Presbyterian Mission Agency african american community Archives

How a small African American ‘rock’ church and Its community nurtured two ‘hidden figures’ who helped change the world

Posted October 10th, 2024

Travelers on Highway 5, the 50-mile stretch between Blacksburg and Rock Hill, South Carolina, often stop on the roadside to admire and take pictures of the small church perched off the highway. Hopewell Presbyterian Church, with its distinctive rock exterior, seems to glow when the afternoon sun hits at the right angle, highlighting its unique architectural charm that symbolizes strength and fortitude.

PC(USA) pastors and other leaders offer a public apology that was centuries in the making

Posted February 24th, 2023

Dozens of white clergy from churches and mid councils, elected officials and other leaders in Lansing, Michigan, recently gathered at Reachout Christian Center Church to apologize to the African American community for slavery and its aftermath. Among the participants was the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the PC(USA)’s Center for the Repair of Historic Harms.

‘When America gets a cold, the African American community gets pneumonia’

Posted June 17th, 2020

It is said, “When America gets a cold, the African American community gets pneumonia.” The COVID-19 pandemic is proving that to be true. As the virus spreads across the country, it appears that it is impacting African Americans at a disproportionally high rate. In hot spots like New York, Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago, blacks are dying at alarmingly high rates.

COVID-19 and the African American community

Posted June 14th, 2020

St. James Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, did its part Sunday to help inform the wider church on ways COVID-19 is impacting the African American community — and what can be done to reduce those impacts.