How important were black families, churches, schools and other institutions to the development of African-American culture and political activism in this period?

In the early eighteenth century, Christianity began to spread across North Africa. Religious transfiguration began to influence the traditional spiritual practices of the African continent. The enslaved Africans brought this religious dynamic to America. The fusion of traditional beliefs with Christianity has given way to a common place for the practice of African American religions. For many years, African-American culture has developed separately from European-American culture for issues of slavery and the discriminatory persistence of America. However, with the creation of independent black churches, blacks were allowed to have a place to worship without the intervention and control of whites by dictating what is or is not appropriate. The churches also served as buildings that could serve as schools, hosting social events and political meetings. Schools gave blacks the opportunity to learn to read, which enabled them to participate in politics. Thus, after black emancipation, African American traditions continued to flourish in the fields of music, art, literature, religion, gastronomy and other fields