Day 5 - Nate

On Sunday morning we woke up early and went to Abyssinian Baptist Church. Reverend Calvin Butts III would typically give a sermon, however, on this day a guest preacher delivered the sermon. After hearing thrilling selections from the Abyssinian Voices of Praise, we received a message on the importance of having a strong faith.

When the service was over, we were joined by New York State Supreme Court Judge, Randolph Jackson. Judge Jackson helped our trip leaders as we took a tour of Harlem, providing historical background for certain locations. We visited the historic Apollo Theater and the home of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes.
When our tour was over, we returned to the House of Justice, hoe of the National Action Network, for our meeting with Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton explained that “social justice organizations are no longer needed when threat are gone. “ He continued connecting the civil rights movement of the 1960’s to the current civil rights movement. He said that “the movement of your parents was about freedom, the movement now is about equality.” With the inspirational word of Rev. Al Sharpton in our heads, we visited an Orthodox Jewish community called Crown Heights.

Our tour was lead by Rabbi Reid, an African American man who converted to Orthodox Judaism later in life. He showed us the community’s “mikvah” (a ritual bath for religious cleansing); a “Sopher” (a place where scribes make and fix torahs, mezuzahs, and teffilin; and a Lubavich synagogue. To end our day Rabbi Reid joined us for dinner, so we could continue learning about orthodox culture, and the his experiences in the community.