December 2019 Issue — On UrbanFaith.com
Celebrating UMI at 50 with Vintage Video and Images
UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.) turns 50 in 2020! Take a look back through time and see how far God has brought us!
Merry Christmas Lights!
Enjoy driving around your neighborhood and looking at the houses with beautiful Christmas lights? Grab some hot chocolate and check out this quick video!
HE IS
HE IS, a Spoken Word poem by Anita Latrice Riddle.
December Quarter 2019 Images for Social Media
And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to to pray, not to faint; Walk by Faith, Not By Sight Oh Give Thanks Unto the Lord;For He Is...
Urban Faith #YourVoteMatters Guide
The presidential election season is heating up! Black and brown people need to be #woke and on point — voter suppression is real. We’ll keep updating this page with new information as the 2020 presidential election draws nearer.
Books (NEW!)
Inspiration for Christian Teen Girls
No matter what generation, being a teen girl is tough. And it’s not easy for girls to wrap their heads around the fact that the Bible can help them get through some of the more challenging times. Author Katara Washington Patton helps serve girls with Biblical guidance in what she calls “just-the-right-size portions.”
The long history of books as Christmas gifts
Books have always made great Christmas gifts. But what makes them so special, aside from being so easy to wrap?
Enough IS Enough: What’s in your S.H.O.E.?
Dr. Ray Charles openly shares how he overcame his own personal and professional struggles and outlines a method that takes readers on a journey of looking inward and authentically about themselves and what pebbles are hindering their success.
DE’LEICE R. DRANE ON HER EMPOWERING BOOK “LIFE IS…”
De’Leice R. Drane and Rev. Dr. Bernice King discuss Drane’s book “Life Is…: An Inspirational Book of Devotions, Prayers, and Empowerment.”
11 Must-Read Books for Black History Month
Check out these must-have books from Black authors, spanning time periods, themes and genres. They tackle the Black experience with grace, courage, originality, and historical context.
What is it like to be a Christian in Egypt?
The new Arabic-language novel explores the lives of Egyptian Christians dealing with discrimination, but also a church aligned with a state seeking to control them.
Mahershala Ali on ‘Green Book’: ‘It’s a legitimate offering’
“It was challenging, especially being the lone black presence in the film and feeling responsible to address that publicly,” says Ali. “There’s a difference between racist and lacking awareness.”
Sex, God, and The Single Life: Book Review
There are certain topics that scream single Christian. Sex and singleness is one of those topics. How does one life a fulfilling single, Christian life in a culture inundated with sexual imagery? Author Hafeez Baoku has entered the fray with his new project, Sex, God,...
Heritage Focus: Cora Tucker
Documentary on prominent figures in Black History.
Heritage Focus on UrbanFaith.com
MLK’s vision of love as a moral imperative still matters
In the face of violence directed at communities of color and deepening political divisions in the country, King’s words and philosophy are perhaps more critical for us today than at any point in the recent past.
What Everyone Should Know About Reconstruction
COMMENTARY: Based on my experience teaching social studies and my current work preparing social studies educators, I consider understanding what happened during the Reconstruction essential for exploring black power, resilience, and excellence.
Reform Jews call for reparations for slavery
Delegates to the Union for Reform Judaism’s biennial meeting in Chicago on Friday (Dec. 13) voted overwhelmingly to advocate for the creation of a federal commission to study and develop proposals for reparations to African Americans for slavery.
Slave life’s harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations
Fictional accounts of white Southerners make it seem it was fun to be a slave on a plantation at holiday time. Many of today’s tours repeat such stories.
COMMENTARY: Learning resistance and courage from Ida B. Wells
A careful reading of Wells helps to deconstruct the current fear-based systems that serve the powers, principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places that stand in the path that leads to Beloved Community.
GI Bill opened doors to college, but black vets faced obstacles
Although the GI Bill enabled generations of former service members to acquire higher education and enter the middle class, the bill’s benefits were distributed in ways that create uneven outcomes.
What lost photos of Blue Notes say about South Africa’s jazz history
A rare set of photographs of South Africa’s most famous jazz ensemble, the Blue Notes, has added valuable insights to the music archive
Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize, big challenges still await Ethiopia
Abiy Ahmed was awarded the prize for efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
Who was the first black child to go to an integrated school?
School integration is often thought of as something that took place in the 1960s. But the first black student to desegregate a school by court order was an Iowa girl named Susan Clark in 1868.
After 30 years leading church, Marvin Winans still says ‘music is what I do’
Winans is marking the anniversary of his church, now with 1,800 members in the Motor City, while remaining committed to helping his community through the schools and ministries he has started to help train youth and give women a safe place to live.
16th St. Baptist church to recall bombing with messages of love, action
This Sunday, the 16th Street Baptist Church marks the 56th anniversary of the attack that killed four young girls by unveiling a refurbished space where visitors can watch videos about kindness, as well as the civil rights history of the church and its community.
Using Black History and Culture to Help Students Succeed
The success of African-centered schools like Paul Robeson Malcolm X in Detroit has spurred districts in other parts of the country to replicate the approach.
Ghana’s Year of Return 2019: traveler, tourist or pilgrim?
For Africans and diasporans, learning about their heritage is important. But it remains to be seen how this will translate into a sustained continental and diasporan engagement.
400 years of black giving: From the days of slavery to the 2019 Morehouse graduation
Billionaire Robert F. Smith made a big splash when he told Morehouse grads he would pay off their student debt. Yet his generosity adheres to a long African American tradition.
Toni Morrison and the holiness of the living, breathing flesh
With Morrison, we are reminded that we are our stories. When we do not tell them, listen to them, appreciate them and learn from them, we are all poorer souls.
Pumpsie Green, 1st black player on Boston Red Sox, dies
Former Boston Red Sox infielder Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first black player on the last major league team to field one, has died. He was 85.
Frederick Douglass: ‘What Is July 4th to the Negro?’
The legendary abolitionist’s speech ‘The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro’ became his most famous statement on America’s struggle to live up to its own creed. What can we learn from it today?
100-Year Anniversary of the Red Summer of 1919
Many people died during the summer and fall of 1919 because of race riots in cities across the country that occurred in more than three dozen cities, including Chicago and a rural county near Elaine, AK.
Juneteenth: A Commemoration of Black Independence
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration that commemorates the actual ending of slavery.
Alabama heralds ‘last slave ship’ discovery; ponders future
Dives into murky water, painstaking examinations of relics and technical data and rigorous peer review led historians and archaeologists to confirm last week that wreckage found in the Mobile River in 2018 was indeed the Clotilda, the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States.
How poverty is reshaping the story of Emmett Till’s murder
Scholars continue to debate what, exactly, happened to Emmett Till the morning of his murder. But that hasn’t stopped a poor Mississippi community from trying to profit off one version of the story.
A brief history of slavery reparation promises
Reparations has emerged as a hot topic among Democratic candidates hoping to replace Trump in 2020. But until now, the issue has only rarely received national attention.
Duke Ellington’s melodies carried his message of social justice
From spirituals about the trials of slavery to the fight for civil rights and the modern rhythms of swing music, Duke Ellington told a story about black life that was both beautiful and complex.
COBA Dancers: Passion through Performance, Education, and Research
The Toronto-based Collective of Black Artists (COBA) has been working to introduce audiences to African and Caribbean dances for 25 years. Keeping stories alive through dance and drumming provides connection and memory for the things we leave behind either by choice or urgency.
General’s family: From segregation to command in 100 years
Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr., commanding general of Fort Jackson, shares how his great-grandfather and others contributed significantly to this country without knowing what their contributions would mean to the future of the military.
‘Bloody Sunday’ altered history of a horrified nation
The images of that day in 1965 were quickly seared into the American consciousness: helmeted Alabama state troopers and mounted sheriff’s possemen beating peaceful civil rights marchers in Selma, Ala., as clouds of tear gas wafted around the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On...
Biblical guide marks 400 years since enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia
A Christian anti-hunger group has released a devotional guide to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Va.
Lessons from an Anthem
Chris Broussard, ESPN analyst and president of the K.I.N.G. movement, explores the contemporary relevance of Lift Every Voice and Sing.
After the rediscovery of a 19th-century novel, our view of black female writers is transformed
Sarah E. Farro’s rediscovered novel tells us that black women of her time read, discussed and emulated the works of people who were not like them.
Sister Thea Bowman takes step further toward canonization
Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, a trailblazing African-American sister who was the first black sister in her white congregation, the first black woman to address the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and an inspiration to thousands of people with her words and songs, is another step further toward sainthood.
Why Christians Should Celebrate Black History Month
Jemar Tisby, co-founder of the Reformed African American Network, makes a case for the relevance and importance of Black History Month.
11 Must-Read Books for Black History Month
Check out these must-have books from Black authors, spanning time periods, themes and genres. They tackle the Black experience with grace, courage, originality, and historical context.
The enigmatic man who founded southern Africa’s largest church
ZCC members at Moria City. Sowetan/Edward Maahlamela Every Easter weekend, several millions of Zion Christian Church (ZCC) faithful from across southern Africa descend on “Moria city”, the church’s capital in the north of the country, for their annual pilgrimage. The...
Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter — parallels and progress
Comparing the 1960s and 1970s Black Panther Party and today’s Black Lives Matter movement reveals parallels and progress.
How Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel, helped him break baseball’s color line
Jackie Robinson couldn’t have achieved what he did without his wife, Rachel, whose spirit was as formidable as his own.
How Tarana Burke founded the “Me Too” movement in Selma, Alabama
“This is really about people being able to walk through life with their dignity intact.”
MLK: Remembering the Dream
We’re honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with engaging articles, podcast shorts, video, and useful resources.
Two-Minute Podcast Shorts on Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Melvin Banks draws Biblical connections and insight into the life and leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. Take a few minutes to enjoy these two-minute podcast shorts.
Tuskegee Airman John Lyle dead at 98
Lyle died Saturday at his home on Chicago’s South Side, his wife, Eunice, said Monday. She added that Lyle had been battling prostate cancer.
5 religious facts you might not know about Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, known as the father of the civil rights movement, 19th-century abolitionist, and former slave was also a licensed preacher. Here are five religious facts about Douglass.