ABSTRACT
African-American preaching has been of interest to America's white majority ever since the days of 'Black Harry' Hoosier, the 'guide, servant and assistant preacher' to Methodist bishops Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke. In the South, many African-American preachers were silenced or forced to flee to the North, largely due to the politics of slavery, but there was a time before the widespread establishment of theological education when much of the best preaching done was by blacks. The reader may already have noted the use of the phrase 'at its best' in relation to the African-American pulpit tradition. This is because the images of black preaching most widely circulated are not the best. Authentic African-American preaching is just that: first African, and not intended to imitate the preaching of any other group. Those who would suggest that black Christianity is a simple product of missionary activity by slaveowners are mistaken.
