SJSU Research Guides: Spartan Quest: Antioch Baptist Church

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song

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The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song PBS Film The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song is a moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, that traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and grace, organizing and resilience, thriving and testifying, autonomy and freedom, solidarity and speaking truth to power. The documentary reveals how Black people have worshipped and, through their spiritual journeys, improvised ways to bring their faith traditions from Africa to the New World, while translating them into a form of Christianity that was not only truly their own, but a redemptive force for a nation whose original sin was found in their ancestors’ enslavement across the Middle Passage. A production of McGee Media, Inkwell Media and WETA Washington, D.C, in association with Get Lifted. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is writer, host, and executive producer. Dyllan McGee is executive producer. John Legend, Ty Stiklorius and Mike Jackson are executive producers for Get Lifted Co. John F. Wilson is executive producer in charge for WETA. Bill Gardner is executive in charge for PBS. Stacey L. Holman is series producer and director. Shayla Harris and Christopher Bryson are producer/directors. Deborah C. Porfido is supervising producer. Kevin Burke is producer. Robert L. Yacyshyn is line producer. Christine Fall is archival producer (PBS.org).

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song Book In this essential companion to the new PBS series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. presents a powerful new history of the Black church in America, taking us from his own experience onto a 400-year journey throughout which the church has been the Black community’s abiding rock and its fortress. As Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing, and its story lies at the vital center of the civil rights movement, having produced leaders such as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others. Hardcover, 320 pages, with photos throughout (PBS.org).

Antioch Baptist Church

Antioch Baptist Church Website
Antioch Archives: History Antioch Baptist Church is one of the oldest African American Baptist Churches in the South Bay area. In 1996, Antioch was added to the Historical Landmark inventory for the City of San Jose by a unanimous vote of the City Council. Antioch Baptist Church has a rich history and continues to produce leaders within the community. The Historical and Archival Committee of Antioch Baptist Church was formed during the Centennial Celebration of the church in 1993. Its charter is to gather and preserve the history of Antioch and its members. The Committee meets on a regular basis to catalog and file the historically significant materials gathered by Antioch’s member and friends (Antioch Baptist Church, abc-sj.org/archives/).
Antioch Baptist Church YouTube Channel

Newspaper Articles

Harriett Arnold (on right), Chairperson of the Antioch Historical and Archival Committee, gives a tour of the Antioch Baptist Church to members of the San Jose Fire Department (Truck 30) and others during the Antioch Baptist Church Block Party in San Jose on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose’s historic Antioch Baptist Church marks a milestone
Tatiana Sanchez, The Mercury News, 2018
Antioch Baptist Church, San Jose, California (1893-) (Black Past) Brief overview of Antioch Baptist Church history.
San Jose Spotlight
The Antioch Baptist Church in 2020: COVID-19 Testing for the community