McKenzie ushers in Juneteenth, highlighting nation’s difficult history at National Cathedral

By Deborah BaileyAFRO Contributing EditorVashti 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. Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States. She is also a retired bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. (Courtesy photo)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...