c. 2003 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The opening episode of a new documentary series on African-American religion begins with a traditional African view of the world: “There is no place where God is not.”

Over the course of six hours, “This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys” displays the diversity of religions embraced by blacks from the time of slavery to the present day and the faith that gave them the strength to survive through times of struggle.

The series fulfills a dream of the late Henry Hampton, who produced “Eyes on the Prize,” the PBS series on the civil rights movement.

“We held on to the vision that Henry initially had, which was that by telling the story of African-American faith in this country, we would also tell the story of America,” said June Cross, an executive producer of the series that premieres on PBS on Tuesday (June 24).

“It’s … really how people sustain themselves in the face of tragedy and repeated tragedy. How do you use your faith in a higher power to keep going?”

The first part of the series, “There Is a River,” shows how African traditions brought by the slaves continue in St. Helena Island, S.C., where personal items such as plates, jewelry and shells are placed on graves to represent the spirit of the person buried below.

The last episode, “Rise Up and Call Their Names,” closes the circle of connection with Africa by following an emotional interfaith pilgrimage that ended on Goree Island in Senegal for a healing ceremony at a slave house.

The production demonstrates the centuries-long personal contact with God by depicting the prayerful conversations abolitionist Sojourner Truth had in the woods in the early 1800s as well as the more recent supplications in a similar setting by an Alabama farmer who felt called to preach.

With the aid of narratives, archival footage and interviews, the series and a companion volume, “This Far by Faith: Stories From the African American Religious Experience,” the resilience of blacks is tied inextricably to their religions.

“In a society with little confirmation for black men as vital, intelligent human beings, the power of faith in a just God to protect and comfort the oppressed is sometimes the only balm for terrible pain,” writes Juan Williams in the introduction to the William Morrow book he co-authored with Quinton Dixie. “It is faith tied directly to the power of God in the African-American tradition of perseverance. In the darkest hour of personal doubt, that kind of faith offers a reason to go on.”

Part of what kept blacks going was a reinterpretation of the faith presented to them by their white captors.

“There must be another Bible within that Bible,” Church of God in Christ Pastor Alonzo Johnson of Bowman, S.C., said the slaves determined.

Black leaders such as Denmark Vesey of Charleston, S.C., interpreted the biblical book of Exodus as justification to rebel against white slaveowners. Though his 1822 rebellion plans were crushed _ he and others were executed _ and the African Church was torn down in the aftermath, the congregation survived underground.

Many of the nation’s early black populations met in secret in “praise houses,” where traditions like the “ring shout,” a worshipful dance, were continued.

The series also depicts how the black church emerged after Emancipation, becoming institutionalized and forming schools and other entities that fostered African-American communities.

“Printing presses, hospitals, banks, funeral parlors _ all these things were originally begun from the coffers of black churches,” said Cross. “That was the only place where black people were allowed to have any kind of agency.”

It goes on to look at the development of gospel music, the role of the church in the civil rights movement, efforts for social outreach and the start of megachurches.

The series also shows how the black church was challenged by other faith viewpoints, such as that of Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X.

“His faith says that there’s no way a racist Christian church can be a reflection of a true God,” Cross said.

The last part of the series features glimpses of Muslim and Buddhist practices by African-Americans.

Cross said black religious belief now has a “bit of loss of focus.” People have moved from an emphasis on freedom and enactment of civil rights laws to a more personalized relationship with the divine.

“It’s much harder to try to pull all those communities together,” she said. “There is no one day or one meeting place for everybody to get together.”

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM _ STORY MAY END HERE)

Although research for the project began in 1997, Hampton’s death in 1998 and the lack of funding delayed the completion of filming until earlier this year. Cross, a Buddhist, developed the Faith Project, a New York company, to finish the plans started by Hampton’s Blackside Inc.

“I had to walk out on faith, as we say, almost every step of the way and at every step the universe provided the person who was wise enough to tell me what to do next,” she said. “It’s been a real growing experience.”

(Editors: The series is scheduled to run June 24-26, 9 to 11 p.m. EDT. Check local listings).

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