When We Meet In That Place

In the first chapter of The Spirituality of African Peoples, the author Peter J. Paris, makes reference to W.E.B DuBois, African American scholar, “ DuBois and a host of contemporaries and successors similarly dedicated their professional lives to the goal of repudiating and eradicating every trace of systemic racism in America and around the world.” He clearly states that his purpose for this text is, “to concentrate on the peculiar world views of blacks in order to clarify their common basis for religious and moral discourse.” The ethical principle is, as Paris wrote, “The energizing and unifying power of those values was and is embodied in the thought and practice of African peoples everywhere. That power constitutes the core of African spirituality. The clarification of its character and, along with a plausible explanation of its transmission from the continent to the diaspora, is the first step in understanding the theology."

The argument made against African American scholars by the white American academy, scholars, racists and American Society was that study and representation of the “African” in African American culture was a waste of time and effort. They argued that African Americans had already generated a new life since slavery so it was not necessary to acknowledge and identify them with their African ancestry, languages, cultures, families, religions, tribes, spirits, spirituality, communities, ethics and morals. Paris discovers that, “The Ubiquity of religious consciousness among African peoples constitutes their single most important common characteristic.” What he found to be most profound and common within the African diaspora was that at the heart and soul of who these people were was their unwavering Faith.

How could the African American Christianity be anything but a pillar of strength? Peter did a beautiful job of illuminating the journey of Christianity for the black slave. In the preliminaries of slavery, the African American people rejected the Christian faith of their master’s religion. How could they believe in a God, whose people caused so much suffering, oppression, death and sadness? Christianity was gradually adopted by the black slaves. First, they identified with the Old Testament stories, parables and the covenant that God had made with the Israelites. Then, Paris describes that a pinnacle point for Christianity for the black slave was their introduction to the New Testament writings. The New Testament and story of Jesus Christ was a game changer for African American Christianity. African American Spirituality  merged with their new understanding of Christianity; woven together there was now hope, freedom, liberation, reconciliation, preservation and an authentic gospel.

One of the details that really resonated with me in Paris’ writings was his depiction of the Invisible Church, “this Christian vision was born in slavery, protected in the so-called invisible churches that emerged in the secret meetings of slaves. There was no safer place for the new black Christian congregations to meet than the swamps. He writes, “those secret meetings became the locus for the development of an alternative understanding of the Christian Gospel which the slaves celebrated and proclaimed in many and varied ways.” One of the first things they did during these meetings was to, “ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds.”

In the midst of casual conversation over lunch with another Divinity student, we exchanged casually about events that occurred over the weekend. When I asked her, how her weekend was, she responded in a devastated tone, “well, it was fine until I saw the faces of a couple of my students on the news.” She explained that she volunteers her time at a High School in East Nashville; within the realm of an after-school mentorship program seeking to serve the needs of at-risk, inner city students, most of whom grew up in or around the East Nashville housing projects. She followed up by saying that she saw the faces of two of her students that she had mentored last year on the news; one was being accused of a serious gang-related crime and one for murder, potentially also, gang related. She explained that both young people are bright, ethical, display strong moral, respectful, African American in race and goal-oriented. She identified and expressed her overwhelming heart-break, abundant disappointment, confusion and also, over- arching fear. The fear was fed by and accompanied by questions of, could these accusations be unlawful or false in nature? , what does this mean for their futures? , did they forget that they are beloved children of God? , how could young people with such strong characteristics be affected by gang violence? , I thought that with adequate support, nourishment, shelter, love, education and positive relationships they could overcome the difficult circumstances that they were born into?

            That same afternoon, I went to my part- time job at an after school program in West Nashville. The afterschool program is a faith-based ministry, seeking to serve the needs of the children and youth living in the Preston-Taylor housing projects. When I stepped out of my car in the parking lot, I noticed that the children had delayed descending from the steps on the bus. As I got closer, I could see a crowd of children gathered around a space on the sidewalk and another staff member with a look of sheer panic on his face sprinting towards the crowd. By the time I realized it was a fight between two children, he was already there pulling them off of each other. He grabbed one child, while I took the other boy by the hand and we separated them. The boy that I was holding, kept trying to get away from me. When he did escape, the other children surrounding us would hold him; they told him things like, “man just let it go, let’s deal with this in another way.” I am overwhelmed by the fact that in our society, we have third and fourth graders reacting to conflict with violence. I am equally as shocked, that we have elementary students versed in conflict resolution.

The cinder block, windowless building that houses the after school program reminded me of the swamp where the African American slaves gathered for their church meetings. The children come to the youth center to be fed by the Holy Spirit, to be told that no matter your circumstances, no matter what is happening to you out there, you are safe here, you are a part of this community and we are all enduring the life that goes on out there together. Much like the Invisible Church, they break bread, pray, worship and sing together. Then , they go back out into the reality of their worlds, to the reality and possibilities of poverty; growing up with only one parent or maybe one grand parent,  going to bed with an empty stomach,  living in a neighborhood where it’s not safe to play outside, a traditional, less-than adequate education system, violence, drugs, gangs, teenage-pregnancy and truancy. This after school program works to give children the resources that give them courage, strength, reaffirm their self-worth and provides experiences for the growth of self-esteem. Provide hope that will help them sustain the injustices, struggles, suffering and know that, like their African heritage and African American Christianity has already taught them; God is the creator, preserver and liberator!  I see that strength and hope that is at the heart of African American spirituality in our children today. African American spirituality in combination with a committed community that’s aim is to eradicate racism and promote equality and social justice will provide God inspired hope to our young people.