemeteries, and her grandfather’s creepy historic home, she realizes that life as she knew it is officially over. Almost immediately, there seems to be something cloying at her. Something lonely and sad and . . . very pressing. Even at school and in the group project she’s been thrown into, she can’t escape it. Whispers when she’s alone, shadows when no one is there to make them, and a distant pleading voice that wakes her from sleep. The other members in Miranda’s group project, especially handsome Etienne, can see that Miranda is in distress. She is beginning to understand that, like her grandfather before her, she has a special gift of communicating with spirits who still walk the town of St. Yvette. And no matter where she turns, Miranda feels bound by their whispered pleas for help . . . unless she can somehow find a way to bring them peace.

In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant and mother of eight children named Helga Estby was behind on taxes and the mortgage when she learned that a mysterious sponsor would pay $10,000 to a woman who walked across America. Hoping to win the wager and save her family’s farm, Helga and her teenaged daughter Clara, armed with little more than a compass, red-pepper spray, a revolver, and Clara’s curling iron, set out on foot from Eastern Washington. Their route would pass through 14 states, but they were not allowed to carry more than five dollars each. As they visited Indian reservations, Western boomtowns, remote ranches and local civic leaders, they confronted snowstorms, hunger, thieves and mountain lions with equal aplomb. Their treacherous and inspirational journey to New York challenged contemporary notions of femininity and captured the public imagination. But their trip had such devastating consequences that the Estby women's achievement was blanketed in silence until, nearly a century later, Linda Lawrence Hunt encountered their extraordinary story.