In February, 2022 we celebrated the contributions of Black people. Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggle for racial justice.
Do you know about Absalom Jones?
The Rev. Dr. Absalom Jones (November 7, 1746 – February 13, 1818) was born in Sussex County, Delaware.
Legend holds that the Rev. Arthur Ussher, rector of St. Peter’s, Lewes, baptized Jones. The church’s chapel is dedicated in honor of blessed Absalom, Delaware’s Saint.
In 1794 Jones founded the first black Episcopal congregation, and in 1802, he was the first African American to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. Liturgically, he is remembered on the date of his death, February 13, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as “Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818.” Click here to read a biography of Absalom Jones on the website of The Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.
We honor his life and extraordinary legacy by inviting gifts to the Absalom Jones Fund for Episcopal HBCUs, which aids the students, faculty and staff of two Episcopal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina and Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina.
Dr. Wesley Memeger, Jr., “Science Into Art”
Our theme for Black History Month in 2021 was “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity,” a theme chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Memeger is a long-time DuPont chemist at the Pioneering Research Laboratory. He played a crucial role in streamlining the production of Kevlar by discovering a faster polymerization process. Memeger holds fourteen patents for his discoveries. In addition, he is an accomplished artist, taking inspiration from the geometric shapes found in molecular compounds. This 40-minute documentary features an oral history of Dr. Memeger conducted by SsAM member Dr. Jeanne Nutter in 2020.
Diversity At SsAM
Books About Race, Race Relations, and Racial History – A Bibliography
