Come Sunday: Photographs by Thomas Roma

by Thomas Roma, Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Introduction)

A dramatic collection of photographs depicting the services of black churches in Brooklyn, Come Sunday illustrates the power of faith in a community riddled by unemployment, poverty, and crime. Focusing on the shine of a tooth, the thickness of a braid, the resolved tension of a hand clutching a bible, Soma uses subtle textures to mirror the diversity and complexities of the everyday humanness of his subjects. Within the walls of these sanctuaries, members of the congregation chat, crack smiles, doze, weep, cheer, and, of course, pray, all the while exhibiting extraordinary faith that, for many, lifts them above life's seemingly impossible burdens.

111 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1996