Black History Month
Aretha Franklin started with gospel, ended with soul at age 76
By Adelle M. Banks — August 16, 2018
(RNS) — At age 14 and much later in life, the R&B singer recorded gospel songs at her father's Detroit church.
Talking MLK, Robert George and Cornel West offer antidote to partisanship
By Adelle M. Banks — May 30, 2018
WASHINGTON (RNS) — West said he’s had to answer critics who can’t understand how he travels around the country with George: 'I say, "Have you met him? Have you sat down and talked with him?"'
James Cone, ‘founder of black liberation theology,’ dies at 79
By Adelle M. Banks — April 28, 2018
(RNS) — His theology contrasted sharply with traditional views by articulating God’s identification with U.S. blacks.
King’s death remembered with pledges to confront racism
By Adelle M. Banks — April 4, 2018
WASHINGTON (RNS) — 'Certainly, ending racism might seem like an aspiration but, like the very first disciples, we followers of Jesus are called to bear witness to something that the world cannot yet believe is possible,' said the Rev. Sharon Watkins, director of the National Council of Church's Truth and Racial Justice Initiative.
As King anniversary nears, 3 Memphis sites key to his legacy draw visitors
By Adelle M. Banks — March 29, 2018
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — Two of the three sites are houses of worship.
A faithful journey from cotton field to White House: Q&A with a sanitation worker
By Adelle M. Banks — March 28, 2018
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — The Rev. Cleophus Smith marched in 1968 with black laborers supported by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in their efforts to improve working conditions.
A month before the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, Smith, 75, talked with Religion News Service about his dual roles as an associate minister and a sanitation worker.
Remembering King’s last sermon with renewed hope
By Adelle M. Banks — March 28, 2018
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — One of the two surviving sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968 and who remain on the job today recalled King's last sermon and his continuing legacy.
Black churches host screenings of ‘Black Panther’
By Adelle M. Banks — March 1, 2018
(RNS) — Across the country, congregants have bought out theaters for screenings and dressed in their favorite African attire to see a superhero who looks like them.
Faith leaders mark 50th anniversary of Memphis sanitation workers’ deaths
By Adelle M. Banks — February 1, 2018
(RNS) — It was the labor action over harsh working conditions triggered by the deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker that prompted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to travel to Memphis, Tenn., where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Della Reese, minister and star of ‘Touched by an Angel,’ dies at 86
By Adelle M. Banks — November 20, 2017
(RNS) — A onetime gospel singer and groundbreaking African-American talk show host, she was later known for her lead role in the TV series “Touched by an Angel"
Denied admission because he’s black, civil rights leader urges Duke Divinity to confront its past
By Yonat Shimron — October 18, 2017
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — The Rev. Gil Caldwell attended Boston University’s School of Theology instead, and there met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who inspired him to work for racial justice.
Like father, like son: Black activists tag-team preach on Father’s Day
By Adelle M. Banks — June 16, 2017
(RNS) Two prominent black ministers, the Rev. Otis Moss Jr. and the Rev. Otis Moss III, are committed to activism and to preaching together annually on Father's Day.
With first solo CD in 9 years, CeCe Winans keeps singing – and pastoring
By Adelle M. Banks — June 4, 2017
(RNS) Her album includes the sounds of big bands and Motown as well as tunes aimed at millennials — like those who attend Nashville Life Christian Church, the nondenominational congregation she and her husband co-pastor in Tennessee.
Georgetown University apologizes for role in slave trade
By Adelle M. Banks — April 18, 2017
WASHINGTON (RNS) The day of remembrance, which includes a liturgy and the rededication of two buildings, came seven months after the university announced plans to mark its connections to the slave trade.
Chaplain Black gave us a new piece of our oral history
By Jerry Pattengale — February 5, 2017
(RNS) With his Darius Rucker voice, Martin Luther King Jr. prose, G.K. Chesterton depth and Billy Graham anointing, the Senate chaplain provoked our minds and prodded our emotions.
