Finding God in All the Black Places

Sacred Imaginings in Black Popular Culture

By Beretta E. Smith-Shomade

Rutgers University Press

In Finding God in All the Black Places, Beretta E. Smith-Shomade contends that Black spirituality and Black church religiosity are the critical crux of Black popular culture. She argues that cultural, community, and social support live within the Black church and that spirit, art, and progress are deeply entwined and seal this connection. Including the work of artists such as Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Prince, Spike Lee, and Oprah Winfrey, the book examines contemporary Black television, film, music and digital culture to demonstrate the role, impact, and dominance of spirituality and religion in Black popular culture. Smith-Shomade believes that acknowledging and comprehending the foundations of Black spirituality and Black church religiosity within Black popular culture provide a way for viewers, listeners, and users not only to endure but also to revitalize.

This book is also freely available online as an open-access digital edition.

Embark on an innovative and captivating exploration of spirituality in unexpected spaces with Finding God in All the Black Places. From the evangelism of Oprah to the passionate worlds of Queen Sugar and Eve's Bayou to delving into the testimonial power of artists like Mary Mary and Mary J. Blige, the author skillfully unveils how diverse belief systems influence media consumption. Dr. Smith-Shomade creates a stunning and fresh contribution to scholarship that transcends boundaries and enriches our understanding of faith in contemporary media studies.'
Robin R. Means Coleman, author of Horror Noire: A History of Black American Horror from the 1890s to Present, 2nd edition

Beretta E. Smith-Shomade takes readers on a much-needed whirlwind tour of spirituality and religiosity in black popular culture, from Mary J. Blige to Meshell Ndegeocello and the ministry of Oprah Winfrey. An important reminder of where we’ve come from…and where we’re going.’
Kristal Brent Zook, author of I See Black People: The Rise and Fall of African American-Owned Television and Radio

BERETTA E. SMITH-SHOMADE is a professor in film and media at Emory University in Atlanta. She is the author of Shaded Lives: African-American Women and Television (Rutgers University Press, 2002) and Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy: Selling Black Entertainment Television. She has also edited two anthologies: Watching While Black: Centering the Television of Black Audiences (Rutgers University Press, 2013)—a Choice Outstanding Academic Title—and its remix, Watching While Black Rebooted! The Television and Digitality of Black Audiences (Rutgers University Press, 2023).

THE PROGRAM
CALL TO WORSHIP: God Is...Understanding Spirituality as the Sine Qua Non of Black Popular Culture
INVOCATION: God Is Trying to Tell You Something: Calling Up the Mediated Black Past
PROCESSIONAL: Jesus and Hennessy Go Good Together: Sacralizing the Secular
PRAYER OF CONFESSION: As for Me and My House…Spike Lee’s Negotiation with Christianity as a Sign of Blackness
TESTIMONY: I Got a Testimony: Sistah Blackacademics and God
PRAISE BREAK: Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance All Night! Mediated Audiences and Black Women’s Spirituality
TITHES & OFFERING: I’mma Be Stupid Rich!: Millennials and the Holy Grail of Tech Salvation
PASSING OF THE PEACE: Don’t Play with God! Black Church, Fun and Possibilities
SELECTION: Never Losing Its Power: (Re)Visioning the Roots and Routes of Black Spirituality
MESSAGE: Urgent Like a Mofo: The Sublime Synergy of Sexuality in Black Music Culture
THE INVITATION: I Shall Wear a Crown: Black Oprah the Savificent
BENEDICTION: But God (reflection)

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