The Dawn of the Black Church

5:36 a.m., the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise, the beginning of a phenomenon, is the moment where the Black church resides in 2022 when it appears that darkness has fallen on the deep, and there is no hope in sight. Looking through a glass darkly, we realize that tragedies have become commonplace and that we will all perish unless a change comes.

We are cumbered beneath a load of guilt and shame from the deaths of Black people from adequate healthcare and complications of COVID-19 to continued police brutality. Further, the senseless mass murders of grocery shoppers in Buffalo, NY, to the lunatic in Ulvade that shot his grandmother and slaughtered innocent elementary school children have ripped this country into a divide over gun violence and gun control and left communities and families grief-stricken for life.

That is why I, my friend, believe that the Black Church is at the most critical time in our history to summon the strength of our ancestors and collectively root our faith in the hope that truth crushed to the earth shall rise again and no matter how dark it seems the dawn is upon us.

The dawn reminds us that if we tread the path of justice and righteousness, we will experience the light of God among his people. It is from this mantra and the sacred text of the Judean Prophet Micah 6:8 that we “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before our God in this “Black Power, Black Faith” work of the North Carolina Black Alliance and Faith Engagement Team.

We envision ourselves as being able to lead in the work of establishing black political power in local communities all over the state of North Carolina. We want to leave our footprint throughout the state of North Carolina, addressing issues around democracy reform, criminal justice reform, economic empowerment, healthcare, and environmental justice.

So I admonish you to join in this necessary work of liberation of Black people in North Carolina and represent the Melanin Messiah from Nazareth that came to set the captive free.