Goodly Heritage

I’m sure you already know that I am a bibliophile (a lover of books) and a lexiphile (a lover of words). As a lexiphile, I absolutely love digging into the origin of words.

The word heritage comes from an Old French word “heriter” which means inheritance. The word inherit, from where we derive the word inheritance, has several meanings:

• to receive (money, property, or a title) as an heir at the death of the previous holder;

• to derive (a quality, characteristic, or predisposition) genetically from one's parents or ancestors and;

On this Heritage Sunday, I am thinking about our inheritance as people of the African Diaspora living in the United States. Although our people have had to endure great travesty and tragedy as a result of colonization and white supremacy, our testimony remains, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage” (Psalm 16:9).By the grace and strength of God, we have a goodly heritage--receiving riches and deriving dignity from our ancestors.

We inherited adaptability from Frederick Douglas!

We inherited courage from Ida B. Wells!

We inherited artistic expression from Langston Hughes

We inherited ingenuity from Madame C.J. Walker!

We inherited innovation from George Washington Carver!

We inherited intellectual excellence from W.E.B. DuBois

We inherited style and swagger from Josephine Baker!

We inherited commitment to justice from Thurgood Marshall!

We inherited strategic thinking from Booker T. Washington!

We inherited determination from Mary McLeod Bethune!

And our task is to live in such a way that generations yet to come will look back and testify that in us they have a goodly heritage!

Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah