Dr. William Hicks, a respected bishop, preacher, and educator, begins this history of Louisiana's black Baptists with Bishop Joseph Willis's entry into the state in 1804. According to Hicks, during the early years, "Elder Willis and his grandson were the only Negro Baptist preachers of prominence" (21). Later, in the years before the Civil War, Hicks argues that white preachers took over the work of the Baptists in Louisiana. He goes on to report that after the war, the black church separated from the white church and experienced exponential growth. Hicks then shifts focus to describe the work of the Church after emancipation. He pays special attention to the rise of the first missions in Louisiana and the establishment of the statewide Baptist Associations. In the last half of the book Hicks provides biographical sketches of prominent figures in Louisiana's Baptist Church, descriptive accounts of the Baptist schools in Louisiana, and short histories of the Baptist Church in all of the states.

Brent Kinser