I’ve struggled recently with the question of why African chiefs or leaders allowed the transatlantic slave trade to continue if they knew how horrific the conditions were that their people were being cast into. I figured the word had to have reached them at some point and they would have decided not to participate. Regardless […]
Were Africans Trading Slaves the Ultimate Betrayal? Read More »
Lift Every Voice and Sing, written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900, is often referred to as the Black National Anthem. It’s uplifting, spiritual message calls us to sing “Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty….Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us
What’s Your Black Anthem? Read More »
I always enter Black History Month with a bit of ambivalence and a heavy dose of resentment. It’s like someone is “allowing” us to celebrate our heritage, culture, and existence. “Oh, it’s time to let those colored people, I mean people of color, feel good about themselves. Let’s walk along the trail with Harriet Tubman,
Where Would They Be Without Us? Join The DC Voice Book Club and Find Out! Read More »
Saturday, January 24, 2026 I had the pleasure of awarding the first DC Voice Essay Contest awards to Jaydon and Jonathan Sam this Saturday at West Chester PA Seventh-day Adventist Church. The theme for the 2025 Essay Contest was My Church, Our Voice, Our History. We invited local youth in the Washington, D.C. area to join
2025 Essay Contest Winners! Read More »
“In the South, no people have suffered such great oppression as the colored people…for no people has so little been done to uplift…” (Ellen G. White, 1899). My church, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, has historically fused faith with justice, building a legacy of racial equity, community empowerment, and cultural resilience that continues to shape
Building Hope, Preserving Heritage: SDA Faith in African American Communities Read More »
The History: Black Adventist Journey “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared during America’s struggle for equality. That same spirit of stepping forward without seeing the whole path is reflected in the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Founded in the mid-1800s,
My Church, Our History, and My Voice Read More »
We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance, by Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson is one of the most compelling narratives of the Black experience I have read. The fact that she relays it from the perspectives of strong, defiant Black women is even more compelling. Black resistance typically conjures up visions of Denmark Vasey, Nat
We Refuse – Damn Right! Read More »
Reporting by Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY Network MASSANGANO, Angola – As the sun beat down on us, we slowly walked down the dirt path, stirring up red dust as we headed toward the centuries-old fort atop a hill here. The chatter hushed. The 21 of us understood the gravity of the moment. We dreaded
We went to Angola to learn more about the history that binds us. It was life-changing Read More »
 Looking for a way to celebrate Juneteenth? Start here!
Celebrating Juneteenth! Read More »
