Rev. Sue Yarber
Scotti: Jesus loves all people and it breaks His heart to see suffering. There are amazing people in African American history that have exemplified the courage and love of Christ by confronting the injustice of racism. Today we will hear the voices of a few of the many G/L/B/T figures in US history that have changed our world and moved us one step closer to the kindom of heaven. Our speakers today are: Ms.. Susan Lukwago, Ms. Gina McAlexander, and Mr. John Rhine. John: “We are all heirs of the promise. There is no more Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, female and male. We are one in Christ Jesus.” We have to make it our truth. Today we honor historical figures that in their own unique ways have impacted the freedoms that you and I enjoy daily. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr spoke about the truth of our interconnectedness by telling us that as long as one person suffered an injustice we all suffered an injustice. Hear now from the voice of a woman who was known as Moses because she bravely led her people to freedom from slavery. Gina: I, Harriet Tubman, was born around 1820 and died in 1913. I was one of eleven children born to slave parents in Dorchester County, Maryland. I began working at the age of five as a maid and children’s nurse until I turned twelve and became a field hand. When I was thirteen the man who owned me hit me on the head with a heavy weight. I suffered neurological damage for the rest of my life. Upon the death of my master and his son in 1847 and 1849 I managed to escape to the north and become a critical part of the abolitionist movement. I thought it my personal mission to lead my people to freedom. I returned to the south and led about 300 slaves to freedom in the north. I dressed as an old man for my own protection and they called me Moses. I had to carry a gun and actually threatened to kill my brothers and sisters if they became fearful or tired and wanted to turn back. I would tell them, “You’ll be free or die.” I had no choice because fear has to be put to death if you want true freedom. I could not jeopardize the group because of weary individuals. It broke my heart but I loved them so much that I would do whatever I had to do for freedom, for their freedom. As a slave I lived daily with a threat of death and when I led the Underground Railroad there was a price of $40,000 on my head. I know that I did the right thing, that deep down inside all slaves want to be free. Isaiah 40:31 “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Eagles, the symbol of American Freedom, yes, we did mount up on wings and we will mount up on wings again and again until the day we meet Jesus. Susan: I, Jesus, want you to know that I was there in every tear you cried and every friend that died. I led you through the wilderness and fed you with manna. I woke you up each morning and gave you the strength and hope to carry on. You, Harriet, were a faithful and caring person. You risked your life over and over again so that others would know freedom. Well-done, good and faithful servant of the Lord! John: I am Langston Hughes, born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. My father paid for college at Columbia University on the condition that I pursue a career in Engineering. I am an artist, one who is called to create images with words, much like brush strokes with paint on canvas. I would sit in class and we would be doing advanced math and I had a poem in my soul waiting to be birthed. I traveled to many places in Africa – the Senegal, Nigeria, Belgium Congo, The Cameroons, Angola, and Guinea. I went to France, Italy, Russia and Spain. I became a part of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and had many poems and essays published. I eventually got a scholarship to Lincoln University where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1929. In 1943 the university honored me with an honorary Doctorate in Literature. I am a Black gay man who, in America between 1926 and when I died in 1967, wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of documentary works, twenty plays, children’s poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television transcripts, and finally, a dozen magazine articles. I gave voice to my people, alive with black culture in Harlem, and to their experiences in a predominantly white world. Hear now one of my poems: The Negro Speaks of Rivers I've known rivers:I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathe in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. Gina: My soul has grown deep like the rivers. Rivers are an important part of our holy scripture. People find refuge in rivers, refuge that leads to sweet freedom…Moses floating as an infant down the river. Pharaoh’s army drowned in the river and the river knows good from evil. John and later, Christ, teach, preach and baptize in the River. Langston Hughes was in touch with his incredible gift and followed his dream to become a voice for his people. The world is a richer place for his words that stand throughout time. May each of us find the river of life within that calls to us and says, “Come and create for the life of your people.” John: I, Bayard Rustin, am a gay Black man born on March 17, 1912 in Pennsylvania. I was raised with strong Quaker principles: the equality of human beings before God, the importance of nonviolence, and dealing with everyone with love and respect. After moving to New York City in 1937 I worked against racial segregation as an organizer of the Young Communist League. I traveled to Africa and India and studied Gandhi’s nonviolent social change. In the 1940s I organized the first “freedom rides” designed to challenge the “Jim Crow” laws. I was a critical voice that moved president Truman to eliminate racial segregation in the military. I worked to protect the property of Japanese Americans when they were sent to internment camps in 1942. I worked in India for freedom from British rule. In the 1950s I became involved with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1960 I was forced to resign from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization which I helped start because of my sexual orientation. I helped organize the famous March on Washington in 1963 where Rev. Dr. King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. I was kept in the background of the public aspects of the civil rights movement because of being gay. They did not want me to embarrass or divide the movement. How can who I love embarrass them or divide them? Gina: I, Jesus, was there with you every step of the way. You reached out to other oppressed people around the world and worked for their freedom as well. You showed tenacity and courage to keep participating even when you must have felt abandoned by your peers. You gave of yourself and worked for their freedom even when they would not work for yours as a gay man. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Susan: I, Audre Lorde, was born on Feb. 18, 1934 in New York City. My parents were Carribean immigrants who settled in Harlem. I graduated from Columbia university and Hunter College, where I later was the chair of the literature department. I married and had two children and later divorced and came out as a lesbian. I published over a dozen books of poetry and six books of prose. I am the co-founder of the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. I worked for openly gay and lesbian causes throughout my career in academia. I wrote my truth and demanded that it be heard. I shared openly about my experiences with breast cancer in my book entitled, “The Cancer Journals:” “The struggle with cancer now informs all my days, but it is only another face of that continuing battle for self-determination and survival that black women fight daily, often in triumph.” My son, Jonathan, once said about me, “We could lose. But we couldn’t not fight.” I did lose the fight, the one with cancer that is, on November 17, 1992. The fight of speaking my truth has helped to bring to light that women of color have less access to quality medical care and are more likely to die of life-threatening illnesses. My words and those of my sisters say that these injustices must end. John: Audre Lorde taught us all that human life is sacred and should be honored. She stood with dignity and grace and spoke her truth. She was one of many: Julie Carter, Donna Allegra, Beverly Smith, Becky Birtha, Barbara Banks, Cheryl Clarke Pat Parker, Michelle Cliff, Jewelle Gomez, Raymina Mays – these are a few African American lesbian poets who offer us words of encouragement, hope and strength. Gina: All of these people made amazing sacrifices for their people, yet, none more amazing than the one made by Jesus Christ, through whom we are all one. Susan(Feel Free to give a brief blessing in an African language….”There is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male and female. We would also say it in English. ) Rev. Sue – Pastoral Prayer
Amen and God Bless.