This past Black History Month, Mother Vivian Pruitte addressed Virginia #1’s prelate, Bishop Ted Thomas, Sr., and other State Leadership attendees on the horrific period known as the ‘Negro Holocaust’.
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According to Mother Pruitte, more than 3000 African-Americans lost their lives between 1882 and 1951 from the violent act of lynching. “While hanging of African-Americans occurred in slavery times, during these years [the act] rose to staggering proportions,” said Mother Pruitte.
Although the end of civil war gave more than 4 million slaves their freedoms, southern African-Americans faced new and more challenging obstacles under the guise of black codes, which were “designed to restrict free blacks’ activities and ensure their availability for labor now that slavery was abolished.”
Mother Pruitte’s riveting presentation shed light on the oppression and brutality free African-Americans faced in the Jim Crow south. The deaths of a fourteen-old-boy, a civil rights activist and two white freedom fighters sparked action across the nation. “[These] devastating events really mobilized the civil rights movements,” remarked Mother Pruitte.
In addition to the slides that chronicled the African-American journey to true freedom, Mother Pruitte also included video testimonies from members across the jurisdiction, recounting their experiences with segregation.
One gentleman recalled routinely being stopped by the police outside of a local military installation, just because of the color of his skin. “I felt like the police was my enemy. I never trusted the police, like they weren’t there to protect me, but to harass and scrutinize. At the time, I felt that the police were against me and against my community, the black people.”
At the conclusion of Mother Pruitte’s presentation, Bishop Ted Thomas, Sr. reinforced the importance of teaching our history to our descendants.
“This is why we need to do more in teaching our children our history and where we came from,” said Bishop Thomas. “God told Israel don’t forget.”
History has a predictable way of repeating itself, which is why it’s taught and studied. Understanding the mistakes and successes made by those who have come and gone before provides a roadmap to help ensure that those same mistakes aren’t repeated.
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