While the “backbone of the church has been Black women almost from the very beginning,” historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. said, their roles have both been suppressed within the church and forgotten when recounting its history.

By Christina Turner

In battleground states, black clergy are extending "Souls to the Polls" efforts to get black churchgoers to cast ballots early or on Election Day.

By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press

Sen. Barack Obama responded on Tuesday to Rev. Jeremiah Wright's recent media blitz in the run up to primary elections in North Carolina and Indiana. Veteran political reporters discuss the upcoming votes and the impact of the Wright controversy.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's longtime pastor, defended the fiery sermons that have become an issue on the campaign trail Monday and criticized what he called an "attack on the black church." A panel of columnists and analysts discuss…