Review

"Explores the power of oral narrative, through thoughtful fieldwork and presentation, to promote understanding between those inside and outside the church community."
— American Catholic Studies Newsletter

"In the spirit of true collaborative research, O'Foran has created a wonderful portrait of a local community. . . . [The book] is not a narrative about how a community was victimized, but rather a story about that community's continued vitality."
— Journal of Folklore Research

From the Inside Flap

In the mid-1990s, dozens of African American churches were struck by probable arson, including Little Zion Baptist Church in Boligee, Alabama. This book draws on the voices and memories of church members to share a previously undocumented history of Little Zion, from its beginnings as a brush arbor around the time of emancipation, to its key role in the civil rights movement, to its burning and rebuilding with the help of volunteers from around the world. Folklorist O'Foran, a Quaker who went to Boligee as a volunteer in the church rebuilding effort, shows how the spiritual and social traditions that the residents of Boligee practice and teach their children have assured the continued vitality of the church and community.