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Contemporary Voluntary Associations in the Urban Black Church: The Development and Growth of Mutual Aid Societies
Abstract
An examination of the mission work of the black church, focusing on
the contemporary Ur black church & its role in creating &
maintaining voluntary associations, particularly in the mid-South. It
is shown that black voluntary associations grew out of the black
church & were sociocultural adaptations to a hostile environment.
It is argued that Gunnar Myrdal, Richard Sterner, & Arnold Rose
(An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, New
York: Harper, 1944) & others who have characterized blacks as
"exaggerated Americans," or "over-joiners" of
voluntary associations failed seriously to capture the significance of
such developments. The ingenuity, strength, & creativity of blacks
in the development of voluntary associations is discussed, based on
ethnographic data from 2 case studies of voluntary associations in
Memphis, Tenn: the Church Investment Fund & the Mount Moriah East
Baptist Church Health Program. 18 References. HA
Journal
(1984)
vol13
no4
pages19-30
Categories
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Nonprofit Service Sectors
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Faith/Religious Communities
