Mckenzie Highlights Nation’s Difficult History During Message at National Cathedral

Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the retired and first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, used the pulpit of The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to render a searing sermon calling the faithful to “put feet to our prayers” as she set the stage for America’s celebration of Juneteenth on June 19. McKenzie, president of the National Churches of Christ, delivered the morning message at the Cathedral on June 16 and went straight into dissecting the rationale behind America’s cultural wars in the form of book banning, and laws passed restricting how history is taught in schools across the U.S. According to the Black Education Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, 18 states have imposed restrictions and bans on teaching race and gender since 2021.& At least 32 states have jurisdictions that have passed some form of book ban. “If we are a truly great nation, the truth cannot destroy us,” McKenzie said, quoting from Nicole Hannah Jones’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project. She then asked the congregation: “If you could change the narrative to your liking, what would your truth look like? “ McKenzie led the audience on a whirlwind historical “roll call” of efforts to revise the narrative...