"Light in the Dark Belt: The Story of Rosa Young as Told by Herself"

Rosa Young was born in poverty in Alabama in 1890.  Her parents were devout Christians; her father was an African Methodist pastor.  She grew up in what she calls a "log hut" (p. 19) with nine siblings. Though she had the opportunity to go to school on and off as a child, she learned more from her father's brother, who had attended Tuskegee Institute, than she did from the school teacher.  She later taught her siblings all she could at night after they worked on the family farm.

Young describes her childhood self as "sickly, suffering with rheumatism" (p. 22) that disabled her for a time.  She was strong enough as a teen to attend high school in Selma, AL, where she excelled despite being the poorest student in her class, and graduated as the valedictorian.  Though she believed in God and read the Bible, she says she didn't really understand how Jesus's death and resurrection had anything to do with her personally at that time.

Rosa Young wanted to teach, for she saw much ignorance and misunderstanding in the lives of the people she grew up with, and she wanted to help other Black people.  So she started a school near her home and, for several years, she was very successful.  She had a building, students, and the support of the community, and her school flourished.

But then, the Mexican boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop in Alabama in 1914.  The economy collapsed, and most students could not pay the meager tuition to cover school books and supplies.  By the end of that school year, she had only $12.85 to pay the salaries of the teachers who had remained with her.  It looked as if she would have to close her school.

(Mine from my Instagram account.)

But Rosa Young was a determined woman.  She wrote to every leader of the African Methodist Church for help, but was given no encouragement.  She branched out and wrote to other Christian denominations.  Finally, she wrote to Booker T. Washington and asked if he knew of anyone who might help her.  He wrote her back himself and advised her to "write to the Board of Colored Missions of the Lutheran Church.  He said they were doing more for the colored race than any other denomination he knew of" (p. 103).  He gave her the address of the board's chairman, and she wrote to them after praying about the decision for two weeks.

Thus began Rosa Young's association with the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod.  They sent evangelists and teachers down to help her get her school back on its feet, supplied books and funds, and equipped her for teaching the Gospel as well as secular subjects.  Rosa Young became a Lutheran herself, after learning from these evangelists about what she calls "the pure Gospel."

Over the next thirty years, she helped found 30 schools, 35 congregations, and Concordia College in Alabama.  God used her to connect these evangelists and teachers with hundreds of people who did not know the saving news of God's love and Jesus's sacrifice to save them from their sins.  She worked tirelessly, even when in very poor health, and suffered a series of nervous breakdowns in her thirties, having to learn to moderate her efforts according to her strength later in life.

Rosa Young's dedication to helping others and her complete trust in God to guide and help her in every situation, large or small, are so inspiring to me.  I highly recommend this autobiography to anyone who wants to know what life was like in the deep South in the early 1900s and how much people there struggled just to feed their families and maybe provide basic necessities, much less give them access to things like schooling.  We take so much for granted in our lives these days, even when we have an economic downturn or a pandemic, and I was humbled to read how much Rosa Young and others like her could accomplish with so little to work with.

EDIT: I just discovered, since finishing this and posting it, that a film documentary about Rosa Young's life called The First Rosa is available to watch or download for free online here.  Can't wait to watch it!

Particularly Good Bits:

Right here in the land of Bibles, thousands of little black children had never seen a happy day; they were growing up like weeds and bushes, children without hope, without God (p. 8).

Never can a Christian say of Jesus that He sent him help, but that it was too late (p. 27).

It makes no difference how circumscribed opportunities my be, show yourself a friend to those who feel themselves friendless (p. 42).

There is no greatness in material things of themselves.  The greatness is determined by the use of them (p. 42).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for descriptions of poverty and mention of sinful behavior such as adultery and drunkenness.  

This is the 21st book I've read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject 2020.