In 1926, Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History declared the second week of February to be the “Negro History Week.”  The significance of that week was highlighted by the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas. The week was established in hopes of Black history becoming a part of the teachings of American History. Fast forward 97 years and our week has grown to a month, and our history has been pigeonholed by a snapshot of  the famous five (Dr. King, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks) within 28 or 29 days of acknowledgment by ourselves as well as society. To some this can be disheartening.  Especially in lieu of the bleak future we appear to have. I must admit, I, too sometimes get frustrated with myself, our people, the government and society with the state of “Black America.” I, too, sometimes feel it is a never ending fight for us and our kids to hold on to Black culture and our rich history which was once filled with movements and awareness. I, too, sometimes feel things are hopeless. As only God can do, there are always beacons of hope that come by way of speaking truth to power.

The third weekend of the month of January 2013, for African American people, was one of the most important weekends of the year. Not only did we celebrate the inauguration of the second term of the first President of African descent, but we celebrated nationally the drum major of justice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I had an opportunity to be in our nation’s capital that weekend, and experience it from a different lens. I saw and heard hope ring through the air. My attitude shifted, and I fell in love with Black people all over again! The inauguration became an afterthought because of what I had experienced.

I ate four times at the same restaurant, Busboys and Poets! I fell in love with that place, and pray daily for God to bring one to Chicago! The restaurant is named for  American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1920s, prior to gaining recognition as a poet. You are met by a bookstore when you first enter the restaurant. Its walls are painted with pictures of the many movements and leaders. The vibe screams social justice. I had an opportunity to sit in the historic Shiloh Baptist Church and watch a screening of the moving documentary, The House I live in. It is a powerful documentary that deals with the war on drugs and its war against Black and Brown families. The room was filled with heavy hitters! Danny Glover, Maxine Waters, John Legend, Charles Ogletree, and Roland Martin, just to name a few. Those heavy hitters pales in comparison to the Elder in the room who spoke on the injustices of the phone systems and their mission and movement to hold the phone companies and government accountable. Regardless of the person in the room, social justice rang loudly.  I saw hope.

The weekend was topped off, by having the privilege of hearing Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. preach at Howard University. For almost 30 years he has preached the Sunday before the King holiday. He preached a sermon entitled, “Look Whose In The Stands.”  Hebrew 12:1-3 (NIV), Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Dr. Wright then read the same passage from the Eugene Peterson translation in the The Message: Hebrews 12:1-3, Discipline in a Long-Distance Race 

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

From the seat of an observer, I share a few of Dr. Wright’s points:

There are three generations present with us at all times:

1. 1. The generations you can see with your naked eye.
2. 2. The second generation is the “one headed this way,” the unborn. God can see them.
3. 3. There is another generation that has slipped passed the veil of eternity. These folks live on the other side of time.

 
Look who’s in the stands. There are witnesses who are:

1. 1. Watching us.
2. 2. Anxiously Waiting for us. Waiting to see what we are going to do.
3. 3. Winner in the stand—Jesus.

 
The sermon was a prefect way to culminate the weekend. The life we live is not our own. Our lives belongs to those who have come before us, those we live with daily, and those who are to come. We have a responsibility to our ancestors as they are rooting us on and encouraging us daily. I close, as he closed, using the following statement, “Keep running with faith and keep running with purpose, and put the baton in Jesus’ hand as He is the Finisher of our faith!”

I bid you a happy February, and a great Black History Month! I hope as we move forward we continue to celebrate who we are and continue to fight the fight as we run the race! For there are great clouds of witnesses watching us!