Adelle Banks

An interfaith group’s 1950s MLK comic book remains a prominent nonviolence teaching tool ‘You have done a marvelous job of grasping the underlying truth and philosophy of the movement,’ the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to the creator of a comic book about civil rights.

And on the 28th and last day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about how the 1950s comic book “Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story” continues to be a teaching tool and an influential historical account used in the U.S. and abroad.
religionnews.com/2025/05/29/i...

Black church leaders use new books to share history and hope Released during or close to Black History Month, the books provide a faith-oriented look at African American history and analyses of women in ministry and changing demographics and technology.

Three new books by prominent Black denominational leaders examine the role of the Black church and the work of its clergy and lay people — all historical analyses pegged to #BlackHistoryMonth.

My @rns.org story:
religionnews.com/2026/02/27/b...

Joseph Smith portrait at Morehouse sparks debate over slavery, polygamy and Black history On Feb. 1, the Smith portrait was unveiled at the chapel named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at a vespers service attended by descendants of the Smith family.

Leaders of Morehouse College’s chapel assistants have questioned the chapel’s unveiling of a portrait of Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith.

My @rns.org story: religionnews.com/2026/02/27/j...

Five years after George Floyd’s murder, church leaders say race relations face retrenchment ‘We are honest about the conditions that we're facing, but we are not hopeless about what we're facing,' said Bishop W. Darin Moore of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

On the 27th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my ’25 @rns.org story about clergy noticing the emphasis shifting away from race relations that occurred in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
religionnews.com/2025/05/22/5...

Religious ties shape how Black Americans define family, Pew study finds Black Christians are more likely than religiously unaffiliated to consider nonrelatives a part of their families. 

Black Christians are more likely than religiously unaffiliated to consider nonrelatives a part of their families.

More than a massacre: How an outsider captured Mother Emanuel's legacy In 'Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church,' journalist Kevin Sack offers perspective on the historic Black church, beyond the 2015 murder of nine ...

On the 26th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story based on an interview with Kevin Sack, author of “Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church.”
religionnews.com/2025/06/17/m...

Lawns light up for Ramadan as Muslim families give holy month the Christmas treatment Outdoor displays once reserved almost exclusively for Christmas are now lighting up lawns during the Islamic month of fasting.

Outdoor displays once reserved almost exclusively for Christmas are now lighting up lawns during the Islamic month of fasting.

‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,' the unofficial Black national anthem, celebrates 125 years ‘It is featured in over 40 different Christian hymnals and sung in churches all across America, not just during Black History Month or Juneteenth,’ said musician Theodore Thorpe III.

On the 25th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about the 125th anniversary of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which one expert said is “featured in over 40 different Christian hymnals and sung in churches all across America.”
religionnews.com/2025/06/18/l...

33 historically Black churches receive $8.5 million in preservation grants Grants were awarded, ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, for capital projects, programming and interpretation, or project planning.

"This grant addresses persistent inequities in preservation funding that have left many Black churches under-resourced despite their outsized cultural and historical importance,” said a leader of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church.
My @rns.org story:
religionnews.com/2026/02/24/3...

The Rev. James Forbes Jr. discusses ministry, family and overcoming adversity in poetry-filled book ‘My sense is that these poems might pick up someone’s spirit, they might deposit a resolution regarding some values,’ Forbes said in the preface of his new book.

On the 24th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my @rns.org story about the Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., former senior minister of NYC’s Riverside Church, and his book “Veracity and Verse: A Preacher’s Reflections and Poems on Faith and Truth.” religionnews.com/2025/07/02/r...

Progressive National Baptists pan ‘big ugly bill,’ strategize to help communities At sessions focused on social justice, PNBC leaders and guest speakers urged greater response and a unified front to address impacts of the new federal budget.

On the 23rd day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story about annual session of Progressive National Baptist Convention, where speakers condemned how the “big beautiful” budget bill, signed into law 7/4, is expected to hurt poor people.
religionnews.com/2025/07/24/p...

Basketball shoe with Bible verse from NBA’s Jonathan Isaac lands at Museum of the Bible The pair of shoes, signed by Isaac, refer to Proverbs 28:1, a verse the player said he has turned to in times when he has struggled with anxiety.

On the 22nd day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac donating a sneaker featuring a Bible verse to the Museum of the Bible: religionnews.com/2025/08/25/b...

National Baptists feature first woman preacher at evening service in annual meeting The Rev. Tracey L. Brown of New Jersey became the first woman ever to preach at a worship service during the annual meeting, NBCUSA leaders said.

On the 21st day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my @rns.org story about the first woman to preach at the annual session of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.: religionnews.com/2025/09/10/n...

Predominantly white church dedicates memorial to the enslaved who worked on its land ‘‘Forever in the Path’ calls us to renew our covenant to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God,’ said the church’s pastor.

On the 20th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story about a predominantly white church in Washington that created a stained-glass memorial to the enslaved people who worked on its land: religionnews.com/2025/09/16/p...

AME Church clergy, staff near retirement fund payout as appeal window closes The settlement agreement also calls for the closure of the AME Church’s Department of Retirement Services by July 31, 2028.

On the 19th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my September @rns.org story about continuing process for African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy to reap possible payout from court approval of partial settlements over missing retirement funds.
religionnews.com/2025/09/17/w...

Former @rns.org Editor David E. Anderson, who died Feb. 14, said he covered “too many” church conventions, along with seven presidents and three popes. My, @bmietana.bsky.social story: religionnews.com/2026/02/18/d...

Texas Christian university receives largest-ever gift to a private HBCU Huston-Tillotson University, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ, received its first donation from the Moody Foundation in 1968.

On the 18th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my @rns.org story about Huston-Tillotson University, a Christian school in Texas, receiving the largest-ever single donation to a private historically Black college or university.
religionnews.com/2025/09/18/t...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who preached about hope and “somebodiness” and was a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died today at age 84. My @rns.org photo from 50th anniversary of ’63 March on Washington and my @rns.org story about him: religionnews.com/2026/02/17/j...

Photographer Gordon Parks’ religious images displayed in DC exhibition Mostly self-taught, Parks interspersed religious images in his photography across his career, an exhibition at Howard University reveals.

On the 17th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story about an exhibition of photographer Gordon Parks’ exploration of Black religion and spirituality that was featured at Howard University:
religionnews.com/2025/09/26/p...

My @rns.org story about actor Robert Duvall, when he produced and acted in “Get Low,” a 2010 movie: religionnews.com/2010/07/21/d...

Robert Duvall, who died 2/15, said in @rns.org interview about playing characters touched by faith: “You don’t have to agree with everything that these people believe in, but you want to try to portray them as accurately as possible … without dictating or putting judgments on it.”

‘Dean of African American church music’ James Abbington dies at 65 after Duke appointment ‘I grieve for his family, friends, and our Divinity community,” said Edgardo Colón-Emeric, dean of Duke Divinity School, where Abbington had planned to teach in the fall.

On the 16th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about Black religious music expert W. James Abbington Jr., who died Sept. 27 shortly after being appointed as a professor at Duke Divinity School:
religionnews.com/2025/10/02/d...

Tony Evans talks about his next chapter, undisclosed ‘sin’ and new book (RNS) — ‘Whatever life I have left, I want to maximize at the highest possible level for God’s kingdom and for eternity,’ Evans said in an interview with RNS.

On the 15th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my @rns.org story about megachurch founder Tony Evans, who talked about his latest book, why he left his church’s leadership and his next phase of life:
religionnews.com/2025/10/10/t...

Turning Point USA Black conservative group to complete HBCU tour after some pushback (RNS) — In at least two cases, it was suggested the advocacy group did not have proper permits to be on campus.

On the 14th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story about Blexit, a conservative group run by the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, and its controversial homecoming tour of HBCUs that drew pushback:
religionnews.com/2025/10/30/t...

Henry J. Lyons, once-imprisoned National Baptist Convention USA president, dies at 83 (RNS) — ‘I felt that I had to resign, I should resign and therefore, I did resign,’ Lyons said about stepping down as denominational president in 1999.

On the 13th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about Henry Lyons, a former president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. who went to prison on fraud charges, and who died Oct. 27:
religionnews.com/2025/10/31/h...

‘Sarah’s Oil’ movie tells story of a Black girl who had faith her Oklahoma land had oil (RNS) — The movie depicts 11-year-old Sarah Rector’s certainty that God told her oil was underneath her land.

On the 12th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, check out my @rns.org story about “Sarah’s Oil,” a movie about the seldom-told story of 11-year-old Sarah Rector’s certainty that God told her oil was underneath her land in the early 1900s:
religionnews.com/2025/11/07/s...

‘Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders’ A missiologist, a religion journalist and a church researcher write about one of the largest American churches in the 1960s in an excerpt from a recent book.

Appreciate that Duke Divinity School’s Faith & Leadership magazine has highlighted my book, “Becoming a Future-Ready Church,’’ co-written with Daniel Yang and Warren Bird, with an excerpt. Read it here:
faithandleadership.com/becoming-fut...

Wiley Drake, pastor who championed 1990s SBC Disney boycott, has died (RNS) — Drake, a fixture at SBC meetings, was a culture warrior, a biblical inerrantist and a fierce fighter for what he thought was right — including feuding with city officials who wanted to shut do...

Wiley Drake was one of a kind-- an SBC gadfly who ran a shelter at his church for decades, believed in helping the poor, boycotted Disney and always spoke his mind

religionnews.com/2026/02/11/w...

T.D. Jakes moves from pastoring to podcasting as his next focus (RNS) — The announcement of the podcast stated that Jakes will also be telling more of his own story.

On the 11th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, here’s my @rns.org story about Bishop T.D. Jakes, who launched a new podcast after passing the leadership of his megachurch to his daughter and son-in-law:
religionnews.com/2025/11/12/t...

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