Dr. Pollard

On Tuesday September 21st, Dr. Alton Pollard spoke abut religion. I am aware that he spoke of more than just religion but that is what stuck out most in my mind. He started his lecture with the words "Religion is my forte". Automatically I was a bit turned off because I am not a religious person at all. Then he stated his definition for religion, a phenomenon that describes the encounter between human beings with the sacred or divine. He described the sacred and divine as a presence or a spirit, not just God. Then I was able to connect and engage what he was saying. But he changed what he was talking about for a moment and talked about slavery and played a song by the O'Jays. The song was an eye opener because many musicians, and artist of all kinds, did not address the topic of slavery publicly. We also talked about Howard Thurman who was the first dean of Rankin Chapel. As I've stated in previous post, I love learning about the history of the buildings on campus so I later looked up more information on Howard Thurman. We also discussed a very influental woman, Jarena Lee, who was the first African American to write her autobiography in 1836. She challenged people to let her do what she felt she was destined to do and I think many women, and men alike, can relate to that. She wanted to be a preacher and felt that that was her calling through her mystic visions. She went on to become the first woman preacher and did her first sermon in 1820. The message I got from Dr. Pollard when he spoke of Mrs. Lee is, if you want to do something then do it no matter what the next person has to say about it.

Richelle Jenkins