Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to the United States Congress, the first black candidate to run for a major party's nomination for president, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
It is also from this rage and this discontent that Black people in America created and orchestrated their own culture, ensuring that legacy and heritage would exist for their children. They gathered in “hush harbors” to worship their God and Maker, absent of slaveholder religion and influence, tapping into the untampered presence of the Holy Spirit and the deities of the Motherland. They took the slop and remains of the plantation and created a delicacy now known as “soul food”.
I left the memorial and museum wondering what will be next? Will my 6- and 8-year-old son’s generation decide to construct memorials to the black men and women who were slain by racialized policing and police violence during the era in which they came of age?
Christ, your words of love confound us,
even as we give you praise,
for the lessons that you teach us seem
so far from this world’s ways. How can we love those who hate us?
How can we love enemies?
What of people who abuse us?
How can we love even these?
Pope Francis promised that concrete actions against child sexual abuse by priests would result from a conference he opened on Thursday, countering scepticism among survivors who said the meeting looked like a public relations exercise.
Around 42,000 Venezuelans cross Cúcuta’s border bridge every day, some fleeing with bags hoisted on their backs and others like Godoy, simply trying to get food and medicine. The exodus has overwhelmed aid organizations like Red Cross and the United Nation’s refugee agency, whose facilities have been filled to the brim in places like the Cúcuta border. More and more migrants flock to the city every day, especially now as political conflicts between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and new opposition leader Juan Guaidó have reached a head.
Late last month, it was reported that the U.S. and the Taliban have agreed in principle to the framework of a deal that could potentially end the 17-year war that began in 2001 when the U.S., with the strength of NATO forces, invaded and began occupying Afghanistan. In the lead up to war, leaders cited concerns about human rights, specifically women’s rights.
The announcement follows a stunning report on hundreds of sexual abuse and misconduct cases in the Southern Baptist Church.
Two days after a brutal workplace shooting in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, where five were killed and six were injured, over 1,000 people joined together for a prayer vigil at the Henry Pratt Company plant, filling the street near the building where the shooting occurred. As several local pastors shared prayers with the huge gathering of mourners, the only sounds that broke the silence between prayers were quiet sobs. Beside a gate connected to the plant, people placed flowers, candles, and signs.
The Reclaiming Jesus elders have called for “national prayer and fasting” to begin on March 6, Ash Wednesday, and to continue throughout the season of Lent.