Stories In The Corridors Of A Church, They Planned A Rebellion James H. Cone reminds us: “To sing about freedom and to pray for its coming is not enough. Freedom must be actualized … by oppressed people.” One preacher embodied this – by using his pulpit to change the world for centuries to come.
Stories How To Fit Spirituality Into Your Busy, Hectic Day “A daily spiritual practice … [is] the best way to take care of yourself.” - lyanla Vanzant. There are only 24 hours in a day, most dedicated to work and sleep. With only a few hours to do everything else, how do we make time for a spiritual practice?
Stories The Key To Black Liberation Lives Within Us – And They’re Terrified “How can we intentionally create the future for which we long and dream?” – Rev. Amanda Weatherspoon. We have the power within us to get free – which is why they’re doing everything in their power to keep us from using this one incredible tool that all of us have access to.
Stories He Took The Greatest Risk Of All To Save His Community Malcolm X said, "I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole." So what happened when one man, tired of seeing his people abused by powerful leaders, took a stand for their humanity
Stories This Special Ingredient Is What Makes “Soul Food” So Delicious “[H]am, fried-potatoes, scrambled-egg, breakfast in the morning air; fried fish and pan-cooked biscuits on the hind side of noon … We were all there … bound by something we could not name.” When Toni Morrison wrote these words, she understood something crucial about why our cooking is so important.
Stories Would She Bend To The Pressures Of Greed And White Supremacy? “Racism ... keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.” – Toni Morrison. Ms. Morrison understood what it meant to be hated for being Black. But long before her, there was another woman who fought against the world’s biggest empire – for the right to simply exist!
Stories When’s The Last Time You Checked-In With Your “Shadow Self?” “Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way.” – Maya Angelou. Ignoring your “shadow self” could be blocking you from blessings! Here’s why it’s important to check in with the side of yourself you hide from everyone else.
Stories Erasure Of Black Burial Grounds Impacts Our Ancestors “You may shoot me with your words. You may cut me with your eyes. You may kill me with your hatefulness. But still, like air, I’ll rise.” – Maya Angelou. Our ancestors were abandoned and disposed of, never able to rest in peace. Now, another threat looms over them.
Stories Prayer Is Always An Option, Whether We're Thriving Or Hitting Rock Bottom “Open your heart and quietly to yourself say the only prayer that’s ever needed: Thank you.” – Oprah Winfrey. How do you pray? Prayer is powerful, but there are infinite ways to do it. Are you praying in a way that roots you in YOUR power?
Stories This Prayer Helped Her To Be Joyful – Even When Facing Death “God is present in everything. In the universe, in creation, in me and all that happens to me … everywhere. In the midst of suffering, I feel God’s presence and cry out to God for help: ‘Lord, help me to hold on.’” – Thea Bowman. Is God truly with us during our worst pain?
Stories They Were Silenced, But Used Their Faith To Fight Back “We are in the same boat.” – Arabic Proverb. When white enslavers tried to violently erase their faith, these Black communities found ways to resist that would not only preserve their religion, but shape all of America.
Stories They Used Religion To Fight Back Against The Brutalities Of Enslavement “Whites not only had no patent on Christianity; they were often its obstacle.” – Toni Morrison. White enslavers used religion to oppress those enslaved – but our clever ancestors realized they could use that same religion to get free.
Stories These Evil Institutions Use Religion To Prey On Black Children Psalm 82:3 gives us an important spiritual responsibility: “Stand up for the poor and the orphan; advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need.” But what happens when those who are supposed to stand up for the orphans in our communities exploit them instead?
Stories Even Jesus Chose Violence – When The Situation Called For It “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X. Everyone assumes that Jesus was nonviolent because he wanted peace on Earth, but in the name of freedom and justice, Jesus himself chose violence when the situation called for it!
Stories When Someone Dies, Does Their Spirit Continue Living In The Afterlife? “Death is like a dress that, at some point or another, everyone has to wear.” – African Proverb. At some point we will all die. This community believes that how we live is how we'll exist beyond death. Based on their rules, would you make it to the afterlife?
Stories How Black People Can Love Each Other For Real 1 John 4:20-21 is clear about love. “If someone claims, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother or sister, then he is a liar. He gave us a clear command, that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.” But how do we love people we think aren’t living right?
Stories A Black Woman Ahead Of Her Time Discovered The Truth About God “God Is Change.” – Octavia Butler. The idea of change can be terrifying … but here’s why we should actually be embracing it!
Stories She Shouted From The Spirit Realm, Praying Someone Would Hear Her “Open your ears to the ancestors and you will understand the language of spirits.” – African Proverb. She shouted from the spirit realm, praying someone would hear her. War was on the horizon, but her people would be slaughtered if she couldn’t get her message to them!
Stories Black Children's Spirits Also Need Our Protection In Genesis 16:11, Hagar, upset and calling out to God, is confronted by an angel – who tells her “you are pregnant, and you’re going to have a son. I want you to call him Ishmael because the Eternal One has heard your anguished cries.” What does her story show us about protecting our children?
Stories This Goddess Was Quick To Punish If They Disrespected Her “All power emanates from the Earth.” – Ghanaian Proverb. They honored her, and in return she fertilized their crops and ensured their ancestors rested peacefully. But she was quick to punish them if they disrespected her!
Stories She Was Responsible For Caring For The World, But Everything Fell Apart “It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it.” – Lena Horne. It was her responsibility to care for the world she was building, but everything was falling apart! She needed help – otherwise all hope would be lost.
Stories Motherhood Is A Full Time Job, So She Didn't Rest For Centuries “God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” – Jewish Proverb. Fighting exhaustion, this mother balanced a baby on each hip and pushed onwards. She needed to make it to the slave ships – she was their last hope!
Stories She Let Nothing Separate Her From God's Calling Proverbs 31:8 reminds us to “Speak out on behalf of those who have no voice, and defend all those who have been passed over.” But what happens when our efforts to speak out are thwarted by those in our own communities?
Stories They Show The Powerful Difference Between Disrespect And Disagreement “Those who respect the elderly pave their own road toward success.” – African Proverb. There’s a difference between being disrespectful towards the elderly and disagreeing with them. Understanding that difference, and what to do about it, is KEY to deepening our spiritual practices!
Stories For Generations, They've Depended On This Royal Lineage To Summon The Rain “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” – Corinthians 10:24. If you could change thousands of lives but had to be permanently isolated from loved ones, would you do it? This royal lineage faced this difficult question. What did they choose?
