Like many others, the Rev. Emory Berry of Fourth Baptist Church in the East End is on a reflective journey as the nation commemorates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nears the start of Black History Month.

The self-examination comes amid an ongoing “national conversation” on searing social issues such as law enforcement’s fractured relationship with African-Americans, a widening economic gap and disparities in jobs and educational opportunities in communities of color.

The Free Press asked Rev. Berry and other Richmond area faith leaders to discuss important issues facing the black community and suggest what long-ignored parts of African-American history are important for the next generation to learn.

“I checked out ‘12 Years a Slave’ from the library and watched it last week,” Rev. Berry said. “It made me rethink some things. Many people continue to think of enslaved people as only standing in the fields picking cotton. One of the men (portrayed) was an engineer. Another was an accomplished violin player. Another was a great pastry chef. Others were great artisans and craftsmen. These were people who had high IQs and accomplishments to the highest degree.

“Slavery might be mentioned now, but what does that really mean in terms of how African-Americans were a significant part of building this country economically?” he asked. “So much of what we see and celebrate today was built by the free labor of enslaved black people.”

Rev. Berry called “institutionalized injustice” the biggest issue facing African-Americans — from the criminalization of black communities to low-wage jobs.

He said Dr. King’s commemoration, growing “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations and the release of the movie “Selma” have brought a renewed sense of “black pride” and the need for “more of us to go back to sacrificing to affect change.”

Minister and state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, who earned a master’s of divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in 2008, called poverty the transcendent issue of the day.

“When a person cannot be sure he or she can get sufficient food

or pay for shelter, he or she cannot possibly focus on doing a good job at work or school,” he said. “Poverty affects everything, depriving a person of dignity and self-esteem.

“We need to ensure that every person can earn a living wage, take care of himself or herself, support his or her family, get an education and obtain a good paying job,” he added. “We need to remove poverty as an obstacle to these basic goals.”

Rev. McEachin, who serves Henrico

County in the General Assembly, said, “A little known aspect of African-American history is that African- American legislators served in both the government of the Commonwealth and in the federal government in the 19th century.

“But these gains were taken from us and our progress was halted. We need to be ever vigilant to ensure this never happens again. Moreover, this can teach us to stand up not only for ourselves but for other minorities and, standing together, ensure all of us continue to make the necessary and deserved progress.”

The Rev. F. Todd Gray, pastor of Fifth Street Baptist Church on North Side, said single-parent homes are a major problem. “I know this because of what we do with a community development center,” he said.

He called education the second big issue.

Rev. Gray called those issues the “two most prominent indicators for continued poverty.”

“That’s why we have a private commitment for the cultivation of young minds. We have just partnered with Richmond Public Schools to provide Head Start in our church. We’ve always been committed to educating our young and helping to foster families.”

Gospel radio personality Sheilah Belle, “The Belle” of Praise 104.7 FM, has called attention to issues of police brutality on her afternoon show. “It’s pretty obvious after looking at the murder and aftermath of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and even the New York police officers that African-Americans believe it is necessary to remind the world that Black Lives Matter!”

She said African-Americans feel disrespected “on so many levels” — from the hate Republicans have shown to President Obama and police brutality to economic and educational disparities.

Ms. Belle emphasized that the next generation must not forget trailblazers such as Dr. King and Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women’s rights advocate, and others who “endured for equal justice, the right to vote and the right to attend higher learning institutions.”

The Rev. Tyrone Nelson, pastor of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Jackson Ward and new vice chair of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, called the biggest challenge facing the African-American community “widening the base of resources financially. We need to raise the minimum wage, continue to push for jobs with higher wages and diversify the type of jobs offered in the community. Accumulating wealth and reducing the needless consuming of depreciating assets should be a focus as well.”

The Rev. J. Elisha Burke, director of health and wellness at the Baptist General Convention and interim minister at Westwood Baptist Church in the West End, noted that students should learn African-American history, which he said has not been taught “to any appreciable degree” in schools.

“What most (students) have been exposed to is an overview from writers detached from the community and reality who have no interest in exposing the truth about the Middle Passage, slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, segregation, mass incarceration, etc,” he said.

He added: “It important for this generation to know that the condition of existence of African-Americans has been largely based on building immense wealth and maintaining it by relegating millions to cheap labor status and its attendant poverty and social ills.

“The current and future generations need to know that the same mental acuity, ingenuity and entrepreneurial drive and faith that allowed for so many accomplishments in spite of a denial of freedoms, citizenship, civil rights, etc. is a part of their past, current and future. Based on our history, the current and future challenges have set the stage for many positive contributions for the good of all.”