In American cultural studies, the Black church is often recognized for its music and the vibrancy of its oratorical culture. The Black church is also known for its efforts in lifting Black people from slavery through Jim Crow and elevating the conscience of a nation during the Civil Rights Movement. As a society, we can envision a Mount Rushmore of trailblazers like Fredrick Douglass, James Weldon Johnson, Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King; the shame is we don’t care to identify the artists that would carve their images. The visual arts within the church receive very little attention as the church progresses through time, even though there have been artists that have been there to intentionally inspire, artfully transcribe or instruct witnesses. I believe that part of the missing attention and appreciation can be attributed to cultural scholars like W.E.B. Dubois, George Schuyer, and Alain Locke who were skeptical about the impact the Black Christian church could have on the culture.

In Cane, writer Jean Toomer writes a series of narratives and anecdotes describing the experiences of African-Americans in the genesis of the United States. He did so to make statements about culture, power, and the human condition. I aim to write about an invisible visual art tradition within the black church, using stories that makes the text accessible, just as Black preachers have made the gospel accessible through narrative personality, and metaphor.