A Black Pilgrimage Combines Faith and Freedom Struggle in DC

Writer Tulio Huggins recounts a recent trip to Washington that connected religious reflection with meditation on the ongoing fight for racial justice.

Apr. 4, 2026 at 2:48pm

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For Black History Month, Tulio Huggins visited two significant sites in Washington, D.C. - the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Our Mother of Africa Chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. At the museum, he was struck by the heaviness of witnessing the past decade's backsliding of democracy and rights. At the chapel, he found solace in the powerful imagery of a Black Jesus with clenched fists, representing the God who stands with the oppressed.

Why it matters

Huggins' pilgrimage reflects the intertwining of faith and the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America. As many White Christians have aligned with authoritarian politics, Huggins finds hope in a God who takes on the Black experience and empowers resistance against injustice.

The details

Huggins first visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where he was struck by the somberness of the exhibits on the slave trade and the ascent into freedom. He then went to the Our Mother of Africa Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where he was moved to tears by the powerful imagery - an ebony Mary holding a Black Jesus with clenched fists, and a crucified Black Jesus above the altar.

  • Huggins visited the museum almost 10 years ago and returned this year for Black History Month.
  • He visited the Our Mother of Africa Chapel two days after his museum trip.

The players

Tulio Huggins

A writer and Dartmouth College campus minister who recounts his recent pilgrimage to significant Black historical and religious sites in Washington, D.C.

Mary Roger Thibodeaux

A Sister of the Blessed Sacrament whose message that "the cause of justice is and always will be in strict accordance with the will of God" is enshrined at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Ed Dwight

The sculptor who created the ebony Mary holding a Black Jesus statue in the Our Mother of Africa Chapel.

Juvenal Kaliki

The artist who carved the crucified Black Jesus statue above the altar in the Our Mother of Africa Chapel.

Jeffrey Brosk

The artist who sculpted the cross above the crucified Black Jesus in the Our Mother of Africa Chapel.

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What they’re saying

“The cause of justice is and always will be in strict accordance with the will of God.”

— Mary Roger Thibodeaux, Sister of the Blessed Sacrament

The takeaway

Huggins' pilgrimage highlights how faith and the ongoing struggle for racial justice are inextricably linked, offering a powerful counternarrative to the alignment of many White Christians with authoritarian politics. The imagery of a Black Jesus with clenched fists represents a God who stands with the oppressed and empowers resistance against injustice, providing hope in a time of democratic backsliding.