I love reading Black Church history. I love learning about people, events, and theological perspectives that have often been overlooked and underrepresented in American understandings of the church. I have engaged with many works of black history in my work on Black Pentecostalism and, more recently, on the charismatic spirituality of enslaved African Americans prior to the Civil War.

This is why I loved this new history by Walter R. Strickland. Swing Low: A History of Black Christianity in the United States is simply that. It is the often untold history of how Black Christianity developed in the United States.

As he documents Black Church history, he focuses specifically on the development of Black Christianity, avoiding the common tendency in many black histories to view the Black Church primarily through a social history lens. Strickland is concerned about what Black Christians contributed to Christianity in the U.S., rather than simply what happened to Black Christians.

There are many aspects of this history that I found so helpful. But I will highlight just a few that are unique to this volume.

First, Strickland tells black history in terms of five “Theological Anchors of Black Christianity.” The Black church has always emphasized 1) The Big God, 2) Jesus through the Gospel, 3) Conversion and the work of the Spirit, 4) The Centrality of the Bible, 5) Deliverance and liberty. In this way, Strickland notes that black Christianity is Theological through and through, rather than just a social movement.

The second helpful contribution is how he frames Black Christianity as indigenous to enslaved African Americans, not just the product of the white church institution. He notes how black Christians and ministers contributed to the Great Awakenings. Through the stories of women and men who pioneered its theology and testimony, these chapters demonstrate how many of the characteristics that exemplify the Black Church were developed in this period. The names, churches, and movements highlighted in those chapters are remarkable Evangelical thinkers and ministers.

Another aspect I appreciated was his discussion of the Civil Rights Movement. He notes that with the development of black intellectualism came an unconscious shift in the black community from Church-based activism to legal-based activism. He argues that these movements offered non-religious solutions to oppression, thereby creating a newly forged black independence from the church. But the Civil Rights movement recaptured that conversation and reemphasized black evangelicalism as the heart of the church. He then highlights the important role that Black Fundamentalism played in continuing the legacy of the “theological anchors.” The story of the National Negro Evangelical Association (NNEA) is particularly enlightening as a contrast to the neglect of the social needs of the Black community among White Evangelicalism in the NAE.

The final aspect that was particularly wonderful to read was his inclusion of Pentecostalism as a signature feature of Black Christianity. Strickland argues that Pentecostalism is a significant Black theological movements that exemplify the five doctrinal anchors, especially “walking in the Spirit” (121). Telling the stories of William Seymour and Charles H. Mason, Strickland argues that Black Pentecostalism is a notable exemplification of Black Christianity in the U.S., on par with other Black Church institutions.

I think this work is extremely valuable. I learned so much, and it helped reshape my understanding of the American church and its history. Every American church history course should include this volume.