Today, we remember Juneteenth, a holiday that is a bit newer to some of us, I think. It is the day back in 1865 when the last American slaves were finally released from slavery. It is an important day to celebrate what freedom means and to honor African American History.
What we remember and how we remember it has a profound impact on us. The stories we tell reshape the way we see the world; they transform our lives and our hopes. So often, when we talk about Black history, we talk about the evils of slavery and the brave souls who claimed the courage to stand against it no matter the cost. We learn of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. We hear stories of the horrors they faced and we mourn. Or we talk about the legacy of racism and lift up the heroes who fought against it – especially Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Their stories are ground-breaking, moving, crucial parts of our history to know – but they aren’t the whole story.
There is more to our shared story than the suffering of our ancestors and family in faith. We have heroes right now, today, who have been bold to look at that field of dry bones and say, “yes, these bones can live.” To celebrate our oneness in Christ, to celebrate our history and shared hope, I would like to remember some modern-day Black heroes who were not daunted by the problems they saw around them. Learning about their work can open our eyes to God’s life-changing love that blooms every day.
(I apologize for any names I mispronounce). Dr Kizzmekia Corbett is a viral immunologist. She was the leader of a team of scientists that created the Moderna vaccine against COVID. Dr. Damien Fair is a behavioral neuroscientist who got a MacArthur genius grant in 2020. He’s using fMRI scans to map the brain so that we can have a better understanding of ADHD and autism. He’s also part of a group that’s working to make MRI machines cheaper so that more folks can have access to them.
Dr. Monika Schleier-Smith is an experimental physicist who also got one of those genius grants in 2020. She’s studying quantum entanglement and space-time and what happens when atoms are in black holes and all kinds of things that I can barely understand. Then there’s more familiar folks like LeBron James and Beyonce. Not only did LeBron James win 4 NBA Championships and 2 Olympic gold medals. He also has a foundation that has started its own elementary school, created housing and a medical center, and so much more. Beyonce doesn’t just have 28 Grammys. She has also done hurricane disaster relief, created housing, supported drug and alcohol rehab, helped folks in Flint, Michigan go to college, helped get mental health services to essential workers during the pandemic, and gotten COVID tests and supplies out.
Christopher Bradshaw works to fight hunger in D.C. – already serving more than 300,000 meals during this pandemic, creating community gardens and hosting farmers’ markets, and working to end food deserts. Aswad Thomas is a social worker who was the victim of a crime. From that experience, he learned to listen to victims of crime. He started a non-profit that works for crime prevention that centers the needs of the victims in policies local and beyond.
I could go on, but I think you’ve got the idea. God’s story doesn’t end with the heartache, the sorrow, the tragedy. God doesn’t leave a field of dry bones for us to deal with alone. In our history, in our families, in our past and in our present – God shows us that these bones can live and walk and be reborn and be renewed
Resources:
https://www.theroot.com/list/the-root-100-2021/kizzmekia-corbett-1 & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Fair & https://www.theroot.com/list/the-root-100-2021/monika-schleier-smith-81 & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%C3%A9 & https://www.theroot.com/list/the-root-100-2021/christopher-bradshaw-69 & https://www.theroot.com/list/the-root-100-2021/aswad-thomas-13