Lift Every Voice

Bishop Vashti McKenzie
Conference Call with African American Leaders with President Barack Obama
Tuesday, October 26, 2010

We come tonight looking through the portals of a new era; upon the threshold of new beginnings as men and women of destiny, willing to accept the challenge to follow in the footsteps of our forbears to hammer the chains of ignorance and discord, poverty and fear, hate and hopelessness, racism, sexism, elitism and classism and any other exclusionary philosopher and mindset upon the anvil of pride and arrogance until a new egalitarian relationship is forged.
Never let us take our faith or our freedom for granted. Both were bought with a great price. One of blood on a cross and the other was of blood on battlefields all over the world and here at home. What price freedom?
For our freedom, we thank you. For our beloved country, we thank you. For the vision of our visionary leader, we thank you; for honorable industry, sound learning, rich resources, opportunity for the many and the few, we thank you.
Help us this week not to squander our heritage. Help us to rise to the occasion to make a choice, which our ancestors died so that we could make. Help us to set a good example not to be swayed by misinformation and intimidation but be informed, be wise and good stewards over the opportunity to vote a choice in this election and those to come.
We cannot afford to squander our heritage but honor our fathers and our mothers by doing what is honorable and right. Make a choice. Let us vote, instead of allowing others to make a choice for us.
Open our eyes to see who we are, what we have and what we can do with the measure of gifts and graces you have granted us. Help us to find our voice and to Lift Every Voice and Sing, till earth and heaven ring. This is the moment, the minute and the hour to move forward because there is too much at stake to turn back now. In Jesus name, amen.

Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie