On Saturday several local scholars and historians gathered at IPS Crispus Attucks Museum to honor one of the world’s premiere scholars, Dr. John Hope Franklin.
Franklin, who died last week at age 94, was the preeminent historian of African-American history and a leader in the struggle for our community to gain an accurate understanding of our past so that we can achieve our full potential in the future.
As Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus stated, “Our nation has lost a mighty scholar and soldier for justice.”
However, in numerous tributes dedicated to Franklin, his work in securing the proper role of the church in our history has been overlooked.
Skeptics have always questioned the truth of Christianity, and more broadly, the relevance of religion in the history and survival of African-Americans.
In e-mails distributed to Black newspapers across the country this week, Christianity and other mainstream religions were attacked by “Chief Elder” Osiris Akkebala, leader of the Pan Afrikan International Movement and author of Lies About God.
Akkebala called religion “an attack” that has controlled the minds of African-Americans by using false doctrines to incite us to worship a “white” Jesus. Akkebala encourages Blacks to turn away from religions such as Christianity and Islam, and return to the ancestral, pagan faiths of ancient Africa.
He wrote, “Any religion is a nemesis to the Black world and only the foolish human being mind will jump with happiness at the prospect of sacrificing ourselves in the name of a made up God and Son, which require that you must believe in principles of illusion, if you want to go to ‘heaven’ and not end up in ‘hell.’”
Franklin would take serious issue with that opinion or any view that suggests that the Christian faith or another religion has been harmful to Black Americans.
Franklin was not an outwardly religious man and never really defined his personal position on faith, but he was a staunch defender of giving credit to the church and its success in guiding, inspiring and motivating Africans through slavery, the civil rights movement and the persistent economic challenges of recent globalization.
In a rare 2006 interview with Margo Hammond at the University of South Florida, Franklin noted that religion has been instrumental in the lives of African-Americans.
Here are experts from statements Franklin made during that interview.
“The Black church came into organized existence in the late 18th century. We need to remember why: the white Christian church rejected Black Christians at the beginning.”
“During the slave period, religion was extraordinarily important in the life of African-Americans. I think there’s no question that it helped sustain them in their darkest hours. It gave them hope and encouragement as they looked toward the future. Imagine how bleak it must have been in 1830 when there didn’t seem to be any end to slavery, no possibility that it would ever end. Blacks had to have something on which to rely, some kind of encouragement, something to sustain them. Religion did that. This was not just the church. It was religion, belief in a great superpower who might someday help them gain their freedom.”
“When freedom comes in 1865 – the formal, legal freedom with the passage of the 13th amendment – both your educational and religious institutions among Blacks were highly committed to education and improvement of culture in the Black community and the establishment of all kinds of institutions to protect the integrity and the value of life in the Black community.”
“At the beginning of the 20th century, however, the Black churches had their own problems of organization and problems of property and becoming viable. They primarily took stands in regards to education and general welfare rather than liberation, in the sense that we use the term in the 20th century.
Later, however, there were religious leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., who became a galvanizing force. By 1955, the civil rights movement had become more religious. The religious leader – the Kings and the Abernathys—were so charming and so powerful and so persuasive, they took over. By the 1960s, the Thurgood Marshalls and the secular legal and educational leaders were eclipsed.”
It is important to note that although Franklin praised the historical and spiritual strengths of churches, he also expressed concern that some religious organizations are no longer concerned with the “legal accomplishments” of civil rights and have not invested in educational institutions, particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as much as they used to.
He warned that in order for the faith community to keep its social relevancy in the future, it must do what it can to help address challenges in the areas of education, health disparities, crime prevention and poverty.
It would be wise for all of us – faith leaders and laymen alike- to follow the advice of this wise man by using the church not only as the venue for salvation, but as the foundation to rebuild our families and communities.
Special thanks to Margo Hammond for sharing the interview.
