It’s taken me a moment to gather my thoughts and my spirit to post about the loss of my Beloved Pastor, the Reverend Calvin Butts III. Words cannot express how grateful I am for his Ministry, encompassing both people of faith, and people of African Descent at large, for whom he fought, struggled, protected, and encouraged. I took Mr. Mitchell, Founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem to a service at Abyssinian Baptist Church @abyssinianbc once. He joined that Sunday. And later, in 2018, Mr. Mitchell would be funeralized at Abyssinian, with Reverend Butts officiating. In this video, Reverend Butts is acknowledging my ballet “Higher Ground”, set to the music of Stevie Wonder; he’d seen a mention of it in the news. The ballet was inspired by a sermon he had preached sometime earlier. The ballet, for me, still stands as my testimony to Reverend Butts lifelong work. Arthur Mitchell, and now Reverend Dr. Calvin Otis Butts III. Kinship souls that created space for me to be. 🙏🏾