The New Black Gods: Arthur Huff Fauset and the Study of African American Religions

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In creating this volume, contributors circulated their first drafts via e-mail, and then brought their comments and suggestions on each other’s work to a weekend writers’ meeting at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in April 2007. Those present o√ered one another encouragement in addition to criticism, and for many of us, the weekend stands out as one of the most collegial gatherings of our careers. In addition to reading and commenting on each other’s work, the writers attended a community forum of local religious leaders who shared their insights on the themes of Arthur Hu√ Fauset’s Black Gods of the Metropolis. Thanks go to Dr. Thomas Brown, Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church; Father Boniface Hardin, president of Martin University; Evangelist Kandy Morrell, Living Water Apostolic Church; and Imam Michael Saahir, Nur Allah Islamic Center, for their time and comments. IUPUI students of African American religions also read Fauset ’s book and voiced their questions and concerns at the forum, which was open to the general public. Rebecca Vasko of IUPUI’s Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture helped to organize these events, and the center’s director, Philip Go√, provided sound advice and support in the planning stages. xiv Acknowledgments Financial support for the weekend’s events came largely from the American Academy of Religion, which awarded the project a collaborative research grant, and the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, whose generosity is truly appreciated. Additional support was provided by the Departments of History and Religious Studies, and the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI. This book also benefited from the support and constructive feedback of Indiana UniversityPressseniorsponsoringeditorDeeMortensenandserieseditorsCatherine L. Albanese and Stephen J. Stein. Jeremy Rehwaldt-Alexander read every word of the manuscript, and his corrections and clarifications made it a much better book. Edward Curtis dedicates this volume to the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, whose administrators, faculty, and sta√ members have turned IUPUI into a spectacular place for research and teaching in African American studies. Special thanks go to Dean Robert White, who led a dramatic expansion of student scholarship opportunities, curricular options, and faculty positions devoted to black studies. Danielle Brune Sigler dedicates this book to Cece Neef Brune, who made her include a bibliography in her first-grade science fair project and has shown unflagging support for her research ever since. THE NEW BLACK GODS ...