Laborers in the vineyard of the Lord

"Written by two eminent historians, Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord examines the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Florida from the beginning of Reconstruction to the institution of Jim Crow Segregation, a period when the AME Church played a crucial role in the religious, cultural, and political lives of black Floridians. The book begins with an overview of slave religion and the first stirrings of African Methodism before 1865 and culminates with the formidable challenges that faced the church by 1895." "This case study of an independent church that produced broad religious and civil freedoms for African Americans offers a detailed account of the successes and failures of one of the largest and most effective institutions in post-Civil War and late-nineteenth-century Florida."--BOOK JACKET.