This week in Adult Forum (Sun., 2/16, 10 am in the Social Hall), we continue our series on African American History in the UCC led by Delilah Marrow. Last Sunday we talked about Old First’s history of becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, how it took the courage and commitment of many individuals to make it that way, and how our work is not nearly done yet.
In the next couple of sessions we will dive more deeply into the UCC’s involvement in the civil rights movement and the decades thereafter. We’ll hear from Bob Polk about his experiences as the first African American minister on staff at New York City’s Riverside Church, and about Riverside’s on-going history of racial integration and activism. We’ll also learn about the impact of the Commission for Racial Justice, which was founded in 1960’s and was instrumental to developing the UCC’s ability to mobilize the church around issues of race. Today, groups like United Black Christians and the Church’s Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice are an evolution of the original Commission for Racial Justice. The Commission was also central in the story of the Wilmington Ten.
Join us for these important stories and to honor our fellow church members who not only know this history, but were a part of it.
– Margaret E
Rev. Bob Polk
