Merciful and healing God, today we begin Black History Month, where we celebrate the accomplishments of Black people as they have struggled to be acknowledged and recognized for their contributions to society. We share in the longings of Langston Hughes’ poem, “I Dream a World,” and we commit to dismantling systems of racism that keep all of us unfree.
I dream a world where man
No [one none other] will scorn,
Where love will bless the Earth
And peace its paths adorn.
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the Earth
And every [one] is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the need of [humankind]—
Of such I dream, my world!
May we work for such a dream.—AMEN.
(Langston Hughes)
