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Pulpits and Stones: African American Terrains of Action and Memory

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Abstract

The cultural landscapes of African American communities in the 19th century were often anchored with a church, cemetery, and school. Sectarian and secular dynamics interacted in shaping the terrains of those social networks. This article explores such developments in the impacts of religious beliefs, practices, and congregations on the strategic locations and configurations of churches and cemeteries before and after the Civil War, with a focus on the U.S. Midwest. For example, the founding and placement of African Methodist Episcopal churches in the antebellum period often aided routes of escape from slavery. Cemeteries could provide spaces for continuing developments of African heritage practices. In landscapes where residential and commercial environments could, at times, be racially integrated, placement of churches and graveyards were subjects of both pragmatic choices and symbolic associations.

Resumen

Los paisajes culturales de las comunidades afroamericanas en el siglo XIX a menudo estaban anclados en una iglesia, cementerio y escuela. Las dinámicas sectarias y seculares interactuaron en la configuración de los terrenos de esas redes sociales. Este artículo explora estos desarrollos en los impactos de las creencias, prácticas y congregaciones religiosas en las ubicaciones estratégicas y configuraciones de iglesias y cementerios antes y después de la Guerra Civil, con un enfoque en el Medio Oeste de los EE. UU. Por ejemplo, la fundación y ubicación de iglesias episcopales metodistas africanas en el período anterior a la guerra a menudo ayudó a las rutas de escape de la esclavitud. Los cementerios podrían proporcionar espacios para el desarrollo continuo de las prácticas del patrimonio africano. En los paisajes donde los entornos residenciales y comerciales podían, en ocasiones, estar integrados racialmente, la ubicación de las iglesias y los cementerios fueron temas tanto de elecciones pragmáticas como de asociaciones simbólicas.

Résumé

Les paysages culturels des communautés africaines-américaines du 19ème siècle présentaient souvent un ancrage avec une église, un cimetière et une école. Les dynamiques confessionnelles et laïques interagissaient pour donner forme aux terrains de ces réseaux sociaux. Cet article explore ces développements quant aux impacts des croyances, pratiques et congrégations religieuses sur les sites et configurations stratégiques des églises et des cimetières avant et après la Guerre civile, en s'intéressant plus particulièrement à la région du Midwest des États-Unis. Par exemple, la fondation et l'emplacement des églises épiscopales méthodistes africaines au cours de la période antérieure à la guerre civile ont souvent contribué aux routes d'évasion pour échapper à l'esclavage. Les cimetières pouvaient servir d'espaces pour l'exercice continu de pratiques issues d'une tradition africaine. Dans les paysages où les environnements résidentiels et commerciaux pouvaient parfois être intégrés racialement, l'implantation des églises et des cimetières relevaient tout autant de choix pragmatiques que d'associations symboliques.

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Acknowledgments:

My sincere thanks to John Chenoweth for organizing a symposium on the intersections of religious perspectives and landscapes for a Society for Historical Archaeology annual conference and for all his hard work and patience in preparing this thematic collection of articles. I am also grateful for very helpful comments on this article by John, Kevin Cupka-Head, Charlotte King, Paul Shackel, and two anonymous peer reviewers.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, 109 Davenport Hall, MC-148, 607 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, U.S.A.

    Christopher C. Fennell

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Fennell, C.C. Pulpits and Stones: African American Terrains of Action and Memory. Hist Arch 55, 550–564 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-021-00297-1

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