What If God ...?

02-01-2021

By Brenda Pogue

When I think about Black History Month, I think about what a rich history Black history actually is. That Blacks have a month that celebrates their history is quite a monumental accomplishment in and of itself. To borrow the slogan of a cigarette company ad from the late sixties, I can proudly say of my Black brothers and sisters, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”1

Enduring a Middle Passage, they now stand on solid ground. Living through forced servitude, their labor built a country that their freedom now enjoys. Outlasting civil brutishness, their dreams became reality. Holding out for justice, they hold seats on judicial benches. Holding on to the highest standards, they hold the highest offices in the land. Maintaining every dignity, they hold their heads up high. They persisted. They withstood. They have flourished. They have prospered. They have thrived. Without violence, with hatred, without retaliation, they have survived.

What Blacks have accomplished in this country in spite of their history in this country is a testament to the sheer power of will. But whose will? What if America is to Blacks what Egypt was to the Israelites? What if God spoke to their ancestors, chained like inanimate objects in the dark bowels of slave ships, like God spoke to Abram, saying, “do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there?” (Gen 46:3 NRSV).

What if now, as Blacks continue to fight against systemic racism, God is speaking, saying, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the Lord will do to all the enemies against whom you fight” (Joshua 10:25 NRSV). What if, this Black History Month, that Blacks remember all that God has done for them, for how God has fought every battle for them. For God said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20 NRSV).

1 Virginia Slims: A Case Study in Marketing Success (Accessed January 31, 2021) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44302/box/A11958/?report=objectonly#:~:text=Philip%20Morris%20launched%20advertising%20of,to%20%22It's%20a%20woman%20thing%22