Ten years later: ‘The First Rosa’

Dr. Rosa J. Young

By Cheryl Magness

More than 10 years ago in Selma, Ala., in September 2014, filming began on “The First Rosa,” a documentary produced by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) about the life of Dr. Rosa J. Young (1890–1971). Young’s discovery of Lutheran doctrine when she was a young teacher in Alabama led her to become a passionate advocate for the establishment of Lutheran schools and congregations in Black communities in the southeastern United States during the first half of the 20th century. She taught more than 2,000 students, many of whom went on to become church workers, and was a key figure in the founding of Alabama Lutheran Academy and College in Selma,  which would become Concordia College Alabama.

“The First Rosa” was screened in various locations around the U.S. in October 2015. In early 2016, it was released in DVD form, along with a variety of promotional and educational materials. It is currently available to stream for free at lcms.org/thefirstrosa.

“The First Rosa” was directed by the Rev. Dr. Ardon Albrecht, author of Lutheran Television: Glory Years (LCMS, 2018). Albrecht produced “This Is the Life,” the Synod’s long-running television series (1952–1988), for many of the years that it was on the air. In an interview he gave during the filming of “The First Rosa,” Albrecht said he was hooked on the story after reading just a few chapters of Young’s book, Light in the Dark Belt, on which the documentary is based.

“I had spent my early ministry as a missionary in Taiwan,” Albrecht said, “so I knew missionary achievement when I saw it. But never had I heard of a missionary establishing 30 Lutheran schools and 35 chapels. That’s what Rosa Young did, not to mention the role she played in the founding of Concordia College Alabama, where she successfully challenged an amazing number of Black students to enter the preaching and teaching ministries.”

Telling the story

The initial impetus for producing a film about Young came from two pastors’ wives, Kaye Wolff and Susan Hill. Hill, a member of St. Phillip’s Lutheran Church, Detroit, read Light in the Dark Belt and immediately thought it would make a great motion picture. She enlisted the aid of Wolff, a former member of St. Phillip’s who knew Young as a child, and they formed a task force, “The Rosa J. Young Movie Project,” based at St. Phillip’s.

It soon became clear, however, that it would take more than a couple of determined pastors’ wives and a congregational task force to make the dream into a reality. “I asked Matt Harrison, then the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, if he would fund a crew to get video recordings of some of Rosa J. Young’s students before they all passed away,” said Wolff. In 2012 — by this time Harrison had become Synod president — a team headed up by Albrecht traveled to Selma, Ala., to record interviews with about 20 of Young’s former students. Then, in 2013, the Synod got behind the project in the form of a resolution supporting its completion, and one year later, filming began.

Now, 10 years after its making, the importance of “The First Rosa” in chronicling a pivotal period of LCMS history has not diminished. If anything, it has increased, as the LCMS continues to contemplate the same question currently being pondered by the rest of Christendom: In the face of a demographics cliff and an increasingly indifferent, even hostile, culture, how does the church best reach out with the Gospel message — and bring the Good News of Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins — without compromising that message?

Voices from the church: Why ‘The First Rosa’ still matters today

“Dr. Rosa J. Young was truly a gift from God, and she used her gifts to bless her neighbors, both near and far. ‘The First Rosa’ has continued that blessing by inspiring us to the same service. … [The film] continues to encourage us to love our neighbors as ourselves, as Luther captured in a powerful paradox in his 1520 tract, ‘The Freedom of a Christian’: ‘A Christian is Lord of all, completely free of everything. A Christian is a servant, completely attentive to the needs of all.’ ” — Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., professor, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne

“This movie highlights the work we are all called to do in raising up the next generation of church workers, just as Dr. Young did. It is in that vein that Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne [CTSFW], began its Dr. Rosa Young scholarship to assist students monetarily as they consider and study toward this goal. As CTSFW was the first institution in the LCMS to award Dr. Young an honorary degree, we wish to continue honoring her legacy and memory with this scholarship.” — Rev. Matthew Wietfeldt, CTSFW assistant vice-president of Admission

“As a pastor in one of the Alabama Lutheran churches in Wilcox County, I have understood four major impacts of the movie: greater interest in the Alabama Black Belt churches which Rosa helped establish; increased giving/donations/scholarships to support … professional church workers within our Synod; a greater awareness of the role that [the laity] have in sharing the Gospel in all situations; and a heightened awareness of the Lutheran presence throughout our nation.” — Rev. Meredith Jackson, pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Camden, Ala.

“[As a fifth-grade teacher,] I showed this to my class every year after I read the CPH book Hero of Faith—Rosa Young. … I loved that she shared the true Gospel with her students and encouraged so many of them to become pastors and teachers. We talked about how the Holy Spirit’s work multiplies exponentially when those who learn about the Gospel go out and share it with their families or classrooms or congregations.” — Lois Eatherton, music teacher, St. Paul’s Lutheran School, Des Peres, Mo.

“There are still a lot of people in our Synod who don’t know the name Rosa Young. … People say that Dr. Young was ahead of her time. I say it was God’s timing. I am a member of the LCMS because of Rosa Young, as is many a Black person. Her story is more than Black history. It is American history, and LCMS history. For those who have not seen the movie, please check it out.” — Kaye Wolff, member, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Dearborn, Mich.

“To me, the most important scene in the movie is when Rosa sings ‘On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.’ Rosa Young intended to bring education and its resulting opportunity to her community. Through the help brought to her by our Synod, she brought the much greater blessing of learning God’s plan of salvation through His Son to her students and their families.” — Susan A. Hill, member, Family of God Lutheran Church, Detroit, Mich.

“As I think of Dr. Young, the line, ‘Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be’ (LSB 430) comes to mind. … [Young] was considered subhuman by much of society. Yet in Christ, she was a beautiful person who exemplified what it truly means to be human. … Through her, God bestowed His sacrificial love on countless others, that they too might lovely be, and grew His church by leaps and bounds! We would all do well to watch this film again and thank God for all He did through Dr. Rosa Young.” — Roni Grad, member, Catalina Lutheran Church, Tucson, Ariz.

Posted March 24, 2025