Black Bottom

August Wilson introduces the importance of Christianity in African-American lives, especially in the characters of Toledo, Cutler, and Levee in the play "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." This play is not overtly about religion, but it is about the African-American experience and cultural identity. Religion plays a major role in the personal and collective identities of African-Americans. Christianity has an ambiguous and paradoxical position within African-American culture. As the religion of the white oppressor, it has ironically been embraced as a primary means of spiritual solace, social support, and existential salvation. However, Toledo, Cutler, and Levee occupy precarious positions in African-American society. Their relationship with Christianity reflects the conflicts embedded in African-American identity.

Christianity is indelibly part of the African-American experience, because of the ways Churches have become central to black community development and maintenance. As Toledo challenges Cutler and Levee about knowing the Lord's Prayer, Cutler responds that...
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