“Without faith, nothing is possible.
With it, nothing is impossible.”

Here in our Faith in Action section, we are focusing, as always, on the faith aspect of our topics -- and Mary McLeod Bethune is a good person to start with as we honor Black History Month. Known as "The First Lady of the Struggle" in the first half of the 20th century, Dr. Bethune's  thwarted dream of mission service gave America a faith-inspired educational pioneer whose influence endures. Get to know her through these links, then scroll down for other selected resources.

• The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historical Site
• Mary McLeod Bethune at the National Council Negro Women, Inc.
• Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune at Bethune-Cookman University
• Mary McLeod Bethune at the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Images and Sounds from The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library:
Mary McLeod Bethune speaks of the power of education

Selected Black History Month Resources
	We Shall Not Be Moved (DVD)- The first African-American house of worship was built by Savannah slaves, working in secret every night to create a place where they might find refuge in their faith. Some two centuries later, the American South had become home to hundreds of African-American congregations -- producing the faith-based leadership that conquered segregation and won the battle for Civil Rights. We Shall Not Be Moved is the story of how these congregations and their ministers, with Scripture as their guide, forged a non-violent revolution to "redeem the very soul of America" in the 1950s and early 60s.
	God's Long Summer (Book) - Charles Marsh takes us back to this place and time, when the lives of activists on all sides of the civil rights issue converged and their images of God clashed. He weaves their voices into a gripping narrative from a Ku Klux Klansman,  a middle-aged woman, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) worker, and others. Through these emotionally charged stories, Marsh invites us to consider the civil rights movement anew, in terms of religion as a powerful yet protean force driving social action.
	The Spiritual Legacy of  Martin Luther King Jr. (Article) - "Remembering civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. means remembering his calling from Christ," writes Jonathan Wilson-Hartrgrove in Relevant magazine. Read the article.
	"Historically, African-American people have been known to be very spiritual," writes Beliefnet, and "spirituality and spiritual practice have shaped the lives of many African Americans, from the troubled past to our hopeful present." Check out the site's gallery of prayers from major figures in African-American history, such as Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Duke Ellington, and Sojourner Truth.