‘If you can’t write, read’

Marcia Dixon says the black Church has hugely benefitted from the people who lift the lid on taboo subjects by telling their stories.

We live in an era when it’s easy to think that people have stopped reading – but that is not the case.

The increased popularity of platforms such as YouTube and the high numbers of people listening to podcasts has piqued people’s interest in any published works YouTubers or podcasters produce. People are interested in other people’s lives; they want to hear what they have to say or learn from them. 

One major development that’s taken place within the black Pentecostal Church in the past decade is the rise of self-published authors. I personally jumped on the bandwagon with my book Black Christian and Single, released in 2022.

Sharing stories and expertise

As a result of rarely being considered for book contracts, black Christians are going it alone: writing and publishing their stories. They are sharing honestly on subjects like abuse, domestic violence, church abuse, trauma, marital breakdown to name a few. Or they are publishing books where they share their expertise on subjects like parenting, marriage or business entrepreneurship. Others are publishing their autobiographies.

The clamour to self-publish has resulted in opening up discussion on topics once considered taboo within the black community, causing some to experience healing, forgiveness and even reconciliation – with God and with their fellow human beings. 

Spearheading change

Stop Hurting Me – Time To Get Out!: How to identify and eliminate physical & emotional abuse by Kim Bacchus is one book that struck a chord and sparked a major conversation about domestic violence and abuse (DVA) within the black Pentecostal Church. Statistics highlight one in four women will experience DVA, however, it was rarely spoken about openly in black Church circles.