Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual

Carole Boston Weatherford

Sep 2022 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Carole Boston Weatherford

About this audiobook

From an award-winning author comes a stunning and deeply moving book based on the popular spiritual "Standing in the Need of Prayer." The classic lyrics have been reworked to chronicle the milestones, struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of African American history.

This inspirational audiobook encapsulates African American history and invites conversations at all levels. Carole Boston Weatherford’s riveting text is an informative reminder of yesterday, a hopeful image for today, and an aspirational dream of tomorrow.
 
Starting from 1619 and stretching more than four hundred years, this audiobook features such pivotal moments in history as the arrival of enslaved people in Jamestown, Virginia; Nat Turner's rebellion; the integration of the US military; the Selma to Montgomery marches; and peaceful present-day protests. It also celebrates the feats of African American musicians and athletes, such as Duke Ellington and Florence Griffith Joyner.
 
At the end of the audiobook, listeners will find descriptions of the people, places, and events that are featured, along with a note from Carole Boston Weatherford.
 
Incredibly timely, this book reckons with a painful history while serving as a testament to the human spirit's ability to persevere in even the most hopeless of circumstances. Its universal message of faith, strength, and resilience will resonate with listeners of all ages.

About the author

Carole Boston Weatherford is a two-time NAACP Image Award winner and the author of Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, which won the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards, a Caldecott Honor, and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor book Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom; and the Caldecott Honor books Freedom in Congo Square, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Born in Baltimore, Weatherford now teaches at Fayetteville State University, in North Carolina.