History in the Hyphen

Sermon preached at Glebe-St. James United Church

Feb. 5, 2012

“History in the Hyphen”                                Mark 1: 29-39

by Rev. Dr. Christine Johnson

When you start researching history,

                you realize that dates are very important.

And when you read profiles of significant persons,

                you’re often given the year of their birth and the year of their death.

This is what we see on tombstones.

A year of birth, a hyphen and the year of death.

For example, 1918-1999

But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

No, not by a long shot.

The history of any person, in its full depth and breath, is represented by the lowly hyphen.

It’s in the hyphen where the daily ups and downs take place.

It’s in the hyphen that life is lived, decisions are made, milestones take place.

So, when it comes to history, it’s up to us to illuminate the hyphen.

Sometimes that’s easier said than done.

As I started to do some research for this week’s sermon,

                I began to understand why there’s a need for Black History Month.

When it comes to knowledge about the contributions of black Canadians,

it is difficult to find.

When there is a gap, and when it’s connected to ethnic origin,

it’s important to start asking questions

Why has there been so little about black Canadians in our history books?

We probably do know a lot about the transatlantic slave trade,

but do we not know about the black inventors, politicians, preachers, and other leaders

that helped to build this country.

Like Viola Desmond .

I’d never heard about her until I visited the BlackHistoryCanada website.

Born in 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Viola Davis Desmond was a black Canadian who ran her
own beauty parlour and beauty college in that city. On November 8, 1946 she decided to go see a movie. She refused to sit in the balcony, which was designated exclusively for Blacks. Instead, she sat on the ground floor, which was for Whites only. She was forcibly removed and arrested. Ms. Desmond was found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and paid a $26 fine. The trial mainly focused on the issue of tax evasion and not on the discriminatory practices of the theatre. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP), with Viola’s help, took the case to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. All efforts to have the conviction overturned were unsuccessful, and her lawyer eventually returned her fee. Viola Desmond later settled in New York, where she died in 1965. On April 15, 2010, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia invoked the Royal Prerogative and granted Desmond a posthumous pardon, the first such to be granted in Canada, and the government of Nova Scotia formally apologized.

And this all happened nine years before Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus.

Why have I never heard of Viola Desmond?

Why have the stories of so many black Canadians not been told?

It’s probably because for a long time, persons of any colour other than white

                were considered second-class citizens.

It wasn’t that long ago that segregation was just a part of regular life.

It wasn’t that long ago mixed marriages were frowned upon.

It wasn’t that long ago prejudice blocked black people from gaining opportunities.

And still, we struggle with difference, misunderstanding, stigma, low self-esteem.

Canada abolished slavery early,

but that didn’t put an end to racism.

Yes, it was the land of the free, but for whom?

                Not for the slaves, most of whom came from Africa.

                Not for the aboriginals, most of whom were displaced from their traditional lands.

This is part of our collective memory.

When we honour it by learning about it,

we realize the great privileges that some gained on the backs of others.

Black History Month is needed because it’s one small step

 towards honouring the contribution of black Canadians.

This is a healing process.

It is healing because when we learn about the past it helps us build the future.

Remember, what’s past is prologue.

It is healing when the space represented by the hyphen gets fleshed out.

And healing is what Christians are all about.

Healing is what Jesus is all about.

In our story today, Jesus stretches out his hand to Simon’s mother-in-law when she has a fever,

                and lifts her up.

He does the same for others who are sick or possessed.

As followers of Jesus, we, too, are healers.

For many black Canadians, it is healing to gain a true understanding of the incredible contributions

 made by their foremothers and forefathers.

It is healing because it is inspiring for young black children and youth,

 who want and need good role models,

                who are seeking inspiration in order to gain confidence in their own abilities.

It is healing for all us, whatever ethnic background,

                because it enriches our understanding of the diversity within our culture.

I also was curious to learn more the Rev. Dr. Wilbur Howard.

Yes, I knew he was the first black moderator of the United Church,

                but that’s about all. 

And as I searched, it wasn’t really all that easy to find information.

I did find out he was the first black student at Emmanual College,

                my alma mater.

Why wasn’t that fact every taught to me, as a student of the college?

I also found out Dr. Howard was the first black Canadian to be ordained in the UCC in 1941,

                another fact I didn’t know.

But what really surprised me,

                was that Wilbur Howard could not be settled

                (that is, placed in his first pastoral charge)

                because no local congregation would accept a black minister.

In order to be ordained, General Council Office created a position for him.

It took 24 years, before he was called to his first pastoral charge,

                Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

From there he went on to serve Emmanual United Church until he retired in 1981.

I asked Tom Tanner, who was a congregant of Howard’s at Dominion-Chalmers

to write down a few thoughts about him. 

He writes, “Wilbur was always a humorous, gentle and acute spiritual guide. I have long considered him the wisest person I have had the privilege to know.”

“Wilbur would preach about one Sunday in three. His sermons were always direct and to the point, with gentle humour which could have a barb. I remember him referring to the Bible as "that book we trust and dust.”

Just as Rev. Stan MacKay and Rev. Sang Chul Lee also broke racial barriers,

                Black History Month reminds us there are gaps in our history books.

Why shouldn’t black children and youth, in fact all children, know about

                the great leaders of the past?

History can be a double edged sword.

It can be written in such a way that only a small segment of society gets any recognition.

Yet, history can be healing.

It can open us up to a world we didn’t even know existed.

When that happens, it’s a like a hand reaching out through space,

                a hand of love and compassion,

                a hand accompanied by words of encouragement,

                a hand that lifts us up.

This hand of Jesus pushes us to discover the history in the hyphen.

For anything that overcomes the barriers we create between people is healing.

That’s why we need to know the history in the hyphen of Rev. Dr. Wilbur Howard.

That’s why we need to know the history in the hyphen of Viola Desmond.

They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

They were much more than just a hyphen, or a footnote in someone’s history.

They were children of God doing God’s work.

We need to tell their stories because their stories teach us so much about who we are

                and how we can continue their legacies of healing.