Churches
From The Peopling of New York City
Finding Comfort in a New Community
A central piece of West African culture is religion, its pillar. On Staten Island, African immigrants often seek refuge not only in the arms of their Lord, but find solace in the arms of their brothers and sisters through church communities. For these immigrants, the churches represent the collective hope of a new beginning in a new country. The congregation is not simply like a second family - they are family. For these reasons, we decided to visit some African churches in 4 different neighborhoods on Staten Island in order to learn more about their lives.
You can begin to explore the churches we visited by interacting with the points marked on the map above. If you are having trouble viewing the map just click on any one of the following links below: