Black Church (Toledo)

In Chapter 2, Brown writes of her parents' divorce and how she began attending a "Black church" (35) with her father and stepmother. She found this experience vastly different from the church services she had taken part in at the majority-white Catholic schools she had attended, and the experience caused a spiritual awakening. She found joy in the communal spirit of the congregation and worshipping among other Black people who seemed truly moved by God. She also felt this church's interpretation of Jesus' teachings was more apt and relatable to her life, as it was a Jesus who cared deeply about everyone, including "the woman who didn't have transportation or couldn't pay the light or water bill" and "the folks who were addicted to drugs or alcohol" (38). Shortly after the racially-motivated shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, Brown returned to her original church in...