Let Freedom Ring Challenge: The Common Bond of Faith

As the nation marks its 240th birthday this year, so does one of its oldest African-American houses of worship: Williamsburg’s historic First Baptist Church. Founded secretly in a Green Springs wood amid revolution, it has survived and thrived through enslavement, Civil War, segregation and today’s continued struggles for equality.

A bell acquired by First Baptist Church in 1886 has hung silent since the days of Jim Crow, when the church moved to its current Scotland Street home in 1956. In commemoration of Black History Month and in celebration of its anniversary, the church has invited the nation to come to Williamsburg and ring the bell—restored by Colonial Williamsburg conservators—for the first time in nearly 60 years. The Let Freedom Ring Challenge is call to action for healing, understanding, and racial tolerance.

On Jan. 19 from 1-2 p.m., we will host a special live simulcast of “Another View,” WHRV 89.5-FM’s award-winning call-in talk show. Host Barbara Hamm Lee and an interfaith panel including the First Baptist Church’s pastor, Rev. Reginald Davis, will preview next month’s events and discuss the role of religion in freedom movements and common bonds different faiths share.

“In a time of great uncertainty, it is even more important now than ever before that we embrace all the parts of our shared American History and acknowledged how alike we are in our struggles for freedom,” said Colonial Williamsburg Senior Manager of African-American Programs Stephen Seals, who helped assemble the panel. “I hope that everyone that experiences this program will have a renewed goal of loving thy neighbor and ensuring freedom for us all.”

The Foundation is planning an unprecedented slate of Black History Month events to coincide with the Let Freedom Ring Challenge, from interpretive programs and author visits to the exhibit “A Century of African-American Quilts,” which opens Jan. 30 at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.

The simulcast will stream live online next Tuesday from 1:00-2:00. You just need to register here. You may also come and watch in person, on the big screen of Lane Auditorium which is located in Bruton Heights School. Listeners and online viewers are encouraged to join the discussion and share questions or comments by calling 1-800-595-7012 or tweeting at us @CWFlearn using the hashtag #LetFreedomRingChallenge.

Here’s a closer look at who is involved in this endeavor.

HOST

Barbara Hamm Lee is executive producer and host of Another View. In addition to her duties for Another View, Barbara serves as Managing Director for SkillsOnline, WHRO’s workforce development initiative. She has also held the position of Project Director for the National Federation of Community Broadcasters’ African American Public Radio Stations Initiative, consulting with 26 African American public radio stations on compliance, governance, development, programming and community engagement. She has served as WHRO Public Media’s creative services officer, chief communications officer, chief public affairs officer and chief community engagement officer.

GUESTSShaykh Ammar AmonetteAmmar Amonette is imam of the Islamic Center of Virginia, the largest mosque in Central Virginia. He is a Muslim theologian and a graduate of the Graduate Institute for Imams-Makkah and of Umm al Qura University.

Rev. Max BlalockRev. Max Blalock is campus minister with the Wesley Foundation at the College of William & Mary. He previously served as pastor of Oakmont United Methodist Church in Homewood, Alabama and of Taylorville United Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa. He was college minister at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky from 2000 to 2003 and Campus Minister/Director at the Wesley Foundation at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg from 2003 to 2005. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in religion and history from Alabama’s Birmingham-Southern College and his Master of Divinity from California’s Claremont School of Theology. He earned a certificate in youth and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained as a full elder in the Alabama Conference in 2000.

Rev. Reginald F. DavisPastor Davis is the 21st pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. Previously he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church in North Chicago, Illinois. He has served as the dean of students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois and served on the faculties of Barry University and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He is author of “Frederick Douglas: Precursor of Liberation Theology,” “The Black Church: Relevant or Irrelevant in the 21st Century” “Bible Study for Busy Pastors and Ministers,” and “From Wall Street To Main Street: Why America is Being Destroyed from Within.” He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in New York and a Doctorate in Humanities with a concentration in African American studies from Florida State University. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, Texas. Davis is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, the American Baptist Churches of the South, American Academy of Religion, the NAACP, Ministers’ Alliance and Business Operating Self Support in Memphis, Tennessee.

Rev. Christopher “Chris” EppersonRev. Epperson is the 35th rector of Bruton Parish Church. Epperson previously served as rector of St. Columba’s Chapel in Middletown, Rhode Island and as interim chaplain at St. George’s School in Newport. He was associate rector at St. John’s Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, and associate rector for Christian formation and pastoral care at All Saints’ Church in Atlanta. Epperson earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee and his Master of Divinity degree from General Theological Seminary in New York, with a two-year field placement at Trinity Church.

Rabbi David KatzRabbi Katz has served at Temple Beth El since 2010 and serves as a rabbinic advisor for Balfour Hillel, the Jewish student organization at the College of William & Mary. Katz was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, where he also earned a Master of Arts in Hebrew letters. Before attending rabbinical school, Katz worked as the youth and program director at a synagogue in Texas, as director of cultural programming at a Jewish Community Center in Florida and as a public school teacher in New York City and Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Linda Rowe Linda Rowe is a historian in the department of historical research and training at Colonial Williamsburg. She holds a B. A. degree in English literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master’s Degree in American Studies from the College of William & Mary. Her research specialties at Colonial Williamsburg include women’s history, education in colonial Virginia, African-American history, the religious history of 18th-century Virginia and Williamsburg, and the history of First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. She is the author of “Gowan Pamphlet: Baptist Preacher in Slavery and Freedom” and serves on the editorial advisory board of the journal, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, published by the Virginia Historical Society.

Spread the Word Through Social Media
We hope you will join us next Tuesday, Jan. 19, and the entire month of February for the #LetFreedomRingChallenge. In addition to participating in this discussion and ringing the bell in person, you can get involved through social media and spread awareness and support in the following ways:

#1 Like our Facebook page and change your cover photo to reflect ours

#2 Take a picture to show why you will ring and then post it to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Make sure you use #WhyIWillRing and #LetFreedomRingChallenge

GUEST BLOGGER: JOE STRAW

Joe is a public relations manager with Colonial Williamsburg, focusing on media engagement related to the Historic Area, the Art Museums and educational outreach. Joe joined the foundation in 2014 after a long haul in print journalism. A lifelong fan of history and of learning in general, he’s thrilled to work in a place where he gets lessons each day from colleagues at the top of their fields.

Outside work Joe gets his kicks from family, friends, his dogs, and Star Wars movies.