House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., joined from left by House Republican Conference chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters prior to a vote called by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to condemn what she called "racist comments" by President Donald Trump, at the Capitol on July 16, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Escalante's Dream, by David Roberts W.W.Norton & Co. hide caption
Democrats are hopeful they can mobilize a religious left to counter the religious right. But it's unclear whether that outreach will resonate with voters who make up the religious middle. A-Digit/Getty Images hide caption
Andrea and Leslie Isham got married last year during a drag show at a night club in Tennessee by a friend who was ordained online. A new law in the state seeks to ban online ordinations. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán/WPLN News hide caption
People attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, in Abuja, Nigeria on Oct. 14, 2014. Olamikan Gbemiga/AP hide caption
Ed Rowe (from left), Rebecca Wilson, Robin Hager and Jill Zundel react to the defeat of a proposal that would have allowed LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage within the United Methodist Church, at the denomination's Special Session of the General Conference in February. Sid Hastings/AP hide caption
Cathedral High School leadership in Indianapolis says Archbishop Charles Thompson issued "direct guidance" that the school fire a teacher in a same-sex marriage or forfeit its Catholic identity. Michael Conroy/AP hide caption
Amber Scorah writes about exiting the Jehovah's Witnesses in Leaving the Witness. Lee Towndrow/Viking hide caption
The sanctuary at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed legislation permitting the church to hire its own police force. Anthony Izaguirre/AP hide caption
Singer Anita Bryant (right) is led to the voting booth at her Miami Beach polling place by volunteer Leah Dezen in 1977. Bryant was the leader of the opposition group Save Our Children, whose members pushed for the repeal of a gay-rights ordinance in Miami-Dade County. Kathy A. Willens/AP hide caption
Original artwork created for the series by Al Smith. NPR hide caption
Sweet Honey in the Rock. Rico D'Rozario/Redferns hide caption
Bessie Jones. Paul Conklin/WikiMedia Commons hide caption
Jessye Norman rehearsing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the first night of The Proms at the BBC's Maida Vale Studio, London. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption
The Soul Stirrers. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Gray and Annie Devine, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party contestants for the state's seats, hold a telegram allowing them onto the House floor during debate. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption
Singer Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon speaks during a music workshop for high school students in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 9, 2010, "A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement." AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The Fisk University Jubilee Singers in 1925. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images hide caption
Harry T. Burleigh. Maud Cuney-Hare/Public domain hide caption
Marian Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Easter Sunday, 1939. Universal History Archive/Getty Images hide caption
The Golden Gate Quartet, circa 1940. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption