Black American Christians: Hush Harbors and Holy Resistance
Harriet Tubman, far left, the woman who led some 300 slaves to freedom before and during the Civil War, poses with former slaves in this undated photo that is part of the 'Our Mothers Before Us, Women And Democracy 1789-1920,' a traveling exhibit currently on display at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee.
Unveiling The 1619 Project
The majority of Americans are taught that the birth of the U.S. was in 1776 with the creation of the Declaration of Independence. This document was the thirteen colonies' declaration of independence from Britain. In 2019, Nikole Hannah-Jones received insults from political conservatives who tightly held to the 1776 American story, which tells of the country's greatness and exceptionalism. She received conservative pushback because of her New York Times article attempting to tell a different story. Her article was a revisionist history titled The 1619 Project, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in an English colony. This heartfelt journalism project has brought awareness to the American public about the significance of the year 1619 for those of African descent in the U.S.
The Brutality of Chattel Slavery
In 1619, the White Lion slave ship reached the Virginia shores which ushered in the beginning of chattel slavery in the U.S. The condition of slavery was incredibly inhumane. From 1936 to 1938 a project was done to record slave narratives called "Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States," created by the Federal Writers’ Project. The majority of the stories are personal accounts of the brutality and inhumanity of slavery. Louis Adams tells her story as a slave woman from Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina. She states, “Our food was bad. Master worked us hard and gave us nothing.” She goes on to state that she was not allowed to read and write, and slaves would be sold if caught doing so. In her recorded narrative, she recalls greasing her daddy’s back after being whipped by their master. Stories like these have been recorded to bring to light the inhumanity and injustice of slavery towards Black people coming from Africa into the American colonies. Slaves were not seen as human in the eyes of their white masters but were instead considered property to be used and sold for their own capital benefit. Recorded history also informs us of slave Bibles that omitted sections from the Old Testament regarding the Israelite exodus from Egypt and other liberating stories and verses. These cultural conditions convey to us the idols of the day being racism and consumerism, which allowed people to be exploited to an unjustly extreme degree.
The Christian Faith and Witness of Black Slaves
Regarding their Christian faith, Black slaves' response to their treatment and their culture was one of lament and hope. Black slaves in the colonies desired real physical liberation, not solely spiritual liberation, but one that allowed them to live freely and be distant from the brutal treatment of their slave masters. Their lament for their condition and the hope they had can be found in slave songs. Louis Adams, in her slave narrative, recounts a song as she states, “Oh, let us go where pleasure never dies. Great fountain gone over.” Songs like this gave hope to slaves for better circumstances. Theologies of other slave songs also mistakenly speak to a dualistic view of going to heaven, making that the focus of the faith. James Cone discusses in his book "The Cross and The Lynching Tree" that slaves did not have the privilege to theorize together as white theologians did during the time of slavery. White theologians had the privilege to ask questions regarding God and his sovereignty, while the theology of slaves focused on Jesus as the liberator. They did not have the time or comfortability to ponder doctrines and create language to codify theological beliefs and practices, but instead, as people who had their backs against the wall, they cried out to God and put all their hope in Jesus as their liberator. This is what is called doing theology from below: allowing your real-life situation and the truth of Scripture to help create how you see God.
At the Christian Community Development conference in 2021, Pastor Terrence Hawkins shared a passionate and truthful message on how the witness of Black slaves helped redeem the authentic Christian faith. He proclaimed how the theology of white Christian nationalists in the U.S. had stripped away viewing God as being for the oppressed and seeing Jesus as the liberator. This is expressed in the secret Black church gatherings during the time of slavery called hush harbors. In "Liberating Church" by the Liberating Church Network in North Carolina, it states that hush harbors are where the church was born for African Americans. Hush harbors were secret meeting places of enslaved Blacks where they would freely worship God and hear stories from the Bible about Jesus being a liberator. Hush harbors and the emotions they showed in those spaces and the origin of Negro spirituals tell of the Black Christian witness. They gathered to praise a God who was for their inhumane circumstance and created songs that told of their desire to escape their sufferings and to enter heaven to be with their God and ancestors. It appears that Hush Harbors tell the story of the beginning of the Black Christian witness in the U.S. and their faithfulness to the God of the Bible.
The Enduring Legacy
As we reflect on the profound impact of Black slaves' witness during the era of slavery, it becomes evident that their resilience and faithfulness have left an indelible mark on the history of Christianity in the United States. In our next blog in this series, we will delve deeper into the legacy of the Black Christian witness, exploring its evolution through different periods in American history. Join us as we continue to unravel the rich tapestry of faith, struggle, and triumph that has shaped the spiritual journey of Black Americans. Together, we will uncover untold stories, explore the complexities of religious identity, and celebrate the enduring spirit that has forged a unique and powerful legacy. Stay tuned for the next installment, where we continue to illuminate the threads of history that connect us all.
