Abstract
Slaves were brought to America primarily to fulfill the economic void lor labor. However, they did not come empty. Among the enslaved were priests, and when priests are present so is religion. African-Americans were systematically denied not only social equality but also ordinary legal rights of American citizens. Black-Holiness Pentecostalism is not a denomination but rather a movement encompassing several bodies supporting belief in a spirit baptism, accompanied by various signs including speaking in tongues, with historic roots embracing but not always restricted to both a Wesleyan Armenian and completed work of Calvary orientation. They, too, believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a post-conversionary experience, normative and available to all Christians to be a more effective witness in carrying out the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19).