Last summer, the Rev. Valerie Mayo arrived at Seminary of the Southwest as the inaugural Director of Beloved Community Initiatives with a palpable sense of energy, purpose, and vision. Southwest’s first Black History Month under her leadership was an immediate success, and became a vibrant example of the ways to approach this work that is a critical component of Southwest’s strategic vision of Beloved Community.
“In doing the difficult and transformative work of becoming a more Beloved Community, inclusion is paramount,” said Mayo. “Intentional cultivation of shared celebration of Black life, Black culture and Black legacy not only promoted a sense of belonging and togetherness within our internal and external communities, but also reinforced our collective responsibility in resisting the societal evils of racism and exclusion. Through diverse platforms, both on the Southwest campus and through relationships with congregations and organizations within the wider community, the programs offered during this year’s Black History Month were meaningful due to the nature of a bi-directional invitation to be with one another. That state of being together, in these particular ways, offered opportunities to heal old wounds, create new relationships, and affirm the value of black bodies, black intellect, black contributions, and black businesses.”
With the help and guidance of the Black History Month Steering Committee, as well as multiple members of the faculty, staff, and student body, Mayo’s first Black History Month at Southwest was an unqualified success.
“Seminary of the Southwest celebrated Black History Month with an extraordinary variety of events that narrated the past, explored the present, and envisioned the future'” said the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Dean and President. “The creative leadership of the Rev. Valerie Mayo drew on spiritual and intellectual resources within and beyond the seminary community to educate, form, and connect us.”
While many of these events were produced on the Southwest campus, others were created by friends of Southwest in either support or affiliation with the seminary. Included below is a summary of the months events that impacted our community in some way:
UBE President Kicks Off Black History Month With Celebration
On Friday, February 3rd – as Austin was still recovering from a ice-storm that led to the loss of power throughout half the city – the Very Rev. Kim Coleman, President of the National Union of Black Episcopalians, kicked off Black History Month at Southwest with a compelling address before a packed Howell Dining Hall. In support of the 2023 Black History Month theme, “Black Resistance,” the 2023 BHM Keynote Address was titled “Black Resistance: Yet with a Steady Beat.” The dinner was attended by alumni from all over the country, and featured a celebration and recognition of Southwest’s alumni of color.
“The opening dinner brought together black alumni/ae, leaders from local chapters of the Union of Black Episcopalians, students, staff, and faculty to hear incisive reflections from keynoter, the Rev. Kim Coleman, about the UBE and Black Resistance,” said Kittredge. “It was a true celebration, for which we were even more grateful, following a weeklong winter storm!”
Watch the Very Rev. Coleman’s presentation and program here.
Layered and Rich Payne Lecture features Dr. J. Kameron Carter
The Board of Trustee led Payne Lecture was presented online on February 7th. An annual event that focuses on mission and honors the Rt. Rev. Claude E. Payne, former chair of the seminary’s board and bishop of the Diocese of Texas, retired, the Payne Lecture is now a traditional component of Black History Month at Southwest.
This year’s lecturer was Dr. J. Kameron
Carter– Professor, Religious Studies, and Co-Director, Center for Religion and the Human at Indiana University Bloomington. He presented a thought-provoking and deeply stimulating lecture titled Beyond (the Religion of) Whiteness. The online audience was led through a question and answer session by Dr. Anthony Baker, Southwest’s Clinton S. Quin Professor of Systematic Theology.
Watch the 2023 Payne Lecture here
Jones-Daniels Window Dedication at All Saints
Just a short walk from the Southwest campus sits one of our sister communities, All Saints Episcopal Church. The Rev. Genevieve Razim, Rector at All Saints and member of the Southwest Board of Trustees, invited members of the seminary community to join them on February 15th in celebration of the feast day of The Rev. Absalom Jones and the dedication of a new panel in the Saints of
the Church window. The panel honors Absalom Jones, the first Black Episcopal priest and a prominent 18th century abolitionist, and Jonathan Daniels, a martyred Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist.
Southwest’s Crump Visiting Professor and Black Religious Scholars Group Scholar-in-Residence, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Ray, was the guest preacher, and many members of the Southwest faculty and student body were in attendance.
“Baptized Rage, Transformed Grief” Fills Christ Chapel with Song
The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Kirk-Duggan was Southwest’s BRSG Visiting Professor in the 2019-20 Academic Year, and Southwest’s plans to present her one-woman concert and conversation in April, 2020, were thwarted by the pandemic. Kirk-Duggan presented her concert – titled ““Baptized Rage, Transformed Grief” – on February 16th, filling Christ Chapel with song, and gifted teh community of Southwest with a heartfelt performance she calls, “a Spiritual Journey celebrating human life as we grapple with Loss and emerge in Joy.” A celebration of her love of God and her commitment to empower others to live their authentic lives as they process and release loss, Kirk-Duggan embraced music and poetic musing, presenting the works of George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Schumann, Bette Midler and Tammy Wynette.
Sponsored by both Seminary of the Southwest and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where Kirk-Duggan also once taught, the full and engaged audience was a mix of members of both seminary communities and other parishes in Austin.
Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship Event Shines
On February 23rd, the the indefatigable efforts of the Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship Committee were on full display at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin. Over 170 people gathered to learn about the scholarships namesake, celebrate the accomplishments of their efforts thus far, and hear from the current Pauli Murray Scholars at Seminary of the Southwest. The events also honored the significant achievements of the Honorable Lora Livingston, Rabbi Neal Blumofe, and the Rev. Al Rodriguez.
The Rev. Jim Harrington, co-chair of the Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship Committee, said “the scholarship has helped open the doors to ministry students who might not otherwise be able to attend seminary. Not only does it open the doors for students, but it prepares them to serve the communities of color from which they come. And to have the scholarship named after Pauli Murray makes the point. This began as a community effort and continues to be such, which is inspiring and important.”
While not technically not a part of Southwest’s Black History Month events overseen by the Department of Beloved Community Initiatives, the long-standing relationship between the scholarship committee and the seminary they work so hard to support created a tangible connection between Southwest’s month-long efforts and those who volunteer for the Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship. “It was a thrill to have key leaders and partners from in and beyond Austin together to honor Judge Livingston, Father Al Rodriguez, and Rabbi Blumhofe and to meet the Pauli Murray scholars at Seminary of the Southwest supported by the Pauli Murray Scholarship,” said Kittredge. “We had only to hear the passion and eloquence of Victoria, Debora, and Cruz to know once again the foresight and leadership of those who created and continue to support the Pauli Murray Scholarship.”
Click here to read the release on Episcopal News Service about the Pauli Murray Scholarship Gala
East Austin Walking Tour Educates and Celebrates
On Sunday, February 25th, Southwest’s student-led Counselors for Social Justice presented an insightful walking tour of East Austin in celebration of the rich Black history and culture the permeates that area of the city. ‘Celebrate Black Austin: A Walking Tour of East Austin’ highlighted landmarks of historic significance and amplified the voices and stories of those from the community. Following the tour, attendees were able to shop and eat with local Black-owned businesses and food trucks.
Rev. Mayo felt the tour aligned with one of the critical goals of Black History Month: “The tour was part of the efforts to educate and reiterate the destructive, actualized presence of whiteness within our institutional structures, and to outwardly name the challenges of changing the cultural landscape of said institutions, even among the ‘well-intended.’It was also a time for gathering, open fellowship, and communal support.”
Notably, not long after the tour, the Southwest Chapter of Counselors for Social Justice was given a prestigious honor, and impressive acknowledgement for the organization in just its second year.
Dr. Stephen Ray Delivers Thoughtful Lecture: ‘Wither the Blacks?’
On February 27, the community of Southwest gathered in Knapp Auditorium for the month’s final event, an insightful lecture delivered from Southwest’s Crump Visiting Professor and Black Religious Scholars Group Scholar-in-Residence, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Ray. Titled “Wither the Blacks?: Meditations on End of the African-American Era,” Dr. Ray’s lecture delved into the historical meanings and probable predictions of how Black Americans are identified and self-identify.
“We have been hugely blessed by Dr. Stephen Ray’s presence among us in many many ways,” said Kittredge. “His lecture, “Wither the Blacks? Meditations on End of the African-American Era,” explored the dynamics significance of black self-identification across the generations with insight, analysis, empathy, and hope. His reflections have stimulated rich and important conversations among us.”
Community Hours and BHM Hospitality Featured Food, Entertainment From Black Owned Businesses
An example of the commitment to the inclusion Rev. Mayo saw as a critical component of a meaningful Black History Month at Southwest, most of the numerous hospitality events presented over the month were supported by Black owned restaurants, caterers, and entertainers.
The BHM Kickoff event with the Rev. Kim Coleman was served a delicious meal from Le Meals, and provided entertainment by saxophonist Rodney Howell. Dr. Stephen Ray’s ‘Wither the Blacks?’ lecture was preceded with a delectible meal from Trap House Catering owned by Dante Foster, and followed by wonderful sweets from Fork Fantasies owned by Dan’Chaye McGruder.
A long-standing tradition at Southwest has been for students, faculty, and staff to gather each Monday afternoon to gather in fellowship over various treats in order to maintain the bonds that connect the community in various ways. Titled ‘Community Hour’ this weekly gathering collected new meaning in February, as each event was sponsored by the Department of Beloved Community Initiatives, and like the rest of Black History Month, each week featured a Black-owned local caterer or restaurant. The featured restaurants and caterers were:
- February 6th Community Hour: Suga’s Cakery, with owner Patricia Beckford
- February 13th Community Hour: Gooden Sweet Cookies with owner Sean Gooden, Sr.
- February 20th Community hour – Private chef, Chef Russell Arterberry
- February 27th Community hour: 2 CheeseCake Cuties with owner Eva Johnson
Largely organized by Associate Director of Operations, Ashley Croshow, Rev. Mayo noted the success of the complex set of hospitality events was due in part to the cross-departmental commitment by Southwest staff. “One of the greatest gifts within the Southwest community was the interdepartmental and interdisciplinary teamwork experienced. We’re so happy for this opportunity to give recognition to those members of our community who often go unnoticed, providing their support from the margins,” said Mayo.
While a month filled with meaningful and varied experiences, once complete, Mayo reflected on the overarching goals of her department, and the idea that Southwest’s celebrations of Black History need not be contained to a single month: “While all things experienced and celebrated within the month of February 2023 were remarkable, and shall be cherished, the most difficult aspect of this divinely orchestrated mission of becoming Beloved Community – to which we have all been called – continues to be the value that we as an institution place on building our internal networks, to be in conversation and relationship with one another, and to work through our areas of conflict and tension so that we remain genuine in our desire to become a more Beloved Community. Recognizing that none of our histories can be contained to one month, we look forward to engaging in celebrations and conversations centered on Black life and the Black experience year-round.”
