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Racial Justice Ministries and Join the Movement toward Racial Justice invite you to encounter and engage with stories of abolition movements from the early days of enslaved peoples’ resistance, to the many movements that made up the Civil Rights Movement, to the more recent struggles of the Movement for Black Lives, and more. These ongoing movements of emancipation can show us the power of intergenerational leadership – from elders to youth and young adults – as together we move toward solidarity, freedom, equity, and liberation.
The Sound of Freedom: Abolition Lineages
The sound of emancipation was heard long before any proclamation was made and continues long after the news finally reached the last outpost of enslaved peoples in Texas on June 19, 1865. We celebrate the lineages of abolitionists, those who work for a future of freedom beyond shackles and chains, beyond bars and cages, beyond violence and oppression. May this Juneteenth be an invitation to learn more about a few of these abolitionist freedom fighters and how the dream of abolition continues today.
- Sojourner Truth
- Francis Ellen Watkins Harper
- Ida B. Wells-Barnett
- Ella Baker
- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Diane Nash
- Angela Davis
- Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors
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Pray
God of broken chains, we do not know how it felt with the world of freedom came – what release was felt in the bodies of those who made us, what disbelief, what joy, what sorrow. But would you allow some echo of it to resound in our bodies today? We pray not just to honor freedom rung, but in protection and continuation of it. Let it resound clearly as we join our hearts on this day. – Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies
Reflect
The Story of Freedom: Emancipation Lineages
Stories preserve and remember the sacred moments and movements of a people’s history and lived experiences. African-centered traditions value storytelling as sacred for the survival and thriving of generations to come. “We who believe in freedom” tell our stories for the thriving of our communities, from the past into the future. We remember the marches, sit-ins, food programs, rallies, and strategies of defense across the nation to respect and protect Black Lives and we honor the lineage of storytellers who continue to ensure that truths are heard and new futures imagined.
- Harriet Jacobs
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Bernice Johnson Reagon
- Nikki Giovanni
- Octavia Butler
- adrienne maree brown
- Toshi Reagon
- Alexis Pauline Gumbs
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Pray
God whose story is freedom, we pray peace and deep rest for our ancestors. Those who labored without agency over their bodies for generations, and those who chose the sea. We marvel at the dreamers – those who clung to an imagination for liberation regained. Those who fought, strategized, organized. We thank you for those who became our historians – who preserved culture in whispers by moonlight, transmitting song and name. – Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies
Reflect
The Spirit of Freedom: Prophetic Lineages
Long before the enslaved ancestors arrived in North America the Spirit of Freedom lived in their bones. They knew freedom was their birthright; emancipation marked the moment when enslavers were forced to confront this reality. Yet from the beginning, people of African descent on these shores found ways to connect to Sacred Spirit, even revealing the foundations of abolition and visions of freedom within their enslavers’ Christianity. We honor the prophetic lineages of spiritual leaders who continue to reveal to us the God whose story is freedom.
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Pray
May the same God who spoke to Harriet make the sound of liberation clear as night to us. May the Divine hold us in the same holy darkness that protected our ancestors on the journey. And as we remember, may they shield us from despair, knowing that our story is more than pain. Our is the story of dignity. Let us reclaim it.
Inhale: Liberation is ours.
Exhale: God, teach me the sound of freedom.
– Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies
Reflect
