Archives: CBU Faculty

Dr. Elisha W. McCall was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana on March 12, 1940. In 1962, racial discrimination led him to relocate to California. In response to the injustices he had encountered, he considered joining the civil rights movement. Instead, he employed the education he had received at Grambling State University as a teacher for 20 years.  

Pastor McCall’s emphasis on education influenced him to make Sunday School a hallmark of his ministry. In 1995, Baptist Press reported that St. Stephen’s Sunday School had grown to 1,000 in attendance. McCall stated in an interview, “When I came to California, I had this seething rage within me, but God turned and tilted it toward the Kingdom” (Roach). To this day, Sunday School is an integral part of the culture of St. Stephen where it is considered to be “the flagship” of the church. 

In 1970, McCall began his tenure as pastor of St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in La Puente, CA where he served, led, and innovated faithfully for 37 years. In addition to his bachelor’s degree, E.W. earned a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv) from American Baptist Seminary of the West and a Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin) from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from a group of 35 members meeting in a house to an all-purpose campus accommodating roughly 4,000 members.  

In 1993, Dr. McCall was instrumental in founding the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention. Today, this group represents about 4,000 predominantly Black congregations. In 2002, E. W. McCall was elected as the first African American to serve as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. After retiring from the pastorate, Dr. McCall served as an African American ministry specialist with the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention. In honor of Dr. McCall, the SBTC endowed a scholarship for African American Master of Divinity Students at Gateway Seminary in 2013.  

Dr. E. W. McCall was the first African American to chair the board of trustees at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary). Dr. McCall served as first vice president of the California Southern Baptist Convention and was a longtime trustee at California Baptist University where he served as Board Chair twice. He also served in several leadership positions within the Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association.  

Dr. Anthony Dockery, who is the current pastor of St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church, remembers Dr. McCall as “a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and cousin on the highest level. Family was critically important to him. It would have been easy to get overwhelmed with education, church, convention life, serving on boards, and mentoring future leaders but he still nurtured a healthy and strong family first and foremost. He was also an exceptional administrator managing human and static resources with wisdom, intelligence, and prayer. Leading souls to Christ, discipling believers, and setting the table for them to eat from was Pastor McCall’s expertise. It was a God sized task to have a church with four thousand members that had a full time staff of five! Dr. McCall mastered lay ministry leadership and servanthood. He was a very balanced leader that had vision and strategy implementation that were unprecedented.” Dr. E.W. McCall left a legacy that continues to bear the fruit of his contributions to the church. Prayerfully, future generations will continue to highlight his life, ministry, and pioneering accomplishments. 

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

Andrew Bryan was born August 16, 1737, in South Carolina. He received Christ hearing the gospel preached by George Liele. Andrew Bryan was baptized in the Savannah River by George Liele and was a founding member of the First African Baptist Church. On January 20, 1788, Bryan was ordained as a minister. About nine months after George Liele left Georgia for Jamaica, Bryan had begun preaching to congregations of both Black and White parishioners. Bryan was willing to go to the extreme to make sure the gospel was preached, and fellowship was maintained within his congregation. This was evidenced by his imprisonment twice for conducting church services. On one occasion, Andrew was whipped so severely that one of the White men present said that “such treatment would be condemned even among the barbarians” (Davis, 124). Nevertheless, as Andrew Bryan was being whipped, witnesses reported that he rejoiced. He had concluded that even if he died during the punishment, he could take joy in knowing that he had died for the cause of Christ. 

The more Andrew continued to reach the lost among Black American slaves, the more attention he drew from masters who saw black American slaves coming to saving faith in Christ as a threat for revolt. Slave patrols would whip, arrest, and punish church-going slaves even when they had permission to be there. This is one of the earliest Christian persecutions in American history. Additionally, we see the Pastoral staff face grave injustice. “The culmination was that Andrew Bryan, their pastor himself, and his brother, Sampson Bryan, one of the first deacons, were ‘inhumanly cut and their backs were so lacerated that their blood ran down to the earth as they, with uplifted hands, cried unto the Lord; but Bryan in the midst of his torture, declared that he rejoiced not only to be whipped but would freely suffer death for the cause of Jesus Christ’” (Woodson, 49). This posture of rejoicing when receiving whipping and even facing death comes from knowing that being patient in suffering will lead to life in Christ for those who believe no matter how excruciating and heinous the persecution is.  

Bryan, his fellow staff, and congregants understood that the present suffering does not compare to the coming glory. Jesus explains to his disciples that the injustices they will face in this life will not only be an outstanding gospel witness, but that not even death can conquer the eternal life and glory we have in Christ. Andrew Bryan continued to serve the Kingdom, and by God’s grace the church grew exponentially. Furthermore, the growth of his church, which reached 700 members, caused the Second and Third African Baptist Churches of Savannah to be birthed. Andrew Bryan was willing to endure violence and persecution that provide the opportunity for gospel fruit to survive and thrive beyond his earthly days, and that truly is a blessing we ought to hear, celebrate, and model.  Let us remember, celebrate, and continue the legacy of Andrew Bryan. 

To learn more about George Liele check out this blog: Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

“Without any consideration of the merits or demerits of what is called the exceptional man theory, perhaps no two men stand out more prominently in the early history of the Negro church than George Liele and Andrew Bryan” (Davis, 119). For a statement like this to be made about these two men after the hundreds of thousands of Black preachers who have followed in their wake speaks volumes. George Liele was born in Virginia around 1751. After moving to Georgia as a youth, he was called to ministry.  

George Liele had a deep conviction that enslaved Blacks needed to hear the gospel message and after satisfying a quarterly meeting of White preachers of his ability to preach, he began to travel to plantations sharing the Word with his fellow Blacks. “Desiring to prove [the sense I had of] my obligations to God, I endeavored to instruct [the people of] my own color in the word of God” (Mitchell, 45). One of these endeavors led to the conversion of a young man named Andrew Bryan. In 1773, George Liele organized the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA. marking it as the first Black Baptist Church in North America. In response to this, his owner Mr. Henry Sharp granted him freedom from slavery.  

Liele was forced back into servitude when his manumission papers were called into question by individuals who likely sought to use him for their personal financial gain. By indenturing himself to a White man, he was able to prevent being re-enslaved. When the British military entered Savannah, Liele was forced to evacuate Jamaica because of the debt that he owed. After earning freedom for himself and his family, he began to preach to a congregation in Kingston, Jamaica in 1784.  

Eventually, he had organized a congregation of slaves and free Blacks numbering around 1500 regular members. Liele’s meetings were often interrupted by violent Whites who feared that Liele’s preaching would encourage slaves to revolt. To keep the gospel from being impeded, only slaves who had the permission of their owners could become members. In addition, the Jamaican legislature gave the right to freedom of religious expression to everyone on the island. By 1814, his efforts had resulted in around 8,000 Baptists in Jamaica. Many credit George Liele as the first American missionary. Throughout his career in ministry, Liele was well known to have accepted zero compensation for any of his church responsibilities. 

First African Baptist Church is still worshiping today and occupies a space on the National Register of Historic Places. The sanctuary contains many of the original fixtures, including pews which were crafted by slaves and contain cursive Hebrew, Ancient Ethiopian/Ge’ez, and Aramaic inscriptions. The legacy of faith, resilience, and Christian service that this man left behind is terribly underreported. May that cease to be the case. We thank God for the life and ministry of George Liele.  

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

Black students of theology, and Black Christians in general, often find themselves wondering why the contributions Black Americans have presented to the collective fabric of our faith are often absent. Outside of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., very few if any Black American Christians are celebrated in our church-related academic studies. This leads to the false notion that Black Americans have adopted Christianity solely through various forms of forced conversion. Furthermore, it bolsters the assumption that Black people in this country have not made any notable contributions to the Kingdom of God. This series will serve to correct these fallacies by providing profiles of notable Black church leaders and the accomplishments of their ministries. 

This series explains how Christian persecution driven by slavery was the reason that the Baptist tradition flourished among Blacks in the American South, as well as on the island of Jamaica. While it is unfortunately true that many of our forefathers were introduced to the gospel as slaves, what they did with the message speaks volumes. The fact that these largely uneducated people could understand the redeeming and liberating love of God, in the midst of a culture that used the same Scriptures to enslave them, speaks to the actual condition of a saved soul. One of the great lessons the Black American church has shared with the world is that God often uses adversity to draw us closer to him. My hope is that through education, we can become more aware of the things we say and do in terms of our display of spiritual fruit. 

The overarching mission of this series is to recognize those little known Black American Christian leaders who have paved, and are paving the way for every Christian to worship God in spirit and in truth. We hope to accomplish this by drawing insights from Black American Christians who have had a consequential impact for God’s Kingdom both in this nation, and around the world. In addition, it explores the dichotomy that exists within the overall American Christian experience. It highlights Christian persecution inflicted by other Christians on account of race. It begs us to ask “How?” in hopes that what we derive from these exceptional Christian leaders will drive us all to be better disciples of Christ. As Armon Patrick and myself demonstrate through the profiling of the individuals in this series, the Black American Christian tradition has often been the pioneering force in church culture. In other words, Black Americans have always had a foundational place in American Christian history and continue to do so.  

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

In a recent blog series, Dr. Smith explored some ideas and tools for writing well (you can find an overview of the series here). An important resource available to you as a CBU student is the University Writing Center (UWC). Read on to hear from the Director of the UWC and two of the UWC’s Writing Coaches to learn how they may help shape the development of your writing skills! 

From Dr. Tae Sung, Director of the University Writing Center  

I don’t know about you. But I never thought I would ever go back to school after college. I remember completing my last final exam and thanking God I would never have to take another class. After all, Jesus gathered a bunch of fishermen—not degrees—to be his disciples, right?  

It is true… But after several years of serving God in full-time ministry, I also began to see that fishing wasn’t the only skill God needed. There’s Paul, for example, who lists his many accomplishments in his letter to the Philippians, which must have equaled at least to a master’s degree. Sure, he considered it all a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus. But there’s still a reason why he wrote almost half the New Testament. Peter, one of the fishermen, barely wrote six pages in my Bible. 

Once I realized that God calls different people to serve as different parts of one body—some like Peter without higher education and others like Paul with a lot of it—I had this fishy suspicion that God was calling me to the very thing I thought I would never have to do. I still serve the church. But no one including myself would have guessed I would go on from a master’s to a doctoral degree and become a university professor.  

That transition from a youth pastor to a university professor, however, was far from easy. When I first began my graduate studies in an M.A. program, I was lost in at least two ways and unsure if I would ever be found again. The first challenge was realizing that graduate studies was less about getting a degree and more about becoming a professional in my field of study. It wasn’t just about doing literary criticism; it was about becoming a literary critic. Likewise, for you, it’s no longer just about doing this or that assignment; it’s now about becoming a scholar in your discourse community.  

Related to the first was a second challenge that had to do with my writing and communication. A big part of my problem was that over the years I began to rely on some bad habits and cheap tricks that no longer worked. I was so worried about my grammar and vocabulary that I failed to persuade anybody of what I was saying. It was not possible anymore to be satisfied with being a bad or mediocre writer. And it wasn’t just because I was in an English program. Effective writing and communication, in case you haven’t realized already, are essential to every profession out there. And a lot of times, they are the reasons why some people keep moving up and others don’t.  

The University Writing Center exists to remind you that the two challenges above are related. Becoming a professional means being an effective writer and communicator in the profession. This is not an easy task. But with the proper foundation, the mystery of writing will begin to dissipate and you’ll see more clearly how you can improve with some hard work. One key principle that you’ll need to remember is that writing is not just about correct grammar or number of paragraphs but, more importantly, about greater awareness of your credibility, audience, and purpose.  

Below, you’ll read from two of our writing coaches. Allison will share what she’s learned from the Writing Center and Sammy will share how the Writing Center can help you.  

What I Learned from My First Appointment and Since Becoming a Writing Coach 

By Allison Weaver, Writing Coach 

I realized I needed help when I received the grade for my first college writing assignment. I had always thought of myself as a decent writer, but it became clear that even good writing could always become better. And what I have learned since my first appointment with the Writing Center is that becoming a better writer had less to do with checking off a list of requirements and fixing my grammar and more to do with learning how to engage in an academic conversation.  

Now that I am a writing coach, I have gained a better understanding of what a purpose-driven writer should look like. The leading element to purpose-driven writing is writing clearly and persuasively. That’s the secret to a well written paper! This is something most students aspire for their writing to be once they leave a writing center appointment. It is most important as writers that we provide all the information upfront then guide our readers step-by-step to how we got our conclusion. By doing this, readers are able to see the well-developed format of your paper, leaving no room for confusion. Once you have mastered this element of your paper, it is now onto articulating your words in such a way that persuades your reader you know the material well. As writing center coaches, credibility is crucial. Stating your ethos will allow for your argument (logos) to better compliment your academic tone which is achieved through your pathos. 

How the Writing Center Can Help You 

By Sammy Carter, Writing Coach 

To accommodate each student’s availability, the Writing Center offers three types of appointments: on-campus, online, and email.  Each type is also designed with different stages of writing in mind. So, online appointments are usually best for the prewriting or outlining stage, while email appointments are usually better for complete drafts. On-campus appointments can go both ways with the added benefit of being able to talk with your writing coach in person.  

Even if a writing coach is unfamiliar with your particular subject, we are all trained to offer a general academic reader’s feedback to help with the clarity of your structure and the persuasiveness of your argument. If you need help with your sentences and grammar, we provide additional support through Grammarly, which you can sign up for at our website free of charge.  

Also, on our website, you can find other great resources like our video tutorials, as well as opportunities like our yearly Distinguished Public Lecture series, where we invite influential writers to share their work with the CBU community. Our first lecture last year was given by Nancy Duarte, CEO of one of the largest communication firms in Silicon Valley. We are hoping to release a study guide soon for you to dive deeper into DataStory and incorporate her insights into your own writing, just as we are getting ready to announce our next exciting speaker.  

As I reflected on what I wanted to say for my perspective for this Black History Month blog series, I’m always struck by the fact that many times Black History is relegated to our American history. That history for many of us starts at slavery and our ancestors being brought here against their will. In tracing my own history, my story can only back to a gentleman named Tom Pittman who “owned” my great-great grandparents. This led me to some sobering truths. First, that I’m literally only 2 generations removed from slavery. Secondly, that I am essentially cut off from my true history as an African living in America. As much as I would love to know the story of how my ancestors lived before being brought to the United States, or even the chain of specific events that landed them here, I know this information is now lost forever.  

Another sobering truth is that we rarely consider African history during Black History month. We rarely teach nor make sure our children are taught about Mansa Mousa, the Moors, or Hannibal. We rarely teach nor are our children taught that there weren’t slaves that were brought to this country, but doctors, chemists, philosophers, musicians, and mathematicians, etc. There is no way that “slaves” brought here to work, individuals who supposedly had no sophisticated language, could be responsible for the inventions and contributions to our society that we recall each year if this were truly the case. In fact, as we are now bombarded daily with new information about COVID and vaccines, it is impossible to tell the story of vaccines in the country without bringing African science into this narrative. In fact, as Herbert (2009) writes, “Inoculation for smallpox, the forerunner of vaccination, has had a long and variegated history. The earliest known descriptions of the practice in sub-Saharan Africa were given by African slaves in colonial America in the early and mid-eighteenth century”, meaning that the vaccination process that we know take for granted originated from Africans. These were the Africans who were brought here as slaves, remembering the customs of their homeland that served to cure their entire village from illnesses like smallpox. This was initially met with skepticism, but a gentleman named Cotton Mather introduced a process shown to him by one of the Africans that he “owned” who essentially inoculated his entire plantation, including Mr. Mather’s family, essentially giving them immunity from smallpox. Unless you’ve done research specifically on smallpox, how would one know about this groundbreaking contribution to creation the healthy country that we now enjoy?  

Our history is truly world history and shouldn’t be relegated to simply Garrett Morgan and George Washington Carver, although equally as important.  

I’ve recently began to research my African history through DNA testing in hopes of uncovering some hidden history, a history that my grandfather passed away without ever knowing. I want to pass this information to my own children who will hopefully take it even further as technology advances. It saddens me that many of my elders never had a chance to even consider this new information during their lifetime, but I feel like I owe it to the generations that follow to provide them with as much information as humanly possible. Hopefully this journey of personal discovery can lead me to my ancestral country of origin. The same origin that many non-Africans in the US have had available to them since their birth. It has been said that African Americans in this country are essentially a lost people. Every other nationality in the country can trace their ancestry through the generations back to their ancestral country of origin without interference or missing information other than information missing due to family secrets for example. African Americans are essentially cut off from this ancestry voyage which leaves a void that can never be filled. That sense of belonging, connection, and pride for their ancestral home is lost for many African Americans due to no fault of our own. This loss manifests itself in a variety of ways our society, from the cycles of drug abuse and poverty that plague many cities in America to the many broken homes that exist in many of these same cities. Many scholars attribute this to the historical tradition of breaking up family through the sale of family members based on the needs of slave owners which routinely sold children and spouses, never to be heard from again. This served to eradicate the family structure as family were simply not allowed to exist as intact family unit.  

My hope is that African Americans, just like many of our friends and neighbors are all privileged enough to have this discovery and begin to think more as global citizens and realize that our history begins far before being brought to this country. My hope is that we travel extensively to other countries to see other faces that look like ours in other countries and recognize that kinship and sense of belonging that I have felt in my travels. It is only then that we will begin to see collectively as a people that our history far more than what is being discussed every February and far more extensive than we can ever conceptualize. Our true history is not simply Black history, but the history of this world. This history can never be fully told without making known the immense contributions from people that look just like me.  It is not until our brothers and sisters who have not been affected by these same atrocities are as upset by these atrocities as those who suffered from them, will things ultimately begin to change for the better.  The question that I have is will this legacy end with us as we owe it those that have come before us to pay it forward? Sadly, whenever there are good faith attempts to address these wrongs, it is often met with silence or even aggression.  Is America truly willing to do her part to begin to right this wrong or will she continue to look the other way in the essence of comfort? 

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”  

   ~Martin Luther King, Jr.  

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Want to read more in our 2022 Black History Month Blog series? Check out all the posts below!

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee-Johnson

Why I can’t wait to get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Viola W Lindsey, MSW, PhD

Surely, he shall never be shaken. The righteous man will be remembered forever, Psalm 112:6

My mind is in a concentrical circle, at the core of which is wonderment; wondering how might it be possible to condense 400 years and 146,000 days of Black History into one-twelfth of a year and 28 days. The answer came in the form of a question from the inquisitive mind of a 10-year-old who had the audacity to ask, Grammy, how come every year during Black History month we only talk about Dr Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks; weren’t there any other people involved in the cause?

While the question felt almost blasphemous, it was a reminder to consider remembering the names of some of the lesser known and lesser talked about individuals. There are many individuals who not only participated in but gave their lives in the struggle for Black rights and freedoms. Sometimes we forget to remember. Our forgetfulness does not make them any less a necessary part of history. There will be others who will ask the same question: weren’t their others whose names are never mentioned? The very thought of such a question should arouse the collective consciousness of our dereliction in failing to remember, and hence its collective neglect of preserving deserved stories. As practitioners and social scientists, research has shown us the power of storytelling in teaching, forging relationships, and, arguably above all, inspiring people to make change.

Tangential as they may seem compared to the role of an individual like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there are individuals whose contributions to the Civil Rights Movement are just as noteworthy. Take for example, Claudette Colvin. At age 15 in 1955, Claudette preceded Rosa Parks in her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white woman. She was arrested and charged with being a juvenile delinquent. That charge made Claudette Colvin unsuitable to be the face of the Civil Rights Movement. Nine months later, Rosa Parks was arrested for the same ‘crime’ as Ms. Colvin. At this point the Montgomery bus boycott is now in full swing. The story of Rosa Parks remains etched in our storytelling today. But we also remember Claudette Colvin. In 2021, at the age of 82, Ms. Colvin’s record was expunged, and she is no longer considered a juvenile delinquent.

We remember the “Little Rock Nine” during Black History Month. But little is said about Autherine Lucy. Under protest, riots, and civil unrest, Autherine Lucy enrolled in the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1955. Within three days she was expelled ‘for her own safety’. Her dismissal would later be annulled. Re-enrolling in the University of Alabama in the 1980’s along with her daughter, Lucy earned a master’s degree in elementary education and an honorary doctorate degree from both the University of Alabama and her alumnus, Miles College, A Historical Black University (HBCU). A historical marker now hangs at the University of Alabama in honor of Lucy’s courage. Vivian Malone and James Hood would later enroll in the University of Alabama in 1963 as the then Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, stood in the door to block their entrance. Malone became the first African American to graduate from the university.

We remember the 16^th Street church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama where four young girls ages 11 and 14 were killed. I want to remember James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, both Jewish, and Andrew Goodman, an African American, who were murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi in the midst of offering art classes, and curriculum on Black History while participating in a Black voters’ registration drive.

Who can forget Viola Liuzzo, a White civil rights activist from Detroit, Michigan was horrified by the images she saw of ‘Bloody Sunday’ on television? Leaving her husband and children in the care of others, she drove to Marion, Alabama where she took part in the three-day march from Selma to Montgomery. While transporting marchers from Montgomery to Selma, Viola Liuzzo was shot and killed by four Klansmen.

Sometimes during remembering, we forget. Perhaps it is the time to begin again to acknowledge and shine the light on ‘weren’t their others’?

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Want to read more in our 2022 Black History Month Blog series? Check out all the posts below!

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee-Johnson

Why I can’t wait to get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

A few weeks ago, I was browsing LinkedIn and getting caught up on the latest professional news. While scrolling, a post appeared that amazed me: Mattel was advertising their newest doll of Ida B. Wells! I couldn’t believe it and immediately went to the website to try and order my own Wells doll. I desperately wanted my 10-year-old daughter to see this doll. She needs to know who Ida B. Wells is and how she contributed to the fight for justice for Black Americans.  

As you read this, you might be wondering why Mattel would create a doll of Ida B. Wells. Who is Ida B. Wells anyway? Why was this doll so important to me? Why does my daughter need to know about her? Although this blog post is not intended to provide a detailed history lesson, it’s important to take this moment during Black Heritage Month to shine a light on sheroes like Mrs. Wells and how they paved the way for Black women like me.  

Doll diversity 

In January 2022, the Mattel company released their newest Barbie doll in their Inspiring Women series: Ida B. Wells. The new Wells barbie joins Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Helen Keller, and others in this series. According to Mattel, “The Barbie Inspiring Women Series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules, and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before.” Mattel has been making Barbie dolls since 1959 and has continued to transform their popular toy over time to reflect the culture. The first African American Barbie hit the market in 1968, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the Mattel company embarked on an intentional effort to diversity its doll line. In 2018 the Inspiring Women series launched featuring Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, and Katherine Johnson.  

Now Ida B. Wells has joined the collection.  

Ida B. Wells 

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born in 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was a journalist who led a social movement against the lynching of African Americans across the South. She was born into slavery but was freed and given the opportunity to receive a college education. She used her education and the advantages it provided her to advocate for other African Americans through teaching, speaking, and writing. Mrs. Wells was an activist, a champion for justice, and unapologetic in her demands. She serves as a symbol of strength and grace and inspires me to use my gifts and talents to pursue justice with zeal.  

Why this Matters 

You’ve likely heard the saying “representation matters” in the last several years. Well…it does. That’s why I’m so excited about this new doll and want to introduce it to my daughter. It is essential that little girls, like my daughter, know who she is and what she did for this country. I want my daughter to see her Ida B. Wells Barbie doll and remember that justice is possible but not easy. It takes a commitment to education and service to others. As a social work educator, I am deeply committed to these things. I seek to use my privileges to do as Proverbs 31:8-9 says and “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. Speak out in order to judge with righteousness and to defend the needy and the poor.” That’s what Ida B. Wells did throughout her life. I am thankful that someone at the Mattel corporation recognized her contribution and deemed her worthy of being represented in the Inspiring Series collection. She has certainly inspired me, and I hope she will be an inspiration to my daughter as well.  

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Want to read more in our 2022 Black History Month Blog series? Check out all the posts below!

Why Black History Month by Dr. Charles Lee-Johnson

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Since 1976, February has been recognized as Black History Month to commemorate and celebrate the struggles, contributions, and achievements of Black people in America and throughout the African Diaspora.  While myths circulate the internet suggesting that February was assigned for Black History Month because it is the shortest month of the year, the truth is that February was selected by the Father of Negro History, Carter G. Woodson, because of the births of two notable figures who were born in February: Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.  Carter G. Woodson initially established “Negro History Week” in 1926, showcasing the numerous contributions of African Americans, which eventually grew into Black History Month. Woodson, who was often barred from attending American Historical Association conferences despite being a dues-paying member, believed that “African American contributions were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them.”  Woodson made it his life’s work to ensure that people of all races could celebrate the incredible history and achievements of African and African American people, thereby leading to racial healing, reconciliation, and equality. 

Today, as we continue the fight against institutional, intergenerational, internalized, and interpersonal racism, taking time to spotlight the history, biographies, achievements, and events of the Black experience in America and beyond, can provide us with what author, Dr. Eric Mason, author of Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice, outlines as the steps necessary to fight racism: Awareness, Acknowledgement, Accountability, and Action.  For this blog, I’d like to use this paradigm as the framework for answering the question: Why do we need Black History Month?

In Awareness, Black History Month calls everyone to collective knowledge of the Black experience within America.   Institutional racism has erased the numerous contributions, stories, voices, persons, and events from educational textbooks, making Black people invisible within the American historical narrative. This erasure has been damaging not only to African Americans but to all Americans, as it prevents us from understanding one another and thereby being able to live in harmony with one another. Intentionality in learning the history and experiences of African Americans demonstrates our commitment to understand, appreciate, and support one another, in a way that honors the unique contributions through which God has expressed himself in the Black experience in America. There are strong lessons of resilience, forgiveness, love, sacrifice, humility, strength, faith, hope, success, and more that God has spoken to the world through the struggles and successes of African Americans, that are completely missed when we are unaware of Black History.  We rob our kids and ourselves of a better tomorrow when fail to be aware of our collective history. 

In Acknowledgment, Black History Month provides our nation with the opportunity to acknowledge historical injustice, inequality, and inequity, and how historical trauma contributes to modern-day oppression. Following the protests surrounding the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, there have been numerous attacks on cultural awareness training, critical race theory, and even banning teachings about racism in classrooms across America. A few major church denominations and religious leaders have joined in these campaigns, leaving Black Christians, wondering of their white brothers and sisters in Christ “Do we know the same Jesus?” The fear amongst some groups is that acknowledging the past may lead to hate, bitterness, resentment, and retaliation. However, it’s negating, dismissing, and discrediting the experiences of marginalized people that lead to negative outcomes, not the other way around. In acknowledging racism, painful and difficult histories, and the experiences of marginalized groups, we are “loving our neighbor” and acknowledging how God can work through any situation.  Black History Month is an opportunity to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger”(James 1:19), where we can acknowledge the experiences of others, and collectively seek God to lead us into a place of greater appreciation, affection, and understanding. 

In Accountability, Black History Month provides us an opportunity to take ownership for areas in which we can individually and collectively address past and present injustices. This accountability is not meant to project guilt, but rather to call everyone to a commitment to do our part, to ensure peace and harmony in the future. Like the Good Samaritan of scripture, when we see someone on the side of Jericho’s road in life, while we may not have directly caused the situation, we take it upon ourselves to get involved and help our fellow brother/sister reach a place of wellness and restoration. The resolution to racism and oppression cannot be the work solely of the oppressed, nor can it be the work of the oppressor only. Both the oppressed and the oppressor must own their respective parts, and work collaboratively to close the chasm between them. Black History Month provides an intentional time of year to explore the areas in which we can all participate and possibly lead in our collective liberation and betterment. 

In Action, Black History Month is a call to move from bystander to participant in transforming the mess of the past, into a new message for the future. History must be more than just an understanding of the past, it must at the same time be the foundational data that is used to inform decisions for the future. Black History Month gives us the opportunity to boldly declare that the pain of our past does not have to dictate our future. Strategic and corrective action in our present-day concerning past trauma can go a long way in launching society into a more humane future. 

As Christian behavioral and social scientists, Black History Month is important and necessary, as we seek to study and understand the human experience, and aid individuals and institutions in engaging in behaviors that honor God and honor one another. Black History Month calls us to Awareness, Acknowledgement, Accountability, and Action, spotlighting the experiences of African Americans, and uncovering and embracing the divine revelations for humanity that God has uniquely spoken to the world, through Black people. Celebrating Black History helps moves us closer to God and equips us with the ability to love as God loves us. 

I invite you to come back to this blog throughout the month of February, to lean in, listen, learn, and join the conversation. There is much to say and much to celebrate. Happy Black History Month!!!

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Want to read more in our 2022 Black History Month Blog series? Check out all the posts below!

Why I can’t wait to get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

By E. Russ Bermejo, MSW, Lecturer 

Note: In my previous blog entitled Pouring Gold into Brokenness: How Japanese Art Shows Us the Way, I shared how author and artist, Makato Fujimura uses two ancient Japanese art forms to illustrate how fragmentation presents us with a choice:  We can either be artists making something new or we can hide in our silos missing any chance of being part of a something beautiful. I closed Part 1 reflecting on my career in child welfare and the need for us to be better by working together for some of the most marginalized families in our communities.   

In Part 2, I offer a mirror and window for us as Christian scholars to look at.  My hope is that we “part-take in the co-creation of the New.”  Thank you for reading.   

Academic Silos 

Unfortunately, much of the siloing we see at the organization or systems-level begins to some degree in higher education and academic settings.  Peter Senge, systems scientist and most known as the author of “The Fifth Discipline – The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization” (Doubleday, 1990) notes that true learning organizations pride themselves on shared learning.  Unfortunately, silos develop when a product or service is successful.  Consequently, the more successful the silo, the higher the walls.  Senge warns that success and pride suppresses innovation and collaborative experimentation outside of the silo.  This happens when you see learning and knowledge as proprietary or a commodity to be protected.  Senge explains that educators and higher ed institutions, unfortunately, oftentimes can have the tallest silos and be the least innovative by focusing on deep learning rather than engaging in interdisciplinary ideas and solutions.   

But maybe there is a different path?  Just as nihonga is impossible to teach outside of the artisan ecosystem, perhaps we can say the same about our respective disciplines.  It is impossible to teach social work without including the disciplines of psychology, sociology, education, public health, law, business, economics, etc.  

Higher education must continue to adapt to an ever-changing world and explore how we are to educate our students to become the kind of citizens of a local and global community that is highly complex and interconnected, yet broken and fragmented.  We have the opportunity to shape the next wave of leaders who can see the world in new interdependent ways and draw from perspectives of many disciplines.   

Here are some ways we can do this: 

• We can help students become better analytical and critical thinkers.  Rather than disseminating and depositing knowledge resulting in passive consumption of knowledge, we can help them become innovators, problem-solvers, and “makers of knowledge.”³  
• Next, we should continually look for opportunities to model for students how to engage in informed and collaborative interactions with other disciplines. These interactions can range from guest lectures, interdisciplinary seminars and symposiums to scholarly activities, including research.   

• Some academic and professional communities have established interdisciplinary research centers that gather scholars from other departments, universities, and institutions to engage in innovative solutions to the most pressing problems in local and global communities.  The Center for the Study of Human Behavior is a prime example of how our college is demonstrating how we can unify diversity in scholarship to achieve common goals.  What would it look like if the behavioral and social science research community at every university⁴ took the lead in breaking silos and use research and partnerships to eliminate disparities and inequities in their local community?  This would certainly be a beautiful thing.   

How can we lead the way?  

The Body of Christ – Leading the Way 

The good news especially for us here at CBU, as a part of the Body of Christ, we are uniquely positioned to lead the way towards kintsugi integration.   

First, we must remind ourselves of our own brokenness and recognize that our Maker came not to merely “fix us” but to make us into a new creation.  Each of us suffer from past, current, and future wounds of pride, ego, power, discrimination, injustice, or inequality.  Instead of seeing these as things to be fixed, kintsugi integration illuminates the path through unity and beauty.  Just like the fissures of a kintsugi bowl is an opportunity “waiting to be created” we are shards waiting to be made new again.   

According to Fujimura, “the heart of the Theology of Making is not only are we restored, we are to part-take in the co-creation of the New.”  We have what we need to be makers because we have the innate impulse bestowed by The Artist and Creator to create. 

As Christian scholars, we recognize that we have a unique role in the Body (Ephesians 4:11, I Corinthians 12:12-13) yet we are “all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28).  We see diversity as necessary for our thriving and making; our community is not derived from likeness, but rather a “common-unity” of knowing that we are made in His image and have a common mission (Matthew 28, 18-20).  Paul writes in Colossians 3:10, “And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”   

As a body of faith, we are an ecosystem of artists ready to create and also key ingredients of a masterpiece ready to be unveiled.   

Finally, as Christ followers, we should be motivated not by ambition, status, or success but rather by the humility of Christ, who “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).  As someone who is just starting his career in academia, I am reminded that if I’m preoccupied worrying about status or success in my discipline, I may not live out my purpose set forth by my Maker.⁵  So my focus must stay fixed on the Cross, our greatest reminder of how Someone poured gold into our brokenness.

Just as Fujimura observed in the Rembrandt and Picasso paintings, a test of our faith demands us to choose – will we turn to our inward selves, hide in our silos and wear masks to uphold a strong ego, or will we die to self so we can live in Christ – for His fame and glory?  For Fujimura, he chose the path of joy, faith, and light. We should follow and do the same.   

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³In his book Super Courses – The Future of Learning and Teaching (Princeton University Press, 2021), Ken Bain presents an innovative way of teaching that inspires students take control of their own education and motivate themselves to think through all of the implications, applications, and possibilities of what they learning. These environments involve heterogenous student groups and allows educators to “break down the walls between academic disciplines and help students combine areas of studies to tackle important questions.” To learn more, click: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/31/authors-discuss-what-makes-super-course

⁴The word “university” is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means “community of teachers and scholars”. Imagine a uni-versity campus uni-fied with a common-unity.

⁵I’m currently reading another perfect book at the perfect time –“The Flourishing Teacher –Vocational Renewal for a Sacred Profession” by Christina Bieber Lake (Intervarsity Press, 2020). The author also created an online fall retreat, which I’m currently doing. I would love to engage in discussions about this book with other faculty. For more information, please visit the author’s website: https://christinabieberlake.com/