One Voice: before we place any request before you O God, we thank you for everything.
All Voices: We give thanks to you Lord.
One Voice: For every African mother who lost a child, spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle or parent to those who came across the water to kidnap human beings and transform them into chattel, we cry unto you, O God.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: For every Black woman who suffered the indignity of the auction block, had the children she carried in her body ripped from her arms and sold away, we cry onto you, O God.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: For every Black woman who was raped by an overseer and whipped for her resistance, who wondered like Patsy, “what will become of me?” because no one could or would advocate for her, we cry unto you, O God.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: Remember in your mercy God, every Black woman who witnessed state sanctioned execution at the end of a rope, who had to cut someone they loved down from a tree, we cry unto you, O God.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: For every Black woman who stood up for us, every Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Anna Cooper, Nina Simone, Audre Lorde, Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis, Kathleen Cleaver, Coretta Scott King, Mary McLeod Bethune, Oseola McCarty, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Ruby Bridges, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, Marilyn Mosby, Bree Newsome, Niya Kenny, and especially those whose names we will never know, give us all strength for the journey.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: For every Black woman with a loved one under state supervision, in prison, or at risk for the school-to-prison pipeline, help us to make schools what they were meant to be: safe environments for learning. For this we cry unto you, O God.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
One Voice: For every woman of the Bible acting womanish, from the defiance of Queen Vashti, to the persistence of Hagar, to the patience of Zipporah, to the subterfuge of Rahab, Shiphrah and Puah, to the prophecies of Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and Anna, to the determination of Jael, to the business acumen of Lydia, Joanna, and Susanna, to the Marys present for the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, to the work ethic of Euodia, Syntyche, Julia, Phoebe and Junia, and every unnamed woman of the text we can see ourselves in, we give thanks unto the Lord.
All Voices: Lord, hear our cry.
Together: God, help us to remember that every single human expression is a reflection of you. Please be a healing balm for every micro-aggression, insult and judgment that has left its fingerprints on our souls; the residue from unceasing exposure to images of black and brown bodies being assaulted, demeaned, and killed: God help us to create spaces where the voices of Black women and girls can be both heard and listened to. Give us the courage not to pass by the injured Samaritans of the 21st century, but rather to put our hands to the task of cleaning, clearing, and re-claiming the Jericho Roads that hinder us. We place our requests before you God, and listen for your response.