
The Racial Justice Initiative was formed in 2021 after the murder of George Floyd and the many Black Lives Matter demonstrations. The goal of the committee is to increase awareness about the role and impact race has on our local community and beyond. We do this through a number of educational opportunities and activities, including our Racial Justice Lending Library (located in the Church Narthex), bulletin articles, and participation in events such as our 2023 Juneteenth celebration.
New members are always welcome. We meet monthly online via Zoom. See the St. Agnes event calendar for details.
Chair: Tom Ruhf
theruhfs@yahoo.com
February is Black History Month
During February, the Racial Justice Initiative will be recognizing Black History Month in several ways.
- Every Sunday in the bulletin we will feature a series of commentaries on African American Spirituals, describing their origin, meaning, and influence.
- We will post link resources and links to performances of the music on the website
- We will add books on the Spirituals to the Racial Justice Library in the narthex.
- We will present collaborative congregational performances of the Spirituals.
- Finally, we will host a viewing of “Going Home Like a Shooting Star Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood,” a documentary created by the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, to advance her cause for canonization. Sister Thea is one of six Black Catholics currently under consideration for sainthood. An accomplished musician and educator, Sister Thea was well-known for incorporating the Spirituals into worship and included the Spirituals in her teaching as foundational for understanding African American religious cultures.
Spiritual Videos for Black History Month
We encourage you to extend, elaborate, and refine your experience of reading about the Spirituals by following the YouTube links provided for select Spirituals, Hymns, and Gospel Songs. These selections represent in their variety of performers and style the wide influence of the songs across time and communities.
I’ve Been in the Storm So Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1LyB4hQdxM
I’ll Fly Away
https://youtu.be/swRsjOyoDsI?si=NMWLFYyAN6AWqr58
Kumbaya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz2PtcU6SxM
Wade in the Water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3qIoG1MmQ
All God’s Children Got Shoes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-l-FL0acZQ
There is a Balm in Gilead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dWpPE4hy4o
Oh, Freedom
https://youtu.be/veiJLhXdwn8?si=qnDJ0PwtdmLAKfZA
Where You There When They Crucified My Lord?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ji7eP7k8cA
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFvDtzMpPM0
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMohuzLl6UU
Oh, Mary Don’t You Weep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tebjshm7f_I
Down By the Riverside
https://youtu.be/K_tt8qDSSI8?si=DNbQcmZiPlyqo3Zb
Steal Away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo0AOf9b6fU
Lift Every Voice and Sing
https://youtu.be/jCOT1oxxgMY?si=2PN7Fq_f-HNIL12X
Weekly commentaries on African American Spirituals
Week 1:
O Black and Unknown Bards
Week 2:
Origins of the Spirituals – Distinctive black religious singing
Week 3:
Coming soon:
Interpretations of the Spirituals
Week 4:
Coming soon
Influence of the Spirituals