The Plymouth Church in Framingham

Black History Month began in 1926 (initially just a week) as an effort of documentation and resistance. Lest anyone forget: African Americans have been present throughout every generation and at every level of American life, yet are regularly excluded and ignored from history. Black History — which is a more complete American History — reveals what has been conspicuously left out of the stories we tell and uncovers the lies we teach history to our children.

And it is more important now than ever.

In the 1930’s, Southern states began an overt effort to rewrite the history of the Civil War. This campaign sought to suggest that the war wasn’t about slavery; it was about “State’s rights,” instead. (It wasn’t.) That this was a war of “northern aggression.” (Another lie.) Such blatant detachment from reality paved the way for Confederate statues later erected in the 1950’s and 60’s. And this twisted version of events is driving much of today’s egregious harm.

Black History Month — then and now — declares the truth of history in order to contradict these lies and distortions. I get it, the truth of American slavery and apartheid is uncomfortable. It is hard work to examine my participation and the unfair advantages I’ve earned as a white man in this society. But our national unwillingness to face the damage done and do the work of repair have paved the way for yet another resurgence of explicit white racism. Not just as a question of the heart, but now (again) as a matter of public policy.

When did equity become something to fear? (Isaiah 11:4)

When did inclusion become something to fight against? (1 Corinthians 12:18-26)

Who thinks diversity is a hindrance and why? (Acts 2:4-12)

How is being awake something to avoid? (Mark 13:35-37)

While I am at it, the right wing’s attempt to negate the existence of trans people is offensive both scientifically and theologically. (Galatians 3:28-29) And the cruelty of mass deportations is shameful and ungodly. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

That these attacks are so obviously unchristian and so easily contradicted by scripture, I have to wonder what is driving the current Administration? What allowed prior Administrations to be so hesitantly milquetoast?

Unlike many questions our church is asking these days, this one has an answer. It lives in our unlearned history. It is the evil of white supremacy, patriarchy, and the unchecked lust for wealth and power. (Ahem, Matthew 6:24)

Last thought. There is a lot to be said about “the separation of church and state.” So let’s get it right: Our country is not built on a separation of church and state; it’s built on a separation of church from state. Our ancestors in faith literally got on boats so no monarch or megalomaniac could tell them how to worship or what to believe. The Church has every right legally and the moral obligation biblically to engage in matters of public interest — from poverty, to housing, to racial and gender oppression. (Matthew 25:37-40) The State, on the other hand, cannot interfere with religious expression — requiring it or directing its form. Our government cannot legislate our bodies, our testimony, or our history.

What can you do this month? Study and learn. We have several books in our Library that provide excellent starting points. Call out injustice and white supremacy when you experience it; and support those who do. Sign up for Super Saturday with keynote speaker Bishop William J. Barber II (known for his leadership of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival).

What can we do as a church? We cannot be idle and do nothing. We have to wake up and get involved. We have to unlearn and relearn our history. We have to stretch and strengthen our prophetic muscles and declare with moral clarity our resistance to oppression and our advocacy for the excluded. We have to pray for a different kind of kingdom to come, here on earth as it is heaven.