The month of February is a time of reflection of Black History within American History; We recognize and pay tribute to those who have overcome suffering and injustice; and we give praise for a powerful and sustaining God. From the Amistad, to the Presidency, the Church is forever entwined in the history of a people who stood with courage and pushed forward with faith.
As we have come to acknowledge February as Black History Month, nevertheless for many there’s little to no interest and there seems to be very little media fanfare. And while some of us devote considerable attention to the celebration of our history on a regular basis, overall in particular, many of us don’t make it a priority at all.
Carter G. Woodson created Negro History week in 1926, not to box-in when we celebrated our history, but to elevate a period of celebration. The caveat to that, was it required us to actually study enough history outside of the celebration to continuously share during it.
People complain, and I am one of them, that as a community we consistently celebrate the same 7 or so figures from 2 periods in our infinite history. Slavery and Civil Rights heroes and she-roes who DID make our community and the world better, but even they have been watered down to sound bites, speech quotes, and t-shirts. From the beginning of time to yesterday, gives us a brilliant opportunity to talk about our history from civilization development to sports, and so much more. Lets dive into all of it.
So as we move through the rest of this month, I would ask that we spend the next 11 months doing what Woodson and others did when it WAS NOT black history month. STUDY BLACK HISTORY.
New Creation OCG honors this rich legacy of Black History not only each February, but 365. We express our honor through worship, education and events.
So as a church family, we join in celebrating an empowering history that defines us not only as people of color but as people of faith.