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By 
Estelle Uba2025-10-31T15:41:00+00:00
For a new generation of Black Christians, faith is not confined to Sunday services or private devotion. It is being lived out publicly, through creativity, advocacy and a commitment to justice. This Black History Month, here’s three to celebrate, says Estelle Uba
Figures such as Paige Lewin, Allegria Dilecarta and Priscilla Toko are redefining what it means to live a life of faith. Their work shows that spirituality and social responsibility do not exist in separate worlds but in constant conversation with each other.
For Paige Lewin, 32, a natural hair advocate of Jamaican heritage, faith is the foundation of her creative work. As host of the ‘Texture Talks’ podcast and author of How to Love Your Afro, she uses storytelling to help women reconnect with their sense of worth.
“Honestly, How to Love Your Afro was born out of a dream I believe God gave me,” she says. “I woke up one morning and knew, without a doubt, that I had to write this book. My faith influenced everything about how I approached it, because I wasn’t just writing about hair. I was writing about healing.” Paige’s work is rooted in restoring Black women’s self-love. “The world has told Black women for centuries that we need to change to be loved or accepted. But faith reminds us that we were already created in God’s image. There’s something divine about every curl, every kink, every strand. It’s all intentional. My faith helped me frame Afro hair not as a flaw to fix, but as evidence of God’s creativity.”
For her, embracing one’s natural beauty is not vanity, but an appreciation of God’s work. “Faith is everything when it comes to reclaiming worth,” she says. “Because when you start to see yourself through God’s eyes, you stop trying to edit what he’s already called good.”
That same lens, she believes, must extend to the Church. “I hope the Church understands that affirming Black identity isn’t separate from affirming God’s creation — it’s part of it. For too long, many of us have felt like we had to shrink ourselves or ‘assimilate’ to fit into Christian spaces. But God doesn’t ask us to strip away our culture, our rhythm or our roots to worship him. He delights in our fullness.”
Allegria Dilecarta, 22, is a model, activist and host of The Gamechangers, a Christian game show. Of Congolese and Italian heritage, she speaks openly about the genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo and about disability inclusion through the lens of Christianity.
“When I gave my life to Christ, it was during lockdown, at the peak Black Lives Matter movement,” she recalls. “I grew up in a Christian household, but my passion for social justice, racial equality and Pan-Africanism came first. That was my main identity. I didn’t know how the two could ever intersect. So when I was on this journey with God, the question I always had in the back of my head was: ‘Is Christianity a white man’s religion?’”
That question stayed with her for years. “Christianity is tied to a lot of the injustices in the world today, including nationalist Western ideologies and white supremacy,” she says. “For example, look at the KKK. They were burning crosses. It’s unfortunate that Christianity is so closely linked to the wrong things, but now, as a 22-year-old, I can wholeheartedly say that Jesus cares for the oppressed. That’s who he came for. That’s who his heart has always been for.”
Her faith journey has reshaped how she approaches activism. “My personal way of seeing my faith is to be the most loving that I can be. When my name is mentioned, I want the kindness and love of God to be the first and last thing that people remember,” she says. “Even within social justice movements, the way some activists speak can often be quite problematic. We have to focus on making sure that the message we leave people with is the love of God, because that’s when people listen.”
When it comes to the question of Christians taking a stand against inequality, Allegria believes faith must lead to action. “The scripture says ‘Faith without works is dead.’ Yes, we can pray, but what about charity within the local community or speaking to your church about initiating a mission overseas? We have to be so conscious that we don’t perpetuate the individualism that so permeates our world in the West.”
She also advocates for disability inclusion in Christian spaces. “If someone is disabled, they’re immediately seen as unable. For example, I’ve never met any openly neurodivergent church leaders,” she says. “A neurodivergent person may speak about God with a depth and uniqueness that I will never be able to understand because they think differently to me. The fact that our Creator has designed people to think differently — but still know him — shows how beautifully complex he is.”
Allegria says her favourite scripture is Isaiah 1:17, — “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” — because it shows that God cares for the oppressed. “As a Black woman, it speaks directly to mine and my family’s story,” she says. “Oppression is something that my family came from. For him to say that he cares for the oppressed makes me feel like I can go out and continue to do the work of caring passionately for the oppressed, knowing that God is backing me all the way.”
Priscilla Toko, 25, is a presenter, content creator and member of the Congolese Action Youth Platform, an collective of activists from the Congolese diaspora dedicated to raising awareness about the ongoing genocide in the DRC.
Activism, for her, wasn’t a planned pursuit but a calling shaped by conviction. “God has made me very vocal in all aspects of my life,” she reflects. “At first I saw it as a problem, like, ‘I’m a bit too lippy,’ but now I see the purpose behind it.”
During lockdown, she began questioning the direction of her online presence and found herself drawn toward using her voice for something beyond self-expression. Sparked by the global reckoning following George Floyd’s murder, she began researching and creating poems and freestyles about Congo, determined to amplify stories that were overlooked.
To her, “the whole point of faith” is to live it out publicly rather than dividing the public and the private. “Jesus came and shook tables, both metaphorically and physically; he literally flipped tables over in the temple and he challenged the way people think,” she says.
She adds, “The public sphere is where our faith is most likely to be tested. If I’m claiming that I have the fruit of the Spirit, it won’t be evident when I’m alone in my room praying, where there’s nothing to test my patience or kindness.”
When it comes to the role of the Church, Priscilla says that people must recognise that, like any major institution, it is ultimately shaped by the choices of individuals within it. “Just because the institution is silent on issues like genocide and injustice, it doesn’t absolve individuals from speaking up,” she says. “If we actually see our voices as powerful, we can challenge institutions.”
“Helping those who need our support is why Jesus came down. He came for the sick and needy, so we have to move in that same way,” she continues. “You’re always going to upset someone. But ultimately, as long as you’re pleasing God, I think that is the most important thing.”
Together, Paige, Allegria and Priscilla reflect a generation of believers who are unafraid to merge prayer with protest, theology with action and faith with justice. Their advocacy echoes the words in Micah 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
For them, walking humbly looks a lot like standing up and taking action.
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