Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.)

http://wdc-confidential.blogspot.com/2008/06/19th-street-baptist-church.html

A church is where children are raised. It is a place where the collective wisdom of years is collected, stored, and passed to coming generations. The good folks at 19th Street Baptist helped raise me, and for that I will be forever grateful. 

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From http://everyblessing.org/

"About Us & Church History

 The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church has figured prominently in the spiritual and cultural life of the City and has attracted national and international attention. In its rich history, preachers have been ordained; churches have been planted; and schools have been founded as a result of its devoted and enthusiastic membership. Through acclaimed concerts by its choirs and soloists, dramatic performances, scholarships and tutorial classes, the members of Nineteenth Street Baptist have used their gifts and talents to glorify God and bless the surrounding community.

Today, under the leadership of Pastor Harkins, Nineteenth Street is continuing its commitment to furthering the work of the Church by spreading the Gospel and equipping believers to live victoriously.A Historical House Of Worship A group of dedicated Baptist ministers and laypersons came together on August 29, 1839 to organize the First Colored Church of Washington. This group, which included Rev. Jeremiah Moore, Rev. Lewis Richards, Rev. Adam Freeman, Rev. William Parkinson, Charles P. Polk, Cephas Fox, Charles Rogers, John Buchan, Joseph Borrows and Sarah Borrows, undoubtedly envisioned a place where Christians would serve the Lord with gladness, grow spiritually and be able to fellowship with one another. A committee was authorized to buy Lot 11 in Square 118 on the southwest corner of Nineteenth and I Streets, N.W. There, a house of worship was erected that was to be incorporated as The Baptist Church of Christ in Washington. The church was later incorporated on November 16, 1870, as the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.The church remained on the corner of 19th and I Streets, N.W. for 135 years until it moved, January 26, 1975, to its present location at 4606 Sixteenth Street, N.W. During its spiritual and physical growth, the church has had dedicated and dynamic leadership beginning with the first Pastor who served two separate times, the Rev. Sampson White, 1839-1841 and 1854-1856.

Our inspired leaders are listed below chronologically.Rev. Sampson White – 1839-1841 Rev. William Willliams Rev. Gustavus Brown – 1853 Rev. Sampson White – 1853-1856 Rev. Chauncey Leonard – 1859 – 1862 Rev. Samuel Madden 1862 Rev. Duke W. Anderson – 1868 – 1871 Rev. King – 1871 – 1873 Rev. Waring Rev. Anthony Binga Rev. Jesse Boulden Rev. Dr. Walter H. Brooks – 1882 – 1945 Rev. Dr. Jerry A. Moore Jr. – 1946 – 1997 Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins – 1997 – Present"

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THE ROLE OF ISLAM IN AFRICA FROM THE 7TH TO 11TH CENTURY

Map of Expansion of Islam in Africa

The importance of the influence of Islam in Africa is hard to overstate. Its influence spread from the North Africa down to the Zambezi River. Eventually many American slaves who practiced Islam were brought over from Africa. Many were literate. 

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From GENERAL HISTORY OF AFRICA III

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"(1) The Mediterranean facade of the continent, from the Isthmus of Suez to the Straight of Gibraltar, and adjacent Atlantic coast had been incorporated as an integral part of the Islamic world. It ceased forever to be part of the Christian world and even served as a starting point for further Muslim expansion in Spain and Sicily on the one hand and in the Sahara and the Sudanic zone of West Africa on the other
(2) In north-eastern Africa it had brought about the weakening of the Christian states of Nubia and Ethiopia, though neither of them was conquered. Whereas Nubia had come more and more under the economic and political control of Muslim Egypt and nomadic Arabs began to penetrate it so it eventually lost its Christian character, Ethiopia had survived as an independent political and cultural unit although it had to accommodate its external relations to the growing Muslim influences surrounding it.
(3) The Sahara and large parts of the Sudan had now to be linked through the trade network to an Islamic economic sphere in which their main exports--gold and slaves--played an increasingly important role. The religion and culture of Islam had penetrated along the trade routes, becoming gradually incorporated into the African ways of life
(4) In East Africa the role of international trade was controlled by the Muslims was similar with the important exception  that the Muslim merchants  had restricted their activities  to coastal settlements and Islamic influence did not penetrate into the interior. But the growing, in Muslim countries and India, for Zimbabwe gold and even seems to have led to some changes in the Zambezi region. Some parts of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands were also made a part of the great Indian Ocean commercial network"

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Other Sources
Islam and Africa webpage
Islam in Africa (Wikipedia) 

From Wikipedia, "Islam in the United States" 

Muslim Slaves in America

"Many of the slaves brought to colonial America from Africa were Muslims.^[4][5] By 1800, some 500,000 Africans arrived in what became the United States. Historians estimate that between 15 to 30 percent of all enslaved African men, and less than 15 percent of the enslaved African women, were Muslims. These enslaved Muslims stood out from their compatriots because of their "resistance, determination and education".^[6] 

It is estimated that over 50% of the slaves imported to North America came from areas where Islam was followed by at least a minority population. Thus, no less than 200,000 came from regions influenced by Islam. Substantial numbers originated from Senegambia, a region with an established community of Muslim inhabitants extending to the 11th century.^[48] 

Michael A. Gomez speculated that Muslim slaves may have accounted for "thousands, if not tens of thousands," but does not offer a precise estimate. He also suggests many non-Muslim slaves were acquainted with some tenets of Islam, due to Muslim trading and proselytizing activities.^[49] Historical records indicate many enslaved Muslims conversed in the Arabic language. Some even composed literature (such as autobiographies) and commentaries on the Quran.^[50]

Some newly arrived Muslim slaves assembled for communal Salah (prayers). Some were provided a private praying area by their owner. The two best documented Muslim slaves were Ayuba Suleiman Diallo and Omar Ibn Said. Suleiman was brought to America in 1731 and returned to Africa in 1734.^[48] Like many Muslim slaves, he often encountered impediments when attempting to perform religious rituals and was eventually allotted a private location for prayer by his master.^[50]"

Portrait of Diallo by William Hoare (1733) wearing his traditional clothing

Omar Ibn Said (ca. 1770–1864) is among the best documented examples of a practicing-Muslim slave. He lived on a colonial North Carolina plantation and wrote many Arabic texts while enslaved. Born in the kingdom of Futa Tooro (modern Senegal), he arrived in America in 1807, one month before the U.S. abolished importation of slaves. Some of his works include the Lords Prayer, the Bismillah, this is How You Pray, Quranic phases, the 23rd Psalm, and an autobiography. In 1857, he produced his last known writing on Surah 110 of the Quran. In 1819, Omar received an Arabic translation of the Christian Bible from his master, James Owen. Omar converted to Christianity in 1820, an episode widely used throughout the South to "prove" the benevolence of slavery. However, some scholars believe he continued to be a practicing Muslim, based on dedications to Muhammad written in his Bible.^[51][52]" 

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NEW YORK'S ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH FOUNDED IN 1809

From: The Church's website

History

In 1808, a group of Africans in America and Ethiopian sea merchants, armed with their faith in God and strengthened by mercies already seen, left First Baptist Church in lower Manhattan and withdrew forever their membership. They had refused to accept racially segregated seating in God’s house and were determined to start their own church. Inspired by the ancient name of the nation from which the Ethiopian merchants had come, Abyssinia, the group formally organized themselves as The Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York. Reverend Thomas Paul, a minister from Boston, aided the new congregation in becoming organized as the first African-American Baptist Church in the state of New York.  Abyssinian called as its first pastor the Rev. Vanvelser.

In its infancy, Abyssinian bought property on Worth Street.  After several years, a new building was needed and the members sold the property for $3,000.  Thereafter, they held services at the Broadway Tabernacle and in buildings on Thompson and Spring Streets before seeking another permanent place of worship.

Rev. Vanvelser was succeeded by The Reverends Sigel, Benjamin Paul, James Hayborn, Lomis Samson White, John T. Raymond, and Thomas Henderson.  In 1856, Abyssinian Baptist Church called the Rev. William Spellman to serve as its pastor.  During his administration from 1856 to 1885, the membership increased to 1,600 and the $3,000 realized from the sale of the Worth Street property was applied to the purchase of a church building on Waverly Place.  Following Spellman’s retirement, the Reverend Robert D. Wynn of Norwich, Connecticut was called to the pastorate of the church.  For sixteen years he led a congregation that continued to increase in numbers and together they freed the Waverly Place property from indebtedness.

WHEN THE MOORS RULED EUROPE

On Youtube, "When the Moors Rule Europe"
CLICK HERE TO SEE: When the Moors Ruled Europe Video

Moorish history is part of Black Heritage. Although Islam came from Arabia, most northern Africans adopted Islam as their religion. Unified by Islam, Africans excelled in the military conquest, the arts, sciences, and intellectual pursuits. 

From: GENERAL HISTORY OF AFRICA III Editor: M. Elfasi

"The Arab conquest of was in many ways similar to but also in many ways different from all other conquests known to the world. First, although inspired by religious teaching, the Arabs did not expect the conquered people, in principle, to enter their religious community; the conquered people were allowed to maintain their old religious allegiances. But after a few generations the majority of the urban population adopted Islam and even those who did not do so tended to use Arabic as a common medium of culture. 

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The distinctive and rich civilization that characterized the Muslim world at its height came into being through the amalgam of varied traditions of all the people who adopted Islam or lived under its sway. It inherited not only the material of intellectual achievements of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean world but also appropriated and absorbed many elements of Indian and Chinese origin and transmitted them further.  

It would be erroneous to see the Muslim civilization merely as a simple conglomerate of bits and pieces of borrowed cultural goods. At first, of course, many traits were appropriated directly without any reshaping but gradually they were combined, enlarged and developed into new patterns that served both as resource and stimulus to creative Muslim sciences, artistic expression and technological innovations. In this way emerged the Muslim civilization with its own distinctive pattern corresponding to the new universalistic spirit and new social order."

American Murder and Mayhem

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/122112guns#.UNSZ0eQ72So

There is a common thread tying together the mass murder Connecticut and the gun violence in the Black community. 

That thread is the denial that lax gun laws have had a disastrous influence on the entire country at all social strata. 

From Role/Reboot 

Why Most Mass Murderers are Privileged White Men
By Hugo Schwyer 
http://www.rolereboot.org/culture-and-politics/details/2012-07-why-most-mass-murderers-are-privileged-white-men?fb_action_ids=4270127115308&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

"White men from prosperous families grow up with the expectation that our voices will be heard. We expect politicians and professors to listen to us and respond to our concerns. We expect public solutions to our problems. And when we’re hurting, the discrepancy between what we've been led to believe is our birthright and what we feel we’re receiving in terms of attention can be bewildering and infuriating. Every killer makes his pain another’s problem. But only those who've marinated in privilege can conclude that their private pain is the entire world’s problem with which to deal. This is why, while men of all races and classes murder their intimate partners, it is privileged young white dudes who are by far the likeliest to shoot up schools and movie theaters."

From: U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Trends by race
Blacks were disproportionately represented among homicide 
victims and offenders 
 In 2008, the homicide victimization rate for blacks (19.6
homicides per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for
whites (3.3 homicides per 100,000).
 Th e victimization rate for blacks peaked in the early 1990s,
reaching a high of 39.4 homicides per 100,000 in 1991.
 Aft er 1991, the victimization rate for blacks fell until 1999, when
it stabilized near 20 homicides per 100,000.
 In 2008, the off ending rate for blacks (24.7 off enders per
100,000) was 7 times higher than the rate for whites (3.4
offenders per 100,000)
 The offending rate for blacks showed a similar pattern to the
victimization rate, peaking in the early 1990s at a high of 51.1
offenders per 100,000 in 1991.
 Aft er 1991, the off ending rate for blacks declined until it reached
24 per 100,000 in 2004. Th e rate has since fluctuated, increasing
to 28.4 offenders per 100,000 in 2006 before falling again to 24.7
offenders per 100,000 in 2008.



From: Forbes Magazine

Gun Violence: How Research on an American Health Crisis Has Been Suppressed

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robwaters/2012/12/17/gun-violence-americas-secret-health-crisis/

The effort to kill the Prevention Center failed but Congress cut the CDC’s budget by $2.6 million—the amount thought to be spent on the offending publication—and passed language declaring: “None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”

With that act, the nation’s leading public health agency was effectively barred from making recommendations on a public health problem that constitutes one of the leading causes of death of Americans. The law remains in effect, and it’s had a chilling effect on research, says David Hemenway, professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center.

• Children age 5 to 14 living in states with high rates of gun ownership and weak gun laws were more likely to die in homicides, suicides or accidental shootings in their home, according to a 2002study. In the five states with the highest rates of gun ownership, kids were 3.3 times more likely to die in a gun homicide, 6.7 times more likely to die in a gun suicide and 16 times more likely to die of an unintended gunshot, compared with kids in the five states with the lowest rates of gun ownership.

• Firearm homicide rates in the U.S. in 2003 were 20 times greater than in 22 other high-income countries, according to a studypublished last year. Among 15-to-24-year-olds, the homicide-by-gun rate was 43 times greater. While the other countries had a total population of 564 million compared with 291 million in the U.S., 80 percent of gun deaths occurred here.

• A 1997 study looking at the largely employed members of a health maintenance organization around Seattle found that if anyone in a family had purchased a gun, the odds of a homicide occurring in their home were twice as high as in the homes of health-plan members of the same age, sex and neighborhood who hadn’t bought guns.

• In homes where a gun was kept, there was a 2.7 times greater risk of a homicide taking place compared to homes without guns, according to a 1993study conducted in the counties including Memphis, Seattle and Cleveland.

BLACK and CREOLE SETTLEMENT ISLE BREVELLE

From: Creoles in the Cane River

Full Article

As the area's earliest families, the Creoles of Natchitoches Parish had first choice of farmland and wisely settled in the rich Red River Valley, where the largest plantations flourished through the antebellum period. In southern Natchitoches Parish, the Creole descendants of Marie Thérèse Coincoin, an enslaved woman, and Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer, a French soldier stationed at the Natchitoches Post, established the community of Isle Brevelle. Today's Cane River Creoles form the basis of the Isle Brevelle settlement, which has continued as a Creole community since its late 18th-century beginnings.

Americans, who were latecomers to the area, tended to settle in the piney uplands away from the Creoles. Arriving with the English language, Protestant religion and a new form of representative government, Americans were foreign in almost every way to the Creoles of Natchitoches. Creoles maintained a dominant influence in local society despite the influx of Americans into the area.

Creole History  

Who are Louisiana's Creoles?

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The term Creole has had a number of meanings in the past several hundred years. The core of those meanings centers around the concept of New World products derived from Old World stock. The term today applies to those people of non-American ancestry who were born in Louisiana during its French and Spanish colonial periods and their descendants. From the colonial period on, there has been a significant Creole population in the state. Some Creoles are of French or Spanish descent, while others have a mixed heritage of African, French, Spanish and/or American Indian. When Louisiana became an American territory, the term Creole increasingly came to mean "native born" and was used to distinguish between the land's anciens habitants, or former colonial residents, and incoming Americans. Over time, the French language and the Catholic religion remained as identifying marks of many of Louisiana's Creoles. People sometimes confuse Louisiana's Creole population with French-speaking Acadians, today's Cajuns, who were exiled from Canada by the British and arrived in Louisiana years after the Creoles had established themselves there.

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