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Rev. Kelli X Moderates Dialogue at Vanderbilt Divinity School  

On a clear spring morning, Rev. Kelli X crossed the streets between Scarritt Bennett Center and her alma matter, Vanderbilt Divinity School, to moderate a panel discussion centering on the history of the segregated Christian church in the US. Rev. X pastors The Village Church Nashville and is the Director of Racial Justice Ministries with Scarritt Bennett Center.

Rev. X introduced Vanderbilt Divinity School professors Dr. Juan Floyd-Thomas and Dr. James Byrd, who would discuss both the Black Church and the White Church, how they evolved, where we are today and how we strategically work within religious structures and set racist tropes to dismantle racism within the whole church.

Dr. Floyd-Thomas shares his presentation.

Dr. Floyd-Thomas noted that the Black Church is not a derivative of the White Church, and, that it is a rebuttal to White Christian Nationalism. He traced the Black Church history from the hush harbors where enslaved people met in secret to worship. Those enslaved Black believers were the living bricks and mortar that would form the foundation the Black Church. Hush harbors, Dr. Floyd-Thomas said, were created by force, not choice, as those gathered were blocked from White houses of worship.

Dr. Byrd shares his presentation.

Dr. Byrd traced segregated church history through the early American Christian churches in which the concept of whiteness was carefully constructed and curated.  He spoke about the power of the pulpit, especially during the mid 1800’s, likening the influence of the White church to that of the Federal Government. He noted that without the White Church, there would most like be no racism.  Yet, in 1774, John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Movement, wrote a tract entitled Thoughts Upon Slavery in which he named slavery and the ‘sum of all villainies’.  

Both presentations lifted up the complexity and layered nature race, a concept developed by White people to justify slavery and the slave trade. If indeed, Black people were an inferior class of human being, White people would be obliged to take care of them and thus the slaver becomes savior and Blacks become a subhuman race.

Rev. Kelli X, far right, leads Q&A with Dr. Byrd, center, and Dr. Floyd Thomas, far left.

At the conclusion of their presentations, Rev. X opened a question & answer session which addressed the what now at this, our time in history. What is the role of Academy and graduates headed out into local churches and religious institutions to move us closer to the Beloved Kindom?

Dr. Byrd said that an understanding of whiteness would be an important first step in which white people understand that white is also a race classification and not the norm or rightful dominant culture across communities. Dr. Floyd-Thomas invited folks to just start now. He said if we know it took centuries to get here and it might take centuries to get where we are going, so let’s get to it!

Rev. X closed out the session stating that we have to move away from ‘this is just the way it is’ thinking and move into the space of Divine Imagination to see what could be possible.