Craig von Buseck: Your book, 'Under God' is thought-provoking and inspiring. But it is also controversial, because you didn't only show the positive side of the struggle for freedom, you also showed the negative side -- the side where people were wounded or even killed in the fight for freedom. I am grateful to you for your approach because I believe the Church needs to understand where we have done well in race relations and where we have not done so well. Why did you take s

Chapter 1: The Gospel Train 1891—ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA The Lakeshore Limited was only partially filled with passengers as the short, handsome black man climbed aboard and shued down the aisle, searching for a seat next to a north-facing window so that he could watch his beloved Lake Erie as the train skirted the hills of northern Pennsylvania. As Harry Thacker Burleigh stowed his one small suitcase above the seat, the large metal beast shuddered and lurched forward from the wo

On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war was over and the slaves were now free. General Granger read to the gathered crowd General Order Number 3: “…in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves…” Soon June 19th was celebrated as the day when fr

Praise is one of the most powerful weapons available to the believer – yet it is often misunderstood or completely ignored as a path to victory in spiritual battle. The Apostle Paul writes: …be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. (Eph. 5:18b-19, NLT) It was the spiritual song – or Negro Spiritual – that gave hope to American slaves as they cried out to God, asking him to send