HEINOUS ACTS OF SLAVERY REBIRTHED IN NEW YORK MEGA CHURCH
(NEW YORK, NY - August 29, 2009 - BlackNews.com) - New York nationally-recognized theologian, Reverend Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, in association with St. Paul Community Baptist Church, presents The MAAFA SUITE...A Healing Journey®, a controversial reenactment of American slavery. The off Broadway psychodrama is expected to draw a crowd of over 5,000 attendees to the Brooklyn, New York house of worship for a riveting reenactment of the journey from Africa to America. A journey that was endured by over 100 million Africans through the "Middle Passage" during a period in history known as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Visual displays of slavery artifacts from the 19th century will be on display in the MAAFA Museum.
The MAAFA Suite...A Healing Journey® traveling production kicks off Sunday, September 20, 2009 in Brooklyn, New York and serves as the anchor of this year's 15th Commemoration of The MAAFA that includes performances, panel discussions and speakers. Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, Former Chief of Staff to Martin Luther King, Jr., and co-founder of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) is scheduled as one of the keynote presenters during the commemoration. Special invited guests include Joshua Dubois, Director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the Barack Obama Administration, Soledad O'Brian, CNN News Correspondent and host of the acclaimed "Black in America" series, and more.
The 11-year-old production extends the walls of the St. Paul Community Baptist Church and has demonstrated an impact on the community at large. As stated by the community "Saint Paul brings Broadway to Brooklyn. The MAAFA Suite is a healing journey that brings the world a story that places the history of this nation in its truest perspective and offers an opportunity for all people to understand the nature of the oppression visited upon generations of Africans in America."
Pastor David K. Brawley shares, "MAAFA is a step out on faith by St. Paul Community, our way of honoring our ancestors, acknowledging our painful past and facing our present realities. God gave us the Commemoration of the MAAFA. We are a better, more knowledgeable and healing people because we walked in faith."
About MAAFA (pronounced MAH-AH-FA) & ST. PAUL COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH
The Commemoration of The MAAFA is a healing & powerful celebration. A creation of the St. Paul Community Baptist Church and brought to life by an almost total volunteer cast, The MAAFA Suite...A Healing Journey® visualizes the reflection, pain, strength, and growth of the African American people to audiences and horizons beyond imagination. St. Paul transforms the Church into a creative, innovative, educational institution by creating a MAAFA Museum that includes slavery artifacts and allows children and students to experience history through visual display. St. Paul Community Baptist Church has a congregation of more than 3,000 and an annual operating budget exceeding $3.5 million dollars. With such notable accomplishments as the establishment of a nationally recognized ministry to Black men and a 20+ year partnership with East Brooklyn Congregations -- an organization that has built over 3000 affordable homes in Brooklyn since 1984, St. Paul is a ministry with a strong foundation in social justice, economic development and individual edification. The uplifting triumphs of St. Paul in the community of East New York were chronicled in the book, Upon This Rock: The Miracles of A Black Church written by Samuel G. Freedman, which has become a staple on reading lists of seminaries across the country.
To learn more about The Commemoration of The MAAFA and for a detailed calendar of events please visit www.spcbc.com
For story prep information, exclusive interview requests, and event date attendance please contact:
Angela Howard | Brash PR | AngelaHoward@Brashpublicity.com | Tel.516-960-4316
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