Today the Radio Chronicles pays hommage to the Black Church. During the first half of the show, we highlight the roots of music in the USA, as well as the ministry, which seems to be heavily male-dominated. We’ll include excerpts from Civil Rights activists like the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the late Rev. C. L. Franklin (father of noted soul singer Aretha Franklin), the Rev. C.T. Vivian (close friend and former lieutenant of MLK, Jr), and the late Rev. Benjamin Hooks (a Baptist minister, criminal court judge and leader of the N.A.A.C.P. for 16 years). We also include excerpts from singers such as the late Albertina Walker, the Rev. Shirley Caesar and the late Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
In the second half of today’s show, we focus on the Ordinatioin of the Reverend Sister Wanika Kristi King-Stephens to the Holy Order of the Priesthood in the African Orthodox Church. Reverend Sister Wanika is the first woman ordained in the African Orthodox Church. She is Pastor of the St. John Coltrane Church in San Francisco, as well as host of the jazz-focused show, Uplift (heard on KPOO Radio, 89.5FM, Tuesday afternoon from noon – 4pm). Sister Wanika pushes the work, words and wisdom of St. John William Coltrane. You can hear about the black Church and the Ordination the Rev. Sis. Wanika Kristi King-Stephens this Sunday at 6.30pm on the Radio Chronicles on KPFA Radio, 94.1FM and online, www.kpfa.org. Produced and hosted by Safi wa Nairobi, with consultation and editing assistance from Veronica Faisant.