Say Amen!: The African American Family's Book of Prayers

The scope of these more than 300 prayers is vast, both historically and thematically. The prayers included in this compilation range from gospel spirituals such as ""Precious Lord, Take My Hand"" and traditional church prayers from slave religion to the prayers of 20th-century African American leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and the poet Maya Angelou. While some of the prayers are geared toward specific African American themes like Kwanzaa, most of the prayers are focused on everyday concerns like family, faith and community. Archibald's collection is useful for tracing the spiritual history of African American religion. In addition, the prayers in the collection are beautifully written and express a depth of spirituality that makes them useful for one's private spiritual life. While the range of African American prayer is well represented here, there are too many prayers written by Archibald herself. Otherwise, her compilation offers African American families a guidebook to the prayers of their tradition. (Oct.)