Still We Rise -- FPC sermon excerpt

The old ones remind us that slavery’s chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.

These are the words of the African American poet Maya Angelou, offered at the Million Man March in 1995. Speaking to a huge crowd of black men on the Mall in Washington, DC, she reminded them of their difficult and painful history, and then invited them to focus their lives on joy, courtesy, gentleness, and care.

She said,

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain,
We are a going-on people who will rise again.

Powerful words. Hopeful words. Inspiring words. Words which culminate in Angelou’s closing line, “And still we rise.”

And still we rise.

This soaring sentiment could be a summary of the struggle for racial justice and civil rights over the past hundred years. This movement is always worthy of remembrance during the Martin Luther King birthday weekend, but 2009 contains an especially important anniversary: February 12th is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NAACP — the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Born in a time of segregated hotels and widespread discrimination in voting booths, the NAACP was designed to “promote equality of rights” and to eradicate “race prejudice among the citizens of the United States.” It was founded by people of vision and deep conviction who were, surprisingly, a rather diverse group — in addition to several prominent African Americans, the founders included a Jewish man, a white woman, a German-born white, and a white man who was the son of a former slave-holding family.

February 12, 1909 was not an accidental birthday for this organization. The date was picked because it was a centennial of its own — the 100th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who emancipated the slaves during the Civil War. Just think about the progress made from 1809, when slavery was legal … to 1909, when the NAACP was founded … to 2009, when we are witnessing the inauguration of our first African-American President, Barack Obama.

And still we rise.

One of the great strengths of the civil rights movement was its unbreakable link with the faith of the black church. The diplomat and author James Weldon Johnson became field secretary of the NAACP in 1916, and in 1921 he wrote the text to today’s opening hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which became an anthem of the struggle for racial justice.

Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Once called “The Black National Anthem,” this song now appears in hymnals throughout the Christian church. It goes on to say,

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might led us into the light;
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

These are not black words, nor are they white words. They are Christian words — words of faith in a God who can guide us, protect us, and lead us into the bright light of freedom, equality, and justice.

With the help of the Lord, still we rise.