African American Churches Research Articles

All for Liberty: The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849 by Jeff Strickland

Reviewed by: All for Liberty: The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849 by Jeff Strickland Michael A. Schoeppner (bio) Keywords Slavery, Workhouses, Slave revolts All for Liberty: The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849. By Jeff Strickland. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022. Pp. 276. Paper, $29.99.) Nearly eighty years ago, Herbert Aptheker published American Negro Slave Revolts, a seminal work that effectively demolished the once prevailing interpretation among white scholars that slaves in the United States were mostly docile and content. He catalogued hundreds of plots and conspiracies before confiding to the reader, "it is highly probable that all plots, and quite possibly even all actual outbreaks, that did occur, and that are, somewhere, on record, have not been uncovered."1 Since its publication, Aptheker's book has led to hundreds of excavations into the various insurrections and conspiracies in British North America and the United States. It is a testament to the difficulty of resurrecting stories of enslaved people's resistance that historians are still recovering them. Jeff Strickland's recent book All for Liberty is among the most recent. By stitching together fragments from local newspapers, court records, published travel accounts, abolitionist periodicals, and a handful of manuscript collections, he reconstructs the story of Nicholas, an enslaved carpenter, who led a full-scale insurrection while incarcerated in the Charleston workhouse in 1849. The first three numbered chapters primarily serve as context, alternating between broad themes of Atlantic history and the specific mechanisms of slave discipline in Charleston. His first and third chapters—"Slave Insurrections in the Age of Revolutions" and "Urban Slavery," respectively—will be especially helpful for readers new to the subjects or for teachers introducing the topic to undergraduate students. Strickland does well to highlight the barbarity of urban enslavement, particularly in Charleston. Chapter 2 chronicles the development and operations of the Charleston workhouse, a novel technology invented and implemented to punish and discipline the local slave workforce. Chapters 4–6 provide backstory for the rebellion's ringleader and recount the events of the day in which the rebellion occurred. Nicholas, a supremely skilled and well-traveled enslaved carpenter, became increasingly radicalized during and after his trip to New Orleans. His skill, his [End Page 640] desire to keep the fruits of his labor, and his radical Christianity inspired his resistance to Charleston's municipal surveillance regime upon his return from Louisiana. When confronted by a local watchman, Nicholas chose to fight rather than submit, injuring a white patrolman in the process. He was subsequently arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. After a victorious appeal earned Nicholas a new trial, he was found guilty of a lesser charge and sentenced to three years at the workhouse, with regular whippings and stints on the "treadmill," a gruesome torture device. Yet, while incarcerated, Nicholas seemingly enjoyed a privileged status. He avoided the lash and the treadmill, and he was often allowed to loiter in the workhouse yard while cavorting with other inmates. The workhouse manager and workers admitted that they could not really control Nicholas, much to the dismay of local enslavers and the mayor's office. On July 13, 1849, Nicholas prevented one enslaver, John Gilchrist, from retrieving an enslaved woman from the workhouse, even going so far as to beat up Gilchrist's enslaved valet and threaten Gilchrist himself. Knowing this overt act of resistance would not be tolerated, Nicholas and his comrades braced for swift and severe retribution. They decided to fight back rather than submit to the floggings that surely awaited. Armed with clubs and axes, they fought their way out of the workhouse and fled. Eventually, Nicholas, the other two leaders of the rebellion, and dozens of escapees were recaptured. The three ringleaders were convicted and executed in the span of a week. The seventh chapter describes the ramifications of the plot. Strickland connects the rebellion to subsequent political developments in Charleston and beyond: the debate over the construction of African American churches in the city; municipal elections and workhouse reform; and even the debates over Congress's 1850 compromise. Curiously missing, and this is perhaps the book's only real flaw, is any discussion of the consequences of Nicholas...

Trusted Partnerships in the Faith Community Facilitate Awareness and Recruitment of African Americans for Alzheimer’s Disease Studies

AbstractBackgroundHistorical mistrust in medical systems has resulted in low Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research participation among African Americans (AA). However, the faith community remains a trusted institution among many AAs and can be a major facilitator for increasing AA AD awareness and research. To better understand the health needs of AAs and build relationships with faith organizations in the Triad area of North Carolina, we conducted a community needs assessment (CNA) among local faith leaders.MethodA mixed‐methods CNA was conducted. Quantitative data was collected from 44 pastors of AA churches via surveys that assessed resources, church demographics, and health topics of concern. Descriptive statistics were conducted for survey data. Qualitative data was collected during “listening tours” among pastors, with specific emphases on healthy aging, trust in medical systems, and research perceptions. Data from “listening tours” were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultOur CNA indicated that AD was a common health topic of concern among pastors and their congregations. This is likely influenced by the composition of the churches, given that more than half of the pastors reported that at least 30% of their congregation was 65 years of age or older. During 2021, collaborations between MACHE and faith leaders produced 3 webinars, 13 food distributions, and 4 community outreach events. Over 40,000 people were provided AD and brain health education; 1,961 community members expressed interest in AD research opportunities; and 580 AAs enrolled in the NC Registry for Brain Health over an 8‐month period in 2021, during the COVID‐19 pandemic.ConclusionThrough a 3‐year partnership, the TPN and MACHE have significantly increased brain health awareness and AA participation in AD research through grassroots community engagement and outreach. Investments in trusting and sustained partnerships between an academic institution and faith communities demonstrated efficacy in increasing opportunities for providing service, access to research, and health education opportunities to communities that are typically underrepresented in research.

Community-Based Approach to Assess ObstructiveRespiratory Diseases and Risk in Urban African American Churches.

Asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are significant health problems that have disparate effects on many Americans. Misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis are common and lead to ineffective treatment and management. This study assessed the feasibility of applying a two-step case-finding technique to identify both COPD and adult asthma cases in urban African American churches. We established a community-based partnership, administered a cross-sectional survey in step one of the case-finding technique and performed spirometry testing in step two. A total of 219 surveys were completed. Provider-diagnosed asthma and COPD were reported in 26% (50/193) and 9.6% (18/187) of the sample. Probable asthma (13.9%), probable COPD (23.1%), and COPD high-risk groups (31.9%) were reported. It is feasible to establish active case-finding within the African American church community using a two-step approach to successfully identify adult asthma and COPD probable cases for early detection and treatment to reduce disparate respiratory healthoutcomes.

COVID-19 Testing in African American Churches Using a Faith-Health- Academic Partnership.

Increasing access to COVID-19 testing in influential, accessible community settings is needed to address COVID-19 disparities among African Americans. We describe COVID-19 testing intervention approaches conducted in Kansas City, Missouri, African American churches via a faith-health-academic partnership. Trained faith leaders promoted COVID-19 testing with church and community members by implementing multilevel interventions using a tailored toolkit and standard education information. The local health department conducted more than 300 COVID-19 tests during or after Sunday church services and outreach ministry activities. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S9):S887-S891. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306981).

The synergistic effect of collaborative interprofessional research in health care

Background/objective: Interprofessional research collaboration is receiving increasing attention in the healthcare disciplines. The faculties creating interprofessional educational experiences for students are discovering that they have educational, clinical, and research experiences in common and are seeking opportunities to conduct collaborative research in mutual areas of interest. In this paper, issues of interprofessional research collaboration are discussed, as are barriers and strategies to minimize those barriers.Methods: The authors present research cases that reflect interprofessional collaboration. The examples that are discussed are (a) a research project entitled “UNITED in Faith, Health, and Strength: Pioneering Faith-centered, Community-based Advance Care Planning with African American Churches” conducted by faculty in nursing, public health, medicine and a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University; and (b) a research project entitled “Relation of Olfaction and Cognition Measures to Screening for MCI” conducted by faculty and students representing nursing, pharmacy, and occupational therapy at Shenandoah University.Results/conclusion: Collaborative research proved to be valuable in addressing healthcare practice issues of concern to faculty in multiple disciplines and provided opportunities for synergistic scholarship across disciplines.

An Examination of Culturally Relevant Health Messages in African-American Churches.

This quantitative study examined the presence of culturally relevant health messages for African-Americans based on a preexisting dataset from 21 African-American churches in South Carolina (USA). Content analysis served as the primary methodological approach to code printed media messages based on their cultural relevance among African-Americans (Cohen's kappa = .74). Within the dataset (n = 2166), 477 (22%) items were identified as culturally relevant. A low prevalence of culturally relevant messages was found across the three message topics, two media types, and one media source. Due to the limited presence of culturally relevant messages, researchers should collaborate with African-American churches to design health promotion messages.

Faith and race: how African American pastors navigate dialectical tensions in collaboration

ABSTRACT The African American church (AAC) is an anchor institution in disinvested communities. Retrenchment of government support has increased the need for AAC collaborative activity. Given this need, we interviewed 10 African American pastors (AAP) in Little Rock, Arkansas, a city with a long history of racial division. This purposeful sample is embedded in a longitudinal community-engaged research project that began in 2012 in order to understand and improve collaboration across congregations. This goal of this analysis was to understand the power dynamics of AAP communication in collaborative contexts. Using a critical race approach to dialectical tensions, we identified four tension framing practices: (a) dependency-independency through selection and paradox; (b) spiritual-physical through authoritative texts; (c) collaboration–non-collaboration through inclusion-exclusion; and (d) the past-present through Civil Rights icons. These findings extend theory and research by illustrating how race and faith shape collaborative processes that contribute and constrain community development praxis.

Community-Based, Cluster-Randomized Pilot Trial of a Cardiovascular Mobile Health Intervention: Preliminary Findings of the FAITH! Trial.

Background:African Americans continue to have suboptimal cardiovascular health (CVH) based on the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 (LS7), 7 health-promoting behaviors and biological risk factors (eg, physical activity, blood pressure). Innovative, community-level interventions in partnership with trusted institutions such as African American churches are potential means to improve CVH in this population.Methods:Using a community-based participatory research approach, the FAITH! Trial (Fostering African American Improvement in Total Health) rigorously assessed the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a refined, community-informed, mobile health intervention (FAITH! App) for promoting CVH among African Americans in faith communities using a cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants from 16 churches in Rochester and Minneapolis-St Paul, MN, were randomized to receive the FAITH! App (immediate intervention) or were assigned to a delayed intervention comparator group. The 10-week intervention core features included culturally relevant and LS7-focused education modules, diet/physical activity self-monitoring, and a group sharing board. Data were collected via electronic surveys and health assessments. Primary outcomes were average change in mean LS7 score (continuous measure of CVH ranging from poor to ideal [0–14 points]) from baseline to 6 months post-intervention (using generalized estimating equations) and app engagement/usability (by the Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale; range, 0–5).Results:Of 85 enrolled participants (randomized to immediate [N=41] and delayed [control] intervention [N=44] groups), 76 and 68 completed surveys/health assessments at baseline and 6 months post-intervention, respectively (80% retention rate with assessments at both baseline and 6-month time points); immediate intervention [N=30] and control [N=38] groups). At baseline, the majority of participants (mean age [SD], 54.2 [12.3] years, 71% female) had <4-year college education level (39/66, 59%) and poor CVH (44% in poor category; mean LS7 score [SD], 6.8 [1.9]). The mean LS7 score of the intervention group increased by 1.9 (SD 1.9) points compared with 0.7 (SD 1.7) point in the control group (both P<0.0001) at 6 months. The estimated difference of this increase between the groups was 1.1 (95% CI, 0.6–1.7; P<0.0001). App engagement/usability was overall high (100% connection to app; >75% completed weekly diet/physical activity tracking; Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale, mean [SD], 4.2 [0.7]).Conclusions:On the basis of preliminary findings, the refined FAITH! App appears to be an efficacious mobile health tool to promote ideal CVH among African Americans.Registration:URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03777709.

603-P: Qualitative Results from an African-American Church–Based Diabetes Self-Management Support Program

Diabetes-related health disparities, especially for African Americans (AA) , underscore the need for effective, culturally tailored approaches to promote and sustain diabetes self-management support (DSMS) over time. The Praise study, a cluster randomized hybrid type II implementation trial recruited 21 AA churches, 28 peer leaders, 21 parish nurses, and 371 participants (100% AA, 73.8% female, 64±11.3 years of age) to determine the effectiveness of three DSMS approaches [Parish Nurse (PN) + Peer Leader (PL) DSMS vs. PN DSMS vs. PL DSMS], in comparison to enhanced usual care in improving and sustaining A1c and diabetes distress. Monthly DSMS groups were independently planned and facilitated by 28 trained PLs (100% African American, 18% male) and 14 trained PNs. A post-trial qualitative process evaluation was conducted to evaluate DSMS and ongoing support. Five focus groups were held (n=30) . Individual semi-structured interviews were completed with PLs and PNs (N=7) . Data were analyzed using the Rapid Analysis Process to generate themes from transcripts. Most participants were motivated to enroll in the Praise study to learn more about how to manage their diabetes. Others stated that poor health status (such as high A1C) and a need for accountability motivated them to join. PN and PL were driven to serve in these roles by a desire to educate and support other members of their community with diabetes in a structured format. Few concerns about the study were reported; however, the amount of time commitment was a common topic. Some participants encountered significant technology difficulties with attending remote sessions and a host of other issues related to the pandemic. Suggested improvements included: 1) clear study expectations from the start; 2) integrating exercise, and meal prep; and 3) using of social media for recruitment. AAs with T2D are motivated to engage in ongoing DSMS facilitated by PLs and PNs in church-settings. Improvements in training and support of PLs is needed. Disclosure J.M.Hawkins: None. A.M.Provenzano: None. R.Nwankwo: Advisory Panel; WW (Weight Watchers) . M.M.Funnell: n/a. K.A.Kloss: None. D.Hall: None. G.Piatt: None.

Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance, by Alisha Lola Jones

Book Review| April 01 2022 Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance, by Alisha Lola Jones Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance, by Alisha LolaJones. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. viii, 346 pp. Birgitta J. Johnson Birgitta J. Johnson BIRGITTA J. JOHNSON is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology in the School of Music and the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include music in African American churches, change and identity in Black popular music, and gospel archiving. She has published articles in the Black Music Research Journal, Ethnomusicology Forum, Liturgy, Oxford Bibliographies in African American Studies, and The Grove Dictionary of American Music. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Musicological Society (2022) 75 (1): 163–167. https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2022.75.1.163 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Birgitta J. Johnson; Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance, by Alisha Lola Jones. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 April 2022; 75 (1): 163–167. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2022.75.1.163 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the American Musicological Society Search Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance is an innovative contribution to contemporary Black sacred music and religious life scholarship. Jones uses multi-sited ethnographic research to anchor her analysis of the layered nuances of race, sexuality, gender, and gender presentation in Black Pentecostal religious communities of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The diverse settings for musical and rhetorical performances of Black masculinity, gender, and sexuality that Jones traverses in Flaming? are timely additions to an emerging area of Black music research in America. Throughout the book’s eight chapters, she uses insightful case studies to center the spoken and unspoken sentiments of Black male Christian musicians living and working in a society in which their humanity has been historically and violently contested. At the same time, these men are members of a religious community in which Black masculinity is often lionized in overtly... You do not currently have access to this content.

John S. Chase: The Chase Residence by David Heymann and Stephen Fox

Reviewed by: John S. Chase: The Chase Residence by David Heymann and Stephen Fox Kathryn E. Holliday John S. Chase: The Chase Residence. By David Heymann and Stephen Fox. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020. Pp. 41. Illustrations, notes.) In his essay on the Houston architect John S. Chase, Stephen Fox begins by listing the many firsts in Chase's career, from his status as part of the first class of African American students at the University of Texas at Austin in 1950 and the first graduate of the university's architecture school in 1952 to his later becoming the first African American fellow of the American Institute of Architects from Texas. In his career of firsts, Chase paved the way for generations of Black architects who followed in his footsteps. His large and successful architectural office in Houston, first established [End Page 530] in the early 1950s, employed Black architects when other firms would not and built churches, schools, and medical clinics for Black clients. His influence on the architecture profession and on Black culture in Texas cannot be overestimated, and John S. Chase: The Chase Residence is a welcome testament to his importance. This slim but beautifully produced book is the first dedicated to Chase and his architecture, and it provides a valuable place holder for a longer biography to follow, currently being written by architectural historian Tara Dudley. Understanding the experience of lesser-known public figures like Chase creates a fuller history of modern Texas that accounts for the experience of Black professionals during the civil rights era. The book's focus is the Chase Residence, a house designed and built by Chase on a cul-de-sac on Oakdale Street, just steps away from Brays Bayou to the south and few blocks from Texas Southern University, the historically Black university where Chase taught until 1964. He designed the house to accommodate his family and to provide a place to entertain. The house was completed in 1958, and it focused on a generous central courtyard, open to the air with a fish pond at its center. Architect David Heymann's introductory essay provides a lucid analysis of the courtyard house type and how the Chase House fits into that larger tradition in Houston. The connection between indoor and outdoor space created by full-height windows facing the courtyard showed Chase's exploration of those avant-garde practices, but also provided space for his experiments with plants and allowed his children a safe place to play. In 1969, Chase altered the house and enclosed the open courtyard, making it a double-height atrium with skylights and planters filled with tall, upward-reaching tropical plants. An exposed, cantilevered staircase made the space even more dramatic. Drawings provided by Heymann's students vividly bring these spaces to life. Even more interesting than these architectural experiments is the way that the Chase family used the house as a platform for building community. The short descriptions of gatherings at the house, focused first on the courtyard and later in the atrium, make it clear that the Chase Residence functioned as a salon for leaders in Houston's Black community. Church ministers, elected officials, educators, and architects met and did business there, making the house a significant location that supported organizing and empowerment. When Chase began his architecture practice in Houston in the early 1950s, Heymann reports, he and his wife Drucie joined all the major African American churches and attended services at all of them every Sunday (2). Chase was an astute networker who after desegregation built a large, successful practice with headquarters in Austin, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. with "unerring public display of grace, modesty, charm, and determination" (23). The very deliberate design of an impressive and [End Page 531] sophisticated house that would allow him to build a network of supporters and potential clients in segregated Texas was a key to that success as well. Kathryn E. Holliday University of Texas at Arlington Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association

Faith Community Nursing: Improving Self-Care in Minority Church Members Through Patient Activation.

Spirituality and faith, which are cornerstones of African American churches, also create a receptive setting for health improvement activities. This article presents participant responses to a health improvement intervention to promote church members' self-care. Using the Body & Soul program, the faith community nurse involved laypersons as health ministry team members to support urban African American churchgoers in learning and practicing healthier eating and self-care practices. The health intervention used the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) and incorporated Scripture into weekly sessions, revealing an increase in participants' self-care activation activities.

The rise of racial minority health apps

The rise of racial minority health apps

The African American Church House: A Phenomenological Inquiry of an Afrocentric Sacred Space

The institution of the black church in America is centered around two things: the people and their events. Very little scholarship has been documented about the physical buildings that became homes for the people and host to their events. These early church houses became the first evidence of a constructed material culture for formerly enslaved persons in America. The design and construction of black church houses provided enslaved as well as free persons of color the opportunity to physically create buildings that would become the center of African American life, beginning as early as the late 18th century and reaching to the present. Coupled with this exercise of the creation of architectural placemaking is the defining and application of the term “sacred space”.

Developing Effective Recruitment Strategies for African American Men to Earn Alternative High School Credentials

African American men have among the worst high school completion rates of any population in the United States. The consequences of dropping out of school are serious and include high levels of unemployment and incarceration. Attempts at recruiting these men to return to complete a high school credential have not been broadly successful, and the current study was designed to identify the best ideas and practices of recruiting African American men into high-school equivalency completion programs. Using a snowball-generated sample of eight adult education program directors, interviews were conducted to identify strategies and approaches for recruiting African American men. Ultimately, program directors comments resulted in three broad categories of successful recruitment: using personal relationships that connect with men where they are, strategically using social media and online resources that are directly targeted toward these men, and utilizing the relationships and support networks of African American church communities. Responding program directors also stressed the need to meet these men at the physical and psychological places where they are, recognizing that these points of contact can and will change as the men age and face different personal circumstances. The findings provide key information for high-school equivalency program directors as they construct purposeful recruitment plans that also include measures for assessing the effectiveness of their recruitment campaigns.

Study protocol for comparing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to referral as usual for depression in African American churches

BackgroundDepression is a leading cause of disability worldwide. African American adults, compared to White adults, are half as likely to be screened for depression in primary care settings. Disparities in depression screening contribute to poor clinical outcomes, as African Americans with depression are more disabled and sicker longer compared to Whites. African American churches are trusted settings that provide access to supports for depression. Indeed, in the first study of its kind, the investigators found that 20% of adults in African American churches screened positive for depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). However, no subjects with a positive screen (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) accepted a treatment referral when offered by research personnel. Community Health Workers, who are trusted paraprofessionals from the target community, may bridge the gap between depression screening and treatment. The investigators have trained and certified 112 Community Health Workers from 45 African American churches in New York City to deliver an evidence-based intervention called Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT). Thus, the aim of the current study is to test the impact of Community Health Worker-delivered depression screening in Black churches on engagement with clinical services.MethodsUsing a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation design, we propose a 2-arm, mixed-methods cluster randomized controlled trial. Church study sites will be randomized to either SBIRT (intervention arm) or referral as usual (usual care arm). This trial will be conducted with 600 church members across 30 churches (300 intervention; 300 usual care). Our primary outcome is treatment engagement, defined as attending a depression-related clinical visit. Secondary outcomes will be changes in Mental Health-Related Quality of Life and depressive symptoms at 3 and 6 months post-screening. Lastly, we will conduct a concurrent, mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) process evaluation to assess contextual facilitators and barriers of screening and referral.DiscussionThis is the first randomized trial of a church-placed, community health worker-delivered intervention for depression in African American populations. This study may provide a novel and effective approach to increasing depression identification and treatment linkage in economically disadvantaged populations with high depression rates.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.govNCT04524767. Registered on 21 August 2020.

Evaluation of Organizational Capacity in the Implementation of a Church-Based Cancer Education Program

Implementation evaluations have increasingly taken into account how features of local context help determine implementation outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine which contextual features of organizational capacity led directly to the RE-AIM Framework implementation outcomes of intervention reach and number of days taken to implement, in an implementation trial of a series of cancer education workshops conducted across 13 African-American churches in Maryland. We used a configurational approach with Coincidence Analysis to identify specific features of organizational capacity that uniquely distinguished churches with implementation success from those that were less successful. Aspects of organizational capacity (e.g., congregation size, staffing/volunteers, health ministry experience) were drawn from an existing measure of church organizational capacity for health promotion. Solution pathways leading to higher intervention reach included: having a health ministry in place for 1–4 years; or having fewer than 100 members; or mid-size churches that had conducted health promotion activities in 1–4 different topics in the past 2 years. Solution pathways to implementing the intervention in fewer number of days included: having conducted 1–2 health promotion activities in the past 2 years; having 1–5 part-time staff and a pastor without additional outside employment; or churches with a doctorally prepared pastor and a weekly attendance of 101–249 members. Study findings can inform future theory, research, and practice in implementation of evidence-based health promotion interventions delivered in faith-based and other limited-resource community settings. Findings support the important role of organizational capacity in implementation outcomes in these settings.Clinical trial registration The study was pre-registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02076958. Registered 3/4/2014. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02076958.

The Alter Program: A Nurse-Led, Dementia-Friendly Program for African American Faith Communities and Families Living With Dementia.

Dementia is a stigmatizing condition requiring enhanced awareness and understanding. Churches are a trusted source of support for African Americans, a demographic disproportionately affected by dementia. However, many African American churches are not equipped with the knowledge and means to provide safe environments, resources, and spiritual and social support for their parishioners living with dementia and their families. This protocol is written to detail the design and implementation of a nurse-led, dementia-friendly congregation program, Alter. The Alter program was developed to increase dementia awareness, develop a supportive, faith-based dementia-friendly infrastructure, and create a community supporting the well-being of African Americans living with dementia and their families. Engagement in this program aims to improve brain health status of older adults, improve physical and mental health outcomes, reduce dementia stigma, and enhance personal agency. Improved outcomes for persons living with dementia translate into lower use of acute and emergency services due to more stability in community care. It is expected that the churches participating in this program will be recognized by their community as a great resource for dementia information and support. The long-term goal of the Alter program is to be widely adapted in various health systems to reduce health disparities associated with dementia in the African American community.

Black Church Rumor

AbstractIn 1992, Jet published “James Cleveland Infected L.A. Youth with HIV, $9 Mil. Lawsuit Claims,” which detailed how the Chicago-born gospel musician had not only allegedly sexually abused his foster son, Christopher B. Harris, but had also “[given] him the AIDS virus.” This article takes this incident of rumor or accusation as a critical opportunity to think about the archival reality of Black queer sexuality, on one hand, and sexual violence in Black gospel music history on the other. Using the legal documents from Christopher B. Harris v. Irwin Goldring as Special Administrator of the Estate of James Cleveland and commentary from Cleveland's contemporaries, it exhumes Cleveland from dusty church closets for consideration in the history of HIV and AIDS in African American Protestant church and gospel communities and in Black queer studies, ethnomusicology, and gender and sexuality studies. Further, it theorizes “Black church rumor” as a lens for Black queer religious studies and argues that Cleveland's perceived queer sexuality distracted from Harris's allegations of sexual abuse. Thus, it situates Cleveland—the person, the preacher, and the gospel legend—in the literature on “down low” sexuality and explicates the implications of Cleveland's legacy and role in Black gospel music production.

Dynamic Associations Between Lifestyle Factors and Positive and Negative Affect in Middle-Aged African Americans

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the dynamic association between lifestyle factors and both positive and negative effect in middle-aged African Americans. Methods: Study participants (N = 69, Mean age=51 years, 80% female) were recruited from two African American churches in the Deep South. Participants completed daily surveys on positive and negative effect, physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet quality, and sleep quality daily for up to 10-days. Mixed-effect models were used to examine associations between the variables of interest. Results: On days that participants were more active, they experienced higher mean positive effect (P = .015) and lower mean negative effect (P = .028) scores. Conversely, more time spent sitting in lagged models (i.e., T-1) was associated with higher mean negative effect (P = .001) and lower mean positive effect (P = .040) scores. In lagged models, better sleep quality was associated with higher positive effects (P = .007) scores but reported lower negative effects (P < .0001) scores on the same day. Lastly, on days where diet quality was higher, positive effect scores were higher (P < 0.05). Association between diet quality and positive effect was moderated by age (P = .025). Conclusion: The data suggest that same and previous day health behaviors may have a significant impact on the health and well-being of middle-aged African Americans. More research is needed to determine whether these behaviors can be targeted in real-time as a means of improving mental health outcomes in this population.