This is the 100th anniversary of celebrating Black History Month, and UniteBoston celebrates Black History Month by honoring the rich legacy of Black leaders, churches, and communities who have shaped Boston. We recognize the pivotal role of the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement, whose faith and resilience followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ to champion racial justice, equality, and shalom.

This month, we invite you to join us to celebrate Boston’s Black History with the opportunities below:

1. Glean From the Stories and Perspectives of Black Pastors

In his powerful sermon on Psalm 78, entitled “What Will We Tell the Next Generation?”, Pastor Willie Bodrick II of Twelfth Baptist Church reminds us that remembering our history is a spiritual responsibility: “Black history isn’t just something we celebrate – it’s something we need to survive our present. The moment we are living in is trying to make us forget who we are. Remembering is our spiritual responsibility and we tell our history so people can put their hope and trust in God.”

We also commend a message by Rev. Sabrina Gray from Bethel AME Church on how Black history isn’t only what we remember. It’s what we live, what we carry, and what we continue.

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2. Dive into EGC’s Fact Friday series

Jaronzie Harris explores the church’s history and legacy in Boston, one short video at a time. Click below to watch their Instagram videos!

• Did you know that the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill was co-founded by Cato Gardner, a formerly enslaved man born in Africa? 
• Or that Twelfth Baptist Church was the spiritual home of Wilhelmina Crosson, a pioneering Black school teacher in Boston, who also was instrumental in launching the precursor to Black History Month? 
• Why is a church on Warren Street in Roxbury called “The Historic Charles Street AME Church?”
• How about this gem? The founding pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Peter Randolph, led a group of 66 freed slaves from Virginia to Boston before the Civil War and also obtained a lawyer to win their rightful freedom! His autobiography is available online!
• And Union Methodist Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad as well as the home church of David Walker, author of one of the most important early attacks on slavery, Walker’s Appeal. 

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3. Take a Black Theology course

This course is part of the Theology Lab at Highrock Church and features scholars, musicians, and church leaders, including Prof. Tom Baskett (Highrock; Berklee College of Music), explores how the faith experiences of Black Americans open up distinct ways of reading Scripture, shed light on the gospel’s liberating power, and model the importance of social engagement for all Christians. Central to this class is the theological claim that the faith of Black Americans is a gift to the whole church. There are six videos and a discussion guide is available here.

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4. Learn about Boston’s Black History

Experience Boston’s Black History Firsthand:

• Use this guide from WBUR to experience the history firsthand in downtown Boston, Cambridge, or Roxbury
• Use this Map to go on a Boston Greenbook Tour, compiled by Rev. June Cooper, Sankofa cohort member and Theologian in the City at Old South Church. The Boston Green Book was part of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide published from 1936 to 1967 that listed safe businesses for Black travelers during segregation. Featuring hotels, restaurants, and social hubs along Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street, it highlighted key establishments like Slade’s Bar and Grill and Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe, which remain cultural landmarks today.
• Use this guide to discover places associated with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Boston.

Other resources on Boston’s Black History:

• “Remembering the Past to Build Shalom in the Present” – This is a superb resource list on the history of slavery in Boston, compiled by Megan Lietz from the Race & Christian Community Initiative.
• Black History Month Learners’ Guide – Great list of video and written resources to reflect on the intersection between race and faith from Reality Church Boston.
• The Boston Black Church Vitality resource page has a really interesting multi-media Boston Black Church history timeline, map, and 7 in-depth bibliographies on Boston’s Black History and Black Church History.

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5. Incorporate Black History into your daily devotional time

The Evangelical Covenant Church has just published a Love Your Neighbor: A Black History Month Devotional Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. This seven-day devotional explores biblical texts on sacrificial love, justice, and Christian neighboring through the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with young Martin’s painful encounter with racism and his parents’ affirming response, it moves through the Parable of the Good Samaritan, examining what it means to truly love our neighbors—including our enemies. Drawing on Dr. King’s sermons and Scripture, this plan invites readers to address both immediate needs and systemic injustice, ultimately calling Christians to embody Christ’s countercultural love in a divided world.

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6. Join us for the upcoming Gospel Experience Tour & the “Boston Sankofa Showcase“event!

Also, please plan to join us for a Moth-style storytelling night on Thursday, March 26 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at Twelfth Baptist Church. As part of the Boston Sankofa Journey, our team has been working to record the stories of twelve Black Christian leaders whose faith in Jesus has fueled the work of racial justice and reconciliation in our beloved city. This gathering will bring these testimonies to life through a powerful evening of spoken word, art, and communal reflection. The showcase is designed to bridge the gap between history and the present, inviting the broader community to sit at the feet of these elders and discern how to carry the work of truth and repair forward.

It also serves as a launchpad for a city-wide season of story-collecting, encouraging others to record the living histories in their own neighborhoods to ensure that the leadership and spiritual vitality of the Black freedom movement continue to illuminate our path towards racial healing and shalom.

Sankofa teaches us that we cannot move forward unless we look back. By honoring those who paved the way, we carry their courage, conviction, and faith into what’s next. We’re grateful for every story shared and excited to preserve this living legacy for generations to come. 

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Black history IS Boston’s history! There are so many onroads here… we encourage you to choose one or two of these this month!

As each of us take steps to learn and experience Boston’s Black history, we discover how remembering the past can help us pursue racial justice, reconciliation, and shalom in our city today.