Book dossier

History of Louisiana Negro Baptists

by Hicks, William, Sue L. Eakin

The history of Louisiana's black Baptists begins with Bishop Joseph Willis's entry into the state in 1804 when he and his grandson were the only Negro Baptist preachers. Later, in the years before the Civil War, Hicks argues that white preachers took over the work of the Baptists in Louisiana. After the war, the black church separated from the white church and experienced exponential growth. Hicks then shifts focus to describe the work of the Church after emancipation, the rise of the first missions in Louisiana and the establishment of the statewide Baptist Associations. In the last half of the book Hicks provides biographical sketches of prominent figures in Louisiana's Baptist Church, descriptive accounts of the Baptist schools in Louisiana, and short histories of the Baptist Church in all of the states.