A poet’s truth at the graveside
At the interment, the holy words I needed to hear weren’t from the Bible.
Reading again
Books don’t change, but we do.
What I wished for
Sometimes we can’t express what we want, even when we are in desperate need.
Believing in the future
Everything I learn about science fills me with spiritual wonder.
Failing and falling
At a workshop, I was asked to list my failures. The experience has stayed with me.
Albert J. Raboteau changed both American religious studies and African American studies
He was among the first to ask, What is religion for a people birthed in the cradle of chattel slavery?
Naming my African American ancestors to keep them alive
Their presence brings strength to those still fighting and grieving.
Maya Angelou and the art of the outcast
To fully celebrate the life and legacy of Maya Angelou, we must contextualize her 86 years of living within the black religious traditions that influenced her and birthed her deep spirituality. While countless scholars have analyzed her literary, political, and cultural contributions, few have situated her work within the scope of black religious life, particularly the African-American Christian tradition.
Slavery and religious rhetoric
The 1853 slave narrative Twelve Years a Slave is now a major motion picture directed by Steve McQueen. The film is a faithful rendering of the life of Solomon Northup, a free African American man who is sold into chattel bondage and brutally enslaved. Northup’s life story highlights one of the little-known facets of American slavery: the dangers that free black people faced during the antebellum era, with little legal recourse if they were cheated, harmed, brutalized or even sold into slavery.
Northup was eventually freed. But there were countless others whose names we cannot know.