The Rev. Michael Haynes lifted the city and its residents

Thank you so much for honoring the late Rev. Michael E. Haynes with the wonderful front-page obituary detailing his impact in the city, state, and nation (“ ‘A guiding light’ to youths who faced poverty and bias,” Sept. 14). When I came to Boston in 1999 for graduate school, I was told that if you wanted to understand the history of African-Americans in Boston, go hear the Rev. Haynes at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury.

Listening to him was like listening to the wisest griot. The Rev. Haynes was perhaps the only person who could get away with preaching long sermons. Every time, I wanted him to go on for another hour. His sermons were filled with history, calls for social justice, and spiritual empowerment.