CHARLOTTE — More than 30 young people from Our Lady of Consolation Parish’s Youth-In-Action group went on a five-day, coming-of-age road trip all the way to “Kujenga.”
Kujenga, which means “to build” in Swahili, was a retreat for black Catholic teens held recently outside New York City.
The journey challenged the youths to deepen their Catholic faith, connect to their African American roots, and receive spiritual guidance to help them become strong, young black Catholic adults.
Youth chaperone Dominise Duliepre explained, “Yes, we had fun, but the whole point was to get in touch with our spiritual side, to understand why we are here and what other people are doing. How do we all connect as one family? It is great to see other young black Catholics because we do not see them very often, especially in Charlotte. We are the only black Catholic church in the area. To see black Catholics at other churches in Brooklyn and Queens was cool. Seeing other kids like us sharing a similar religious experience was exciting.”
Their journey included a brief stop in Washington, D.C., where they visited the White House and the Washington Monument as well as the National Museum of African American History and Culture. YIA member and leader Emmanuel Okechukura, 19, said, “The first stop was the African American Museum, which is very famous. It was established in 2017. We re-established a lot of history there, connecting to our roots.”
Trip organizer and youth coordinator Denise Gittens-Duliepre added, “The display of Emmett Till’s coffin was the most impactful and very emotional. To actually see the coffin he laid in, it was as though the clock stopped at the year 1955 and you felt like you were really at the funeral services for Emmett Till. The room was filled with a feeling of overwhelming sadness. Emmett Till was the 14-year-old accused of whistling at a white woman. He was tortured, disfigured and murdered by two white men. There were so many heart-breaking exhibits, but there were also many wonderful historical accomplishments of African Americans, which made YIA proud.”
Their second day was packed with as much adventure as the first. Gittens-Duliepre said, “After a night at the Apollo, YIA started their day off with a visit to the cathedral in Harlem, St. Charles Borromeo Church. The pastor, Father Gregory Chisholm, and his spiritual team did an excellent job sharing and teaching how Catholicism played a major role in the history of Harlem. His spiritual team spoke on the importance of being Catholic and answering to God’s call. This session emphasized the importance of holding on to faith as Catholics while growing older.”
YIA members then attended a special luncheon with civil rights activist Claudette Colvin.
Amily James, 15, said, “We went to see the ‘first Rosa Parks,’ Ms. Colvin. They were trying to make her stand up on the bus but she refused to. We met her at a restaurant, and we ate and we were just listening to her story. It was somewhat touchy and she was funny, inspirational. What will always stick with me is when Ms. Colvin said that while on that bus she felt Harriet Tubman pushing down on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth pushing her down on the other shoulder, which had her glued to that seat.”
Gittens-Duliepre added, “Ms. Colvin opened her talk by praying the Lord’s Prayer with the youth. She made the YIA feel like they were actually there as they could feel the fear, anxiety and ultimately the courage she felt that day.”
“YIA ended day two by riding the NYC subway, which was quite an event. They had 15 minutes of fame when YIA collaborated singing and dancing talents with a NYC street performer at the Times Square Station. It was a magical experience when the street performer unselfishly gave the kids his microphone and shared his train station stage. As the party began with clapping, singing and dancing, immediately a huge audience circled the youth with their phones out to display to the social media world what was happening,” Gittens-Duliepre recalled.
As the young people climbed the stairs up from the train station into the bright lights of 42nd Street, they felt overwhelmed and exhilarated by the huge crowds of people. For some, it was their first time visiting the city.
Jovanka Gonzalez, 13, said, “We went to Times Square and at first it was all fun; we saw all the lights. Most of us who have not been there – we were stunned by everything. Then we started walking around, we started to get adjusted to things. It is a different environment, and we are not used to the crowded places in New York. It was very fun but very alerting for us.”
YIA members also visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Jovanka Gonzalez recalled, “Although St. Patrick’s was in the busy streets of Manhattan, when you stepped inside, you could feel peace. We were all surprised to learn that African American St. Pierre Toussaint is buried there.”
Olivia Mukoko, 12, added, “We also went to the 9/11 towers that are actually waterfalls now. There we saw a tree – the only tree that survived 9/11 – and someone talked to us about that tree. I felt that it represented how we should still overcome the bad even though there is a lot of bad coming our way. We should still fight on and not give up, because that tree is still there.”
Friday morning, the YIA crew headed to the dioceses of Brooklyn and Queens and met in fellowship with more than 75 youth from Brooklyn and Queens at their final destination: Kujenga.
The event, held at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception on Long Island, N.Y., featured presentations by several speakers, Eucharistic Adoration, opportunity for the sacrament of confession, a recitation of the rosary, a lecture on African saints and ancestral prayer rituals, and a rite of passage ceremony for the youths. The event concluded with Sunday Mass.
YIA’s Florence Okoro, 17, recalled, “The Holy Hour was the most memorable experience as we gathered in the church with candles and sang worship songs. I felt so close to God that it moved me to tears. I will forever remember the smell of the incense and the voice of God.”
Jacqueline Diouf, 16, added, “It was dark and candles were lit up. It was kind of like a meditation hour with God. The atmosphere was so spiritual. It was just cool to feel the presence of God all together in a different space. Sometimes you just don’t feel it at your home. Sometimes you just don’t feel it because sometimes you get used to the atmosphere, sometimes it is just not there. But then, when you get with other people, you can really feel. You can talk about it, like, you can talk out loud. I can feel it! I can still feel it right now because we are all here and we are all reminiscing about what we did at Kujenga. I feel it right now. If you think about the way I think about it, I really had a great experience because I can still feel it.”
YIA’s president, Devine Drummond, 18, described the rite of passage ceremony as a meaningful moment for him. “It was a special moment when they honored the 2018 graduates as we received a special homily crafted to send us off into the real world. We received a special blessing, as our sponsors were at our side for support.”
While the older teens received guidance on their spiritual journeys as black Catholics, the younger group tried to piece together the painful history of their ancestors by visiting an African Burial Ground containing the remains of more than 419 forgotten, enslaved African-Americans.
Zhi’yahn Hood, 12, noted, “We went to the African-American burial ground, where a bunch of people were injured and died. They were all buried together. Now they found a bunch of bones from all those people. It was an actual burial ground for African slaves.”
Young Empress Voliton added, “At the burial ground, they had a realistic statue of a man, and a family. We saw a little film about how they found out about the slave burial ground. I don’t know if it was real or not, but the statute was of a family putting the father into the grave. The woman outside was talking about the burial ground and I really wanted to hear every word of it, but I couldn’t. It was really touching.”
Gittens-Duliepre explained, “The trip was a humbling experience for YIA to learn of the lives young people live in NYC – quite a tougher life. YIA more than appreciated the experience to now know that there are young Catholics that look like them. Being young and Catholic down South can make you feel out of place at times because there are so few of us, but being in New York showed us quite the opposite. This trip was a profound and life-changing experience!”
— Lisa Geraci, Correspondent. Denise Gittens-Duliepre, Chimdindu (Chimmy) Oduh, Amily James, Jovanka Gonzalez, Florence Okoro and Jacqueline Diouf contributed.