The African Methodist Episcopal Church, often abbreviated as A.M.E. was the first protestant denomination to be founded by African Americans in the United States. It was officially organized in 1816, and is one of the only (maybe the only) denominations to form due to racial prejudice rather than theological differences. Prior to 1816, black Methodists began leaving Methodist churches due to racial segregatio… Read more »

Once, sometime during my childhood (around elementary school), a woman in my community decided to put together a Kwanzaa festival. So for 7 days, we came together with her to learn about the princples of Kwanzaa and esentially celebrate. That was the first and last time my family celebrated Kwanzaa... As an adult, as I shook off pagan holidays like Christmas and Easter, Kwanzaa didn't cross my mind. Eventually, however, I did start to wonde… Read more »

When the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, the founding fathers wrote that all men are created equal, but they didn't view my ancestors as men. Despite fighting in the Revolutionary War (on both sides), black people were enslaved for more than 100 years after the formation of country. It wasn'tvuntil Civil War that things turned around. Countrary to popular belief, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 only freed the slave… Read more »

PSALMS to God · An Army Of One Knowing their thoughts, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. Matthew 12 CSB The US was built on division. This idea permeates through every fiber of our being. Despite being victims of oppression, assimilation, and injustice, we take these same ideals and inflict them on others (as well as ourselves). We cause harm to th… Read more »

I wanted to make this a podcast, but when I started talking, I realized it was too much to fit in one episode (and as I started writing, I realized it was too much to fit into one post). With all that is going on, it was hard to order the memories and speak calmly—I've always found that writing about things that make me emotional is the only effective way of expressing myself. Upfront I'm asking for three things: 1) forgiven… Read more »

I picked up Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston from a bookstore in an airport. I read majority of it on the flight, and came back to the appendix about a month later. I don't generally like non-fiction, but I was a fan of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and I thought the topic sounded interesting. Summary Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" follows the story of Olua… Read more »

Black people have founded numerous towns across the US, both before and after slavery. Many of them, like Black Wall Street [1] were destroyed by white supremacists. However, some are still standing. Near my home is Atlantic Beach, SC, but today, we're talking about Allensworth, CA. Allensworth was the first black town in California and was founded by Colonel Allensworth. Born a slave, Colonel Allensworth rose to the highest ranking black man… Read more »

Miriam Benjamin was a teacher in Charleston, SC when she noticed restaurants and hotels were struggling to keep up with their patrons. She invented a service button that would signal the waitstaff as well as illuminate the customer waiting for service. This design is what we currently use in flight to signal flight attendants. Mrs. Benjamin was the second black woman to receive a patent for her invention. This invention was also taken up (with … Read more »

Most people struggle to understand what cultural appropriation is. The truth about the origins of Betty Boop's singing voice are a perfect example of cultural appropriation. A black woman named Esther Jones, later dubbed Baby Esther, created the iconic style of singing Betty Boop would eventually be known for. Mrs. Jones even performed at the Cotton Club. An aspiring white singer named Helen Kane attended one of Mrs. Jones' performance … Read more »

I grew up watching Westerns with my dad, and all I ever saw were white men (and the occasional abused Native American/First Nations). However, many blacks who escaped slavery actually went west, and after the civil war, this was even more of an occurrence. The west had a high demand for skilled labor and more personal freedom than the Deep South, so while there was still racism, it provided a better opportunity for black's to gain freedom a… Read more »

Approximately 12.5 million people were stolen from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade, and just under 2 million of them died during the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage is the the name given to the journey from the coast of Africa to the Americas. During this time slaves were shackled together and kept in the hull of the ship, often left to lie in their own feces and vomit. When slaves died, they were carelessly thrown overboard int… Read more »

This is the quick image I shared on social media for this fact. Cotton Mather is often given the credit for inoculation during the small pox epidemic. Less often is it mentioned that inoculation was already popular in Africa and the Middle East. Even less often is it mentioned that Mather didn't come up with the idea himself, but got the idea from one of his slaves. A man named Onesimus (I wonder if he was named after the Biblical One… Read more »

During my parents' era, the only people who were referred to as "Mr" or "Mrs" were white people. Blacks were referred to by their first name at best, "boy" or "gal" by standard, and "nigger" at worst. When Mary Hamilton was called to be a witness in a Mississippi court case in the early 60's, she took a stand against this demeaning practice by refusing to answer the judge unless he calle… Read more »

This is the last episode in the Black Israel series; it ties together everything we’ve been talking about. In this episode I ask the question, does it matter? And Is it relevant to today? Read more »

The Bible says that the people of Israel would be taken to a land they didn’t know, their children would be taken from them, their wives would be raped, their bodies left for the birds to eat. Sound like the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and American slavery? Read more »