I LOVE Black Men…

I sat in the sanctuary of Vernon A.M.E. Church on Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa on Wednesday, August 19th. We had just finished a tour of Tulsa, recounting the site and historical moments that led to the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Vernon is the only building that withstood the fires and bombs that torched the historic Black Wall Street district May 31- June 1, 1921.

As we toured the city and heard the history from our Seminary Professors, and as they showed us a new historical spot, they asked us to consider each spot a “stone.” A stone that is placed for us to remember and tell the story. To commemorate and honor history and ensure the stories are told.

The Creek Council Oak Tree, the railroad tracks that split North and South Tulsa, and Interstate 244, which was built with no exits on Greenwood. Stones.

As I sat in the hot sanctuary, the smell of old wood, the light from the 108-degree sun shining through the stained glass, I was asked to close my eyes and consider the stones that brought me here. To this place. To being a Seminary Scholar at Phillips Theological Seminary.

Here I was sitting on the North side of Tulsa in a historic black church on Greenwood Ave.

When I was in 5th grade, my family moved from California to Oklahoma. My parents had been pastors for my whole younger life, helping or starting churches in Michigan, California, and Arizona. My dad attended Rhema in the 80’s and was ordained under Faith Christian Fellowship (FCF), a nondenominational church, here in Tulsa.

When we moved back to Oklahoma, my parents were FCF ministers, and so we went back to the FCF church, which was at 36th Street North in Tulsa. The church was what you would consider a black church. Sunday best, colorful suits, big hats, a gospel choir, the style, the culture, and long services! There were only about 5 white families in the church.

I was exposed to a way of life, celebration, joy, love, music, dancing, and culture that was different from my own, and it changed me. And I was exposed to Dwayne and Carolyn Mason; they were the children’s ministers at the church.

Dwayne could dance; he was an absolutely electric personality and a wonderful preacher/teacher.

He took Kindergarten-through middle schoolers, and he poured into us and preached to us like we were adults. We got bible bucks if we took notes, to spend in the little prize store. I still have my journal from when I started taking notes in church with Pastor Dwayne Mason

He prayed over us every week a prayer that every child could recite, reminding us we were the “head and not the tail, above only and not beneath”; we were important and made to thrive.

And as I sat in Vernon A.M.E. Church, experiencing the history that had happened just 75 years before my sitting at 36th Street North under Pastor Mason’s leadership, I was in awe of this Stone. This piece of my history that is so interconnected with the history of Tulsa.

The first black leader in my life set me on a path to seek, to study, to get excited about truth and the beauty of it. To write. To give my life over to help others on their journey and to do it full of life, enthusiasm, and joy.

I consider the other Stones in my life. Pieces of my story that have brought me here.

Marrying a brilliant black man, and even though our union ended, this relationship contributed greatly to my growth and becoming. He also gave me a father-in-law, who was an ex-drug addict and dealer who was radically transformed and became an A.M.E. minister in Joliet, IL.

He served at St. Mark’s A.M.E. Church for 17 years, where they just named the street after him.

Papa Larry became one of the greatest loves of my life. He was support, my cheerleader, and unconditional love to me up to his last breath in August 2024.

And through my union with his son, we produced 3 black men that I now have the privilege of loving and raising. They are brilliant, and I cannot wait to see all they become. I love me some Black MEN.

My love for black culture started as a ten-year-old at FCF at 36th Street North. It shaped me, it influenced me, it formed me.

The intersections of our lives, the people, the pain, the trauma, the joy, and the sorrows are all setting you up, bringing all things together, creating beauty, meaning, and purpose from ALL of it. If you will let it, if you will see it.

This is what I want for you, my dear. I want you to look back: what are some of the stones, the moments in your life, the places you need to mark, and remember the story, remember the impact, and how it has shaped you and is shaping you. There is about to be a plot twist!

I am starting my journey to get another Master’s degree! The door opened, and I had to walk through it. I will be pursuing a Master’s in Ministry and Culture at Phillips Theological Seminary, and I am so excited for the ride! And you get to go with me!!!

Thank you for supporting me, cheering me on, reading my writing, and inspiring me to keep going every day.

From My Heart to Yours,