Pastor brings his Black History Month teach-in series to a close for the year

CHRISTOPHER DOYLE

28 February, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE — A local pastor brought his Black History Month teach-ins to a close by discussing strategies for combating residential segregation and inequality and creating a better future.

Mount Zion Baptist Church hosted its fourth and final Black History Month symposium last Wednesday. The event further explored the series’ overarching theme of applying the lessons of Black history to reduce racial inequality and segregation in modern-day America. It centered on a discussion among Mount Zion senior pastor Willie Francois III and several academics who specialized in topics studying history, law and race.

“We are excited about concluding this experience with three phenomenal public thinkers, persons who fuel the work of justice through their scholarship, people who allow their classrooms to be places where freedom is practiced,” Francois said, alluding to a quote from the late author bell hooks, who died in December.

University of Minnesota History Professor William Jones reviewed the history of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which featured the famed “I have a Dream” speech from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The topic of his last book, Jones examined the economic goals of the march, particularly pointing to the leadership of A. Philip Randolph, a labor union activist. He said Black leadership in unions continues to have an effect on American society today.

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Pleasantville pastor wraps Black History Month with discussion of residential segregation