Indeed, Billingsley asserts, the black church has been "and is" for blacks in America "the mother of our culture, the champion of our freedom," and the "hallmark" of blacks' "civilization" (Billingsley, 1992, p. 223).

Resistance to racism and segregation also came in many small acts through bold and courageous moves by individuals. In Farmville, Virginia, for example, in 1935, Barbara Johns organized students in Robert Russa Moton High School to go on strike to protest terrible school facilities for black students (Wormser, p. 178). She was a tobacco worker in the fields, a minister's niece, a good speaker and she was seemingly very influenced by her uncle Vernon Johns' preaching. This is how enthusiasm for change is passed from one person to the next - Reverend Johns was known for "exhorting and chastising" his congregation for their "complacency and docility" (Wormser, 178). Barbara Johns was moved by her uncle's rousing...
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