The religio-spiritual capital of the Black Church: A conceptual model for combatting antiblackness in the early years

Abstract

The effects of persistent antiblackness are not without consequence for young Black children. It slowly kills, steals, and destroys the humanity, joy, and spirit of Black children in a phenomenon known as spirit murder. As a consequence, spirit murder is a spiritual problem requiring a spiritual solution. In order for Black children to be whole and well, they need life affirmation and spirit enrichment. As such, we call attention to the religious wealth and spiritual assets developed in the Black Church with the recognition that it has long leveraged faith as a means to combat the ills of anti-Black racism. We theorize religio-spiritual as an amalgamation of religious and spiritual capital and refers to the power that endows young Black children with spiritual knowledges, gifts, capabilities, and skills to not only cope with but challenge the anti-Black racism in their young lives. Limited studies have been conducted on the spiritual assets of the Black community, particularly as they translate to young Black children, necessitating a resurgence in attending to these competencies to further practices, programs, and policies that leverage this distinctive form of capital in service of the larger purpose of struggling toward social and racial justice.