“That old singing, that old praying which I love so much—that is the great strength of my being, of my writing,” says the author of “A Lesson before Dying” and many other critically acclaimed books. More →

February 18, 2011

Passover’s ancient themes of freedom, liberation, and transformation are sacred to Jews and shared by everyone, says Rabbi Amy Eilberg. More →

March 26, 2010

Watch an extended video of our interview with philosopher and author Michael Walzer, who explains the story of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. More →

April 3, 2009

Read more of Lucky Severson’s interview with the Reverend Wallace Charles Smith on historical and current issues facing African-American families. More →

November 11, 2005

“The ancestors passed these songs to us. These are songs that are gifts to us today. So even though these songs were created 150 years ago, we can still use them today,” says Dr. Arthur Jones, a psychologist at the University of Denver. More →

August 26, 2005

Thomas Dixon Tyler of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC, talks about gospel music’s significance to him. More →

February 23, 2001

At St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood has developed a powerful program of music, dance and theater. The pageant is called the “Ma’afa Suite”, and the objective of the show is to help African-Americans heal slavery’s hidden wounds.
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September 29, 2000