We are honored that Let the Church Say is an
official selection at the Morehouse Human Rights Film Festival
showing on Saturday - September 24, 2022 8:00 - 10:00 PM

"It’s gorgeous. It’s smart. It’s emotional. The music is tremendous. Animation is inspired as is use of Atlanta street art. Your writing is terrific, and your presence is authentic and intimate. I was never confused or bored. And I think the fact that I come away with many different insights is absolutely appropriate for a subject this complex."
- Jennifer Hyde

"This is a film that millennials should watch to give them a better perspective of how historically significant the black church is in the black community."
- Lynne Olius

"Watching the movie made me really feel it. It made me think about my upbringing and how involved in church I was. In my time, being a church kid was like a badge of honor. I wonder where in my life the disconnect happened. It makes me take personal responsibility."
- Walter Bennett

Feature Documentary Film

Is The American Black Church
Dead or Alive?

Logline
In a time of racial upheaval and a multitude of woes affecting marginalized communities, a young, African American filmmaker journeys to the heart of the Black experience to find the answer to a daunting question: Is the Black church dead?

The highly anticipated documentary on the state of the Black Church.
Directed by: Rafiq J. Nabali

Project Type: Documentary Feature
Project Status: Completed
Director: Rafiq J Nabali
Producer: Joe Howell
Producer: Nancy Howard

Email: contact@letthechurch.com
Website: www.letthechurch.com
Instagram: @letthechurchsay.film
Facebook.com/letthechurchsay.film
Twitter: @let_the_church
IMDB: Let The Church Say
MEET THE CREW

Synopsis
In a large cathedral with stained glass windows and mahogany pews stands, Rafiq Jordan, a young, African American filmmaker and Christian. Here, in a Black Church, the oldest Black intstitution in the U.S., we encounter one of the foundations for the preservation of Black culture in America. Through the years of oppression and sacrifice one thing has remained: The Black church and its impact on Black culture today. Nevertheless, in the light of the current decline in church attendance amongst Blacks and the loss of its central role in African American communities, some would argue that the Black church is dead. Is it true?

Rafiq, familiar with the arguments and conflicts within the church, now embarks on a journey to uncover the truth behind the external criticism. Rafiq unearths testimonies from Black brothers, Black sisters, and contributors to this current revolution, in order to see where the church is in all this pain. Through conversations with activists, progressive-thinking pastors, and the most knowledgeable of voices, he discovers where the church has and hasn’t been involved. Does the institution’s involvement or lack thereof give credit to its livelihood or point to its inevitable extinction?

Rafiq navigates through captivating conversations on other significant topics such as church history, politics, race, church culture and the fight for Civil rights.

Where would the Black community be without the Black church? The perspectives of those interviewed will be the evidence of the investigation. This is the true story of the Black American church through the eyes of a Black American. Ultimately, Rafiq’s journey ends where it all started, in the heart of an empty church, walking amongst the pews. Is this the end of the Black church as we know it, or is it only the beginning.

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View The Official Trailer

Interviewees

	Reverend Dr. Teresa Fry Brown - Emory University The Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Fry Brown is the Bandy Professor of Preaching, a chaired professorship created in 1986 with a gift from B. Jackson Bandy that is considered by many to be the country’s premier chair in homiletics.
Darlene McCoy-Jackson - Praise 102.5 Darlene Jenise "McCoy" Jackson, is an American gospel singer, songwriter, author, radio personality, and Christian R&B recording artist. She started her music career, in 2005, with the release of "Fallen in Love" single by EMI Gospel.
	Richard Rose - NAACP Atlanta Richard Rose is the president of the Atlanta NAACP Branch, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious civil rights organization. Richard is a 1970 graduate of Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University.