The Angela Project- 40 Days of Prayer

Written on: July 12, 2019

Today marks the 400^th Anniversary of Black enslavement in the United States; the first Black Africans having been brought to America in 1619. The project takes its name from a young girl named Angela, from Angola, who was the first of 19 enslaved Africans to step foot on American soil. They were not seeking a better life for themselves, but were forced to make a better life for those who enslaved them.

Today, we pray in sorrow and humility for our complicity in this systemic evil, remembering that the racism we face today is the bitter fruit of slavery. Deliver Us From Evil

The Angela Project is in keeping with LCWR’s, and our own, commitment to build community and stand against racism. It originated from Simmons College of Kentucky, our nation’s 107th Historically Black College & University. The project’s goal is to raise awareness of the 400th Anniversary of Black enslavement in the United States; the first Black Africans having been brought to America in 1619.

Multiple denominations are collaborating in this initiative named after the first enslaved person from Africa – a woman known to us as Angela.

• The National Baptist Convention of America in partnership with
• the Progressive Baptist Convention (The Convention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and
• the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (the convention of President Jimmy Carter)

have worked in partnership to educate America on the history of slavery, the complicity of the church and the lingering effects of the greatest crime against humanity in recorded history.

Beginning July 12, 2019, and concluding August 20, 2019, we are invited to join in 40 Days of Prayer towards the momentous day that Angela, a baptized Christian from Angola, became the first of 19 enslaved Africans to step foot on American soil.

The collaborators published a book titled, “The Angela Project” and a guide for the 40 Days of Prayer for the Liberation of American Descendants of Slavery so that we might together remember the horrors afflicted upon, and the brutality towards, the victims in the hope that we might chart a new course of racial justice in the U.S. and beyond. If you would like these books for your personal use they may be purchased on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (40 Days of Prayer), but are by no means required to join in these 40 days of prayer.

Alternatively, we also recommend the prayer Prayer Deliver Us From Evil by Jane Deren, Ph.D., from the Center for Concern.

As time draws near to the August 20th date, please check www.simmonscollegeky.edu for locations for the 400th Commemoration Ceremony.  It will also be streamed live from Simmons’ website.

By participating in this action we stand in solidarity with all those whose lives have been governed by slavery. Aware of the systemic nature of slavery, we ask forgiveness for our complicity in this social sin.

Sr. Diane Bardol, GNSH

This entry was posted in With a Heart for Justice and tagged: 1690, 40 Days of Prayer for the Liberation of American Descendants of Slavery, 400 Years, 400th Anniversary of Black enslavement, Angola, complicity, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, LCWR, National Baptist Convention of America, Progressive Baptist Convention, Simmons College of Kentucky, slavery, slavery in America, The Angela Project