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Looking at how Black churches endured past crises can provides a blueprint for how communities can deal with today’s trying times. In particular, the story of how three Black churches in Philadelphia endured events similar to those afflicting society today can give both solace and hope.
The Black Church is an institution that was forged in crises. Through slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation and the civil rights era, the network of places of worship serving traditionally Black congregations has seen its fair share of traumatic events. In 2016, the Rev. Robert Franklin, former president of Morehouse College, acknowledged as much in a speech on urban ministries: “Disruption is the question, but the radical love ethic of Jesus is the response.” And that was before 2020 delivered the COVID-19 pandemic, the related economic crisis and the global movement for Black Li...