Why I Celebrate Black History Month
“Do This In Remembrance of Me”

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (ESV)

One of Jesus’s most potent statements was as he broke bread and shared table fellowship with his disciples. He knew why he had been born of a virgin, why he would suffer at the hands of the very people to whom he came to offer a better life in the present through salvation, eternal life, and forever presence with God Almighty. Jesus did not leave us orphaned, comfortless, desolate  (John 14:18), or without the means to become God’s ambassadors, the sent ones, to invite and duplicate his efforts until he returns to bring all humankind or those who choose to be followers and those who enlist and engage others as witnesses to the benefits of having a personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

My point is that knowing and affirming your identity by first connecting to God is important and necessary to shape our remembrance in such a way that we acknowledge the great cloud of witnesses of the faith who introduced me and others to Jesus Christ. The phrase “Standing on the shoulders of a great cloud of witnesses”  (Hebrews 12:1-2)  refers to the inspiration and support believers receive from those who have come before them in their faith journey.

Black History Month is not about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), which has become a diluted excuse for not recognizing the sacred worth of Black Americans, African Americans, and those who historically descended from slavery to freedom. Rather, it is about acknowledging that we are people of sacred worth that Christ himself affirmed by being born, living, teaching, saving, dying, and resurrecting. Even now, Christ is preparing a place for those who say “yes” and submit themselves to the will of God through Him.

So, yes, I celebrate the sacred worth of Black people during the month of February and throughout the year. The ongoing struggle to affirm that I am not less than because I am Black, because I am a woman, because I am Christian, and because I embrace my Afro-centric identity is a testimony in itself. I have Jesus-ordained sacred worth, and in celebrating my faith and my ethnic heritage, I remember that I stand on the shoulders of a great cloud of witnesses.

The journey continues…
Blessings and Peace,
Pastor Monica J