Maintaining Sanity in the Midst of Unrelenting Oppression: The Continuing Saga of People of African Descent in America

By Creigs C. Beverly, and Olivia D. Beverly,

When asked by the publisher of this manuscript to write a brief statement for the cover of this book, we were immediately driven to the second stanza of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson and J.R. Rosamond Johnson.

The second stanza says,

Stony the road we trod

Bitter the chastening rod

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died

Yet with a steady beat

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered

Out from the gloomy past

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast

To our sisters and brothers, keep praying, keep singing, and keep going to safe places to cry! Our sanity demands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685171063

Book preview

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Maintaining Sanity in the Midst of Unrelenting Oppression

The Continuing Saga of People of African Descent in America

Creigs C. Beverly, PhD and Olivia D. Beverly, PhD

ISBN 978-1-68517-105-6 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-106-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Creigs C. Beverly, PhD, and Olivia D. Beverly, PhD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Preface

This book was written not only as a testimony to the resilience of Black people in America but also because it speaks directly to the surviving methodologies that made resilience possible. Among the two most permanent surviving methodologies used by Black people in America were, are, and will continue to be, music and prayer. Anyone who has ever attended a Black church service can attest to the truth of the aforementioned assertion.

This book was also written as a reminder to all who choose to read it that Black people in America continue to experience an imperfect freedom. One needs to look no further than the Black Lives Matter movement or the Southern Poverty Law Center’s continuing focus on racial terror and voter suppression as pillars of white supremacy, to name only two. The challenge now, as it has been all along, is to continue the struggle, never give in to the madness, keep hope alive, and internalize the words of Alexis de Tocqueville (1840) quoted by Lerone Bennett in his book The Challenge of Blackness.

If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the Black race on the soil of the United States; that is to say, they will owe their origin, not to equality, but to inequality of condition!

For those who struggle, who care, and who maintain their sanity in the midst of unrelenting oppression and madness, keep praying and keep singing!

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to the parents of the authors without whom the authors would not exist! Words cannot express our gratitude to our parents for their love, nurturing, and instilling in us a love for God. It is through our parents that we learned to reach down into the depths of our souls and search for Scriptures and songs to sustain us in all situations.

To Creigs C. Beverly (deceased), Margaret E. Beverly (deceased), Edward R. Gilbert, and Gladys E. Gilbert, we say thank you for all of your love, support, and guidance!

To all of the African American souls whose lives and sacrifices have made it possible for us to write this manuscript, we say thank you!

To all members of faith-based communities, near and far, who have nourished, influenced, and supported us, we say thank you!

And to the greatest of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for us all, we say thank you for your extended grace and mercies to us!

At the time this book was submitted to the publisher, America was experiencing the following: