Celebrating Black History Month

February is Black History Month! We’ve been celebrating by learning about some of the many Black leaders who have impacted the history and development of the Church in America.

Howard Thurman

Thurman was born in Daytona, FL in 1899 and was raised by his grandmother, who had been enslaved. After attending multiple universities and seminaries, he joined Howard University’s faculty. He eventually became dean of Howard’s Rankin Memorial Chapel until 1943 when he resigned to help found a new church in San Francisco.

The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples was an integrated church and the first congregation in the United States that encouraged participation in its spiritual life regardless of religious or ethnic background. Thurman worked with Alfred G. Fisk as co-pastors. Thurman remained there as minister until 1953.

Thurman was also a key mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King carried one of Thurman’s books Jesus and the Disinherited while leading the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott. This book helped lay the groundwork for the nonviolent civil rights movement. In it, Thurman presented the importance of helping the disinherited of the world change from within as the basic goal of Jesus’ life. He wrote about empowerment to survive in the face of oppression.

Today we can look to and learn from Thurman’s view of leadership—that one would first understand where they are going in order to then lead others well.

“The basic fact is that Christianity as it was born in the mind of this Jewish thinker and teacher appears as a technique of survival for the oppressed. That it became, through the intervening years, a religion of the powerful and the dominant, used sometimes as an instrument of oppression, must not tempt us into believing that it was thus in the mind and life of Jesus. ‘In him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ Wherever his spirit appears, the oppressed gather fresh courage; for he announced the good news that fear, hypocrisy, and hatred, the three hounds of hell that track the trail of the disinherited, need have no dominion over them.”

— HOWARD THURMAN

Fred Maxwell

Maxwell was born in Williston, FL in 1907 and grew up in Lake County. He came from a family of turpentine-industry workers and went on to pursue working in carpentry, growing citrus, and starting his own janitorial business. While he felt called to ministry at an early age, he didn’t begin preaching until decades later as a father of six children. He preached throughout Central Florida, becoming the pastor of both Zion Hill Baptist Church in Orlando and Shiloh Baptist Church in Alachua, both known as one of the oldest Black churches in their areas. 

Eventually, Maxwell began pastoring at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and in 1971, he organized the purchase of their current location in Orlando, where he remained pastor until 2001. He was widely respected and often asked to help mediate church disputes. Known as a human history book, he was also an advocate for those experiencing homelessness and a civil rights leader. He was instrumental in the securing of a $4.8 million federal grant to convert a former motel to Maxwell Terrace, an affordable housing complex, and he co-founded Pathlight HOME almost 30 years ago. 

If someone were to even just pass Maxwell on the street, it was said they would end up learning something from him. He is considered the father of our region’s Black preachers, known for his humility, intellect, and leadership in the community. Before his death in 2005, he received the Community Father’s Award, Orange County Humanitarian of the Year, Maxwell-Wright Lifetime Achievement Award, and Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor.

Today we can look to and learn from Maxwell’s perseverance, his value of hard work, his compassion for others, and his constant reassurance of our faith in the power of God to change the world.

“Lord, let your will be done. I desire to do something to make conditions better for some homeless people, Lord, teach me, lead me, and guide me.”

— FRED MAXWELL

Jarena Lee

Lee was born on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. Born into a free Black family, she began working as a live-in servant at the age of seven, a job that eventually led her to Philadelphia as a teenager. It was there that she first attended a worship service at Bethel Church (also known as Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church) where Bishop Richard Allen, founder of the A.M.E. Church, was preaching. After hearing Bishop Allen preach, she made the decision to become a Christian.

Lee was born on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. Born into a free Black family, she began working as a live-in servant at the age of seven, a job that eventually led her to Philadelphia as a teenager. It was there that she first attended a worship service at Bethel Church (also known as Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church) where Bishop Richard Allen, founder of the A.M.E. Church, was preaching. After hearing Bishop Allen preach, she made the decision to become a Christian.

Lee later confided in Bishop Allen that she was feeling a call to preach. However, due to the A.M.E. Church’s ban on female ministers at the time, Bishop Allen felt unable to grant her permission to preach. Despite her disappointment, she continued to attend Bethel Church until 1819 when a guest preacher began struggling with his message and abruptly stopped preaching. Having been following closely with his message, Lee stood where she was and continued the preacher’s message right where he had left off. Bishop Allen was so impressed that he officially gave her authorization to preach the gospel, making her the first authorized female preacher in the A.M.E Church. It was not long after that Lee began to even travel for preaching engagements and was highly praised for her powerful sermons. 

Lee also became heavily involved in the abolitionist movement, joining the American Antislavery Society in 1839. Toward the end of her life, she shared her experiences in ministry in her autobiography, The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee.

Today, we can look to and learn from Lee for her faithfulness in God’s calling on her life—not giving up on her goals even when there seemed to be no path before her in the society she was born into. She sets an example for the church of the value women bring into ministry and provides encouragement to all of us that our circumstances don’t define our worth.

“As for me, I am fully persuaded that the Lord called me to labor according to what I have received, in his vineyard.”

— JARENA LEE

Tom Skinner

Skinner was born on June 6, 1942, in Harlem, New York. There he joined and became a prominent leader in a gang, gaining their respect by challenging other leaders. While planning a large gang fight, he heard a sermon on 2 Corinthians 5:17 on the radio. That night, he decided to follow Jesus, and he left the gang, eventually followed by his second in command. Later, other members left and decided to follow Jesus as well. Skinner then began preaching and sharing about Jesus, later meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. at a young orators conference.

After graduating from Wagner College and receiving a master's degree in theology from Manhattan Theological Seminary, Skinner became a sports chaplain with many professional teams, most known for his time with the Washington Redskins in the 1970s, as well as serving as team mentor to the New York Yankees, New York Giants, and New York Jets. In 1964, he became founder and president of Skinner Associates. With this organization, he provided leadership and training seeking to break down racial, religious, and economic barriers. He was known for calling for a radical and just Christianity that set people free both spiritually and physically. He wrote books such as Black and Free and If Christ Is the Answer, What Are the Questions?

A catalyst for change, Skinner spoke powerfully about the climate of protest and activism for the student generation of his time. He was integral in the young adult ministry InterVarsity’s racial journey and the development of Black Campus Ministry. Before his death in 1994, he spoke to the narrative of conservative- and liberal-leaning Christians and pointed out flaws in equating either with Christianity—neither was exactly right in regards to Jesus and the cross. Skinner pointed out racism when it seemed no one else in Christian circles in that day would classify it for what it really was. Thus, as his ministry progressed, he experienced increasing discomfort from predominantly white churches that had initially enjoyed his preaching. But he persevered in shedding light on areas of sin he saw hurting the Church.

Today, we can look to and learn from Skinner’s dedication to impacting and changing the lives of others. Many people got the chance to hear about the love of Jesus from Skinner, and he shared passionately the message of hope, renewal, reconciliation, and personal motivation. He spoke with the same intensity to white Americans as he did to people of color, aiming to be a bridge-builder and wall breaker.

“I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts, when suddenly I realized I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer to the reality of answers that I cannot escape, and it’s a wonderful relief.”

— TOM SKINNER

If you’re interested in learning more, Be the Bridge is a great resource and place to enter into important conversations on race and unity.