ABSTRACT
African-American Spiritualists along with their specific belief systems were constantly subjected to a compounded type of historical repression, resulting in historical obscurity. This repression translated into specified modes of resistance against Spiritualists of color. Not only did African-American Spiritualists encounter resistance from within Spiritualism because of their race, but also they were subjected to an intra-communal form of resistance based upon class and geographical distinctions in African-American urban communities like Detroit. Deep in the recesses of Spiritualism's historical unconsciousness this marginalized activity, still driven by foundational Spiritualist principles, takes on other forms of expression. These African-American expressions of Spiritualism quite often evaded historical capturing because they appeared to be 'other' religious forms with no explicit connections to original Spiritualism. Intra-communal resistances against unorthodox forms of religious expression, especially against groups like the Church of God pre-1920 and organized Spiritualist groups post-1920, most often appeared in print.
