Black History Month

On Sunday, Black History Month kicked off, and things are a little bit different this year. While the current president made a proclamation on 1/31 of the celebrating of Black history, federal agencies are baring the celebration/observation of it and other things. In this post, I just want to share a few things about it’s official founding, a bit of importance of it, the way my denomination has been impacted by Black history, and some books to read.

In 1976 Republican President Gerald Ford designated the month of February as Black History Month. This came after years of work from scholar Carter G. Woodson, who established the original, “Negro History Week” which took place the second week of February (make no mistake, Woodson never confined Black history education and celebration to just one week). The reason for this, was it held both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas’s birthdays. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASAALH) continues Woodson’s work and continues to be a great resource for learning about Black history. For a reading of Black history and the Episcopal Church, Joyce Crittenden has an incredible article titled, Condensed History of the Black Episcopalian, published on the website for Episcopal Church of All Saints and Ascension’s website that can be reached here.

The importance of learning Black history can never be understated. Black history is the history of America, and we are tied to it in ways that will never be undone, no matter how may people try. It is a history that must be celebrated even if it is embarrassing or hard for white people to read. With that, I’d like to recommend a few books that changed my life for this month that will open your eyes and break your heart for the better (in no particular order):

• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot
• The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
• The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffery Haas
• Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCauley
• On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experiments on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
• Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
• The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. by Peniel E. Joseph 
• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
• Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr.
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
• Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson

As I close out this first short post on Black History Month, I would like to share the following prayer by Canon Carla Robinson. It was prayed at a Circles of Color meeting in 2023 and can be found here. This was shortly after the death of another young Black man, Tyre Nichols. Nichols was beaten by five police officers during a traffic stop, and died in the hospital three days later:

May God bless the memory of Tyre Nichols. We pray for his family during this time of unspeakable loss and grief. His life mattered. Tragically we have been here time & time again. Lord, grants us the strength and courage to never accept injustice & cruelty as the price for public safety. And give us grace to truly strive for justice and peace and to honestly respect the dignity of every human being.

Creator, we lift up and thank you for our Black siblings who have shaped history. We pray that the learning happening this month in schools, homes and workplaces will be meaningful and deep-rooted. We pray for open hearts and minds, and spirits willing to learn and be transformed by you. May this month be a time of curiosity and sharing, conversations and celebrations, challenge and encouragement. Loving God, help us to dig deeper, look closer, and think bigger.

In Jesus name, amen.

As we celebrate our beloved siblings and continue to work towards being beloved community, may we continue to learn what we do not know, and celebrate from the mountain top.

Black Lives Matter.
Black Trans Lives Matter.
Black Queer Lives Matter.
Black Women Lives Matter.
Black Men Lives Matter.
Black Children Lives Matter.
Black Healthcare Matters.

May we never stop saying it, may we never lose sight of it, and may we never forget it.

Grace and peace friends.