Spiritual Awakening with Alton Pollard

This class discussion was a very spiritual one. Our orator was Dr. Alton Pollard, dean of Howard University School of Divinity. He stressed the need for young African-Americans to not settle in the progress and achievements of their predecessors but to strive to make achievements of their own. He stressed the need to have self-worth and said that by having spirtual wellness we attain our true self-worth. He discussed illustrious black pioneers such as Sojourner Truth and W.E.B. Dubois. By referring to them, I understood his inference that if these leaders before us managed to make a substantial change in society during times of racial turmoil, so could any one of us now. This gave me a great sense of empowerment in not only the abilities of African-Americans, but my own abilities and the strides I can make in my community as an individual. One person he discussed interested me particularly, however. Gerina Lee, the first African American to write her autobiography. Her story gave me great inspiration as a young African American woman. Dr. Pollard told the class how she once tried to committ suicide in the wake of the racial oppression of her people before the Civil Rights Movement. Luckily, she had a spirtual awakening and during this awakening, she began having mystic visions about social change. Thus, she committed herself to ministry and because of her sense of righteousness she was dubbed "God's Minister" amongst her followers. Gerina Lee's story demonstrated the power of the African-American spirt and just how far we can go as a race if we remain spirtual and maintain a sense of righteousness. His last words during his lecture will forever resonate in my mind... "Always know theyself, if you know thyself you will know your God." This is remarkably true. To know and understand thyself as a child of God, one has spirtual wellness and can accomplish great things through faith and committment to God. When one is close to God, one feels a sense of empowerment. With this sense of empowerment and self-worth, we can accomplish all things.