CHARLOTTE — Parishioners young and old at Our Lady of Consolation Church took part in an African American History Month program Feb. 24 entitled, “The Greatness of Ancient Kemet to Making Black Lives Matter: Using the Stories of Our People to Inspire and Empower Us!” The program featured a keynote address by Rev. Dr. Sheldon R. Shipman, pastor of Greenville Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Charlotte and one of the Charlotte region’s most popular lecturers on black history and social and racial equity.
The program aimed to share a more nuanced perspective on African American history. The story of black people in the United States usually begins with the arrival of enslaved Africans to American shores in 1619.
They were chained, seemingly broken and “uncivilized” – if one is to believe the pictures and the portrayals in general American history curricula. However, black history also encompasses the innate eloquence of Frederick Douglass, the mastery of Benjamin Banneker, the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley, the defiance of Nat Turner and the military mastery of Toussaint L’Overture.
Father Basil Sede, pastor, led everyone in prayer, parishioner Natalie Isabel Warren recited poetry, and Gary Mumford and the African Drum Ensemble gave a special drum performance. The program was presented by Our Lady of Consolation Parish’s Black Culture Commission, co-chaired by Toni Tupponce. The program was co-chaired by Deborah Wadsworth. They are pictured with Father Sede, Rev. Dr. Shipman and Natalie Warren.
The day also included a “Harambee” Mass, inspired by the Kenyan tradition of community self-help efforts, in recognition of Black History Month. “Harambee” means “all pull together” in Swahili.
— Photos by Travis Burton | Catholic News Herald
Rev. Dr. Sheldon R. Shipman, pastor of Greenville Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Charlotte and one of the Charlotte region’s most popular lecturers on black history and social and racial equity, gave the keynote address at Our Lady of Consolation Church’s African American History Month program Feb. 24.
The celebration included Mass highlighting the Kenyan tradition of “Harambee,” which means “pulling together” in Swahili. Ladies dressed in white for the occasion.
Pictured are Father Basil Sede, pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church; Rev. Dr. Sheldon R. Shipman, pastor of Greenville Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Charlotte; Natalie Isabel Warren, who read poetry at the event; and Toni Tupponce and Deborah Wadsworth of the parish’s Black Culture Commission.
The celebration included Mass highlighting the Kenyan tradition of “Harambee.” Father Basil Sede, pastor, holds aloft the Book of the Gospels.