Resilience, Resistance, Liberation

A LITANY OF RESILIENCE, RESISTANCE, AND LIBERATION W W W . B T P B A S E . O R G | C U R A T I N G T H E O L O G I C A L R E S O U R C E S F O R B L A C K L I V E S by R ev. D r. E a rl e J . F isher ONE: By the rivers of Jamestown we sat and wept when we remembered Africa. Colonizers asked us to sing the songs of Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and beyond. But how could we sing the songs of home in a strange land? Many: Yet, we sang. We sang of ships that sailed to unknown lands. We sang of loved ones who jumped ship in defiance. We sang of hope and struggle, resilience and resistance. And we still sing the song of liberation, 400 years later. ONE: We sing of the Tigris and Euphrates. We sing of the Amazon and the Nile. We sing of the Atlantic and the Mississippi. Many: We sing of the drinking gourd. We sing of the Sweet Chariot that has come and is still coming to take us home. We sing of Africa and we too sing America. ONE: We not only sang. We not only sing. We fought. And We fight. We fight like Cecilie Fatiman and Joseph Cinque. We fight like Toussaint Louverture and Winnie Mandela. We fight like Harriet Tubman and Henry Highland Garnet. We fight like Frederick Douglas and Fannie Lou Hamer. Many: We fight like Malcolm and Martin. We fight like Sojourner and Shirley. We fight like "Snick" (SNCC), the Black Panthers, the SCLC, NAACP, Combahee and #BlackLivesMatter. ONE: We sing. We fight. We stand. We love. We build. We believe in freedom and will not rest until it comes. ALL: WE ARE RESILIENCE. WE ARE RESISTANCE. WE ARE LIBERATION. WE ARE LIGHT. WE ARE LOVE. WE ARE BLACK. WE ARE BEAUTIFUL. WE ARE ETERNAL. ASHE AND AMEN.