Tag Archives: race

The Charleston Revival?

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charleston monumentOn the evening of June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof; an avowed white supremacist, entered the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., and sat for almost an hour in a Bible Class. At some point, he got up from his seat, began uttering racial slurs and proceeded to shoot and assassinate nine Black people in room! Among the dead was the pastor of the church, who also happened to have been a state senator. Some say that this was an attack against Christianity, but the shooter has admitted that his motivation was not religion, it was race and his intent was to start a race war!

 
But I would like to think that Dylann Roof has indeed started something, but it is something far removed from his original intent! I am reminded of what Joseph told his brothers when they stood before him as he administered food to them in Egypt: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. . .” (Gen. 50:20 NKJ). I am praying to God that this event, which Dylann Roof perpetrated with the intent of starting a race war will indeed start a real racial dialogue that, in turn will stimulate a real revival! A revival of love that will supplant the smothering racial oppression that is yet alive and well in America today! There is evidence of the potential revival already apparent! The statements from the various families of the victims expressing forgiveness; that’s evidence of a potential revival! A renewed discussion about the removal of the Confederate flag from state buildings and state flags in the southern states; that is evidence of a potential revival!

 
Race is an issue that we don’t like to talk about in America today! Many would like to think that just because we have a Black President, all the major racial issues of the past have been resolved; but the fact of the matter is: they haven’t! In fact, I believe much of the opposition and criticisms weighted against President Obama are so, simply because he is Black! No other president has had to endure such ridiculously childish and unfounded opposition from Congress and others! We can pretend that it is simply politics if we want to; but the real truth is that many White Americans just can’t stomach a Black President! Even in 2015, the racial division in America is very much real!

 
Evidence that racial division is real was seen even in the apprehension and arrest of the Charleston shooter! He was not treated in a rough manner and was even reportedly given a hamburger from Burger King by a sheriff’s deputy when he said he was hungry! The bikers in Waco, TX, were seen sitting comfortably on the sidewalk with police standing casually nearby! But whenever there are Black suspects, police respond with riot gear and violence! When the police arrived at the scene of a pool party, they immediately zeroed in on the Black kids, chasing them down and treating them roughly while totally ignoring the White kids who were there! Oh yes! We STILL HAVE A RACE PROBLEM in America today! Do you honestly think if it had been a White church and a Black suspect, the police would have responded the same? Do you honestly think they would have given a Black suspect a hamburger? If you do, then you are part of the reason the racial issues have not been resolved! Issues that are denied and therefore not addressed can never be resolved!

 
But let me get back to my point! I didn’t write this article to vent my frustrations over the racial issues in America. I did write it to point out that the Charleston shooting has the potential of being the start of a real dialogue and an honest effort to deal with the elephant in the room that America wants to deny the existence of! In the Bible, death often preceded life. May the blood of the Charleston Nine, like the blood of Jesus, be a source of revival and new life! May the blood of Pastor Clementa Pinckney, Rev. Sharonda Singleton, Dr. Daniel L. Simmons, Ethel Lee Lance, Cynthia Hurd, Myra Thompson, Tywanza Sanders, Susie Jackson, and Depayne Middleton-Doctor cry out from the ground and remind all of us that we are indeed; our brother’s keeper and motivate us to make this country indeed a place of justice and racial equality! May their deaths indeed be the source of a revival of real racial brotherhood!

“Houston; We Have A Problem!!!”

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mission controlI remember years ago, whenever there was a major situation on board the command module of the Apollo space flights, the astronauts would always radio back to earth with this message: “Houston; we have a problem!” Well, in just the past couple of years, it’s been Trayvon Martin in Florida, Micheal Brown in Missouri, Eric Garner in New York, and now, Freddie Gray in Maryland, not to mention the countless others whose names I can’t recall and others who did not make the national headlines! It is fairly obvious to me that we have a problem! It is a systemic problem that springs from the core of America’s soul!

I was about to write a post about this when I came across this Facebook post from Benjamin Watson, who plays tight-end for the New Orleans Saints. I think Mr. Watson is right on with his assessment of the situation, so I’m going to let him speak for himself. The following is his Facebook post from April 29, 2015:

Benjamin Watson suit Benjamin Watson uniform“We have major problems as a nation. Yesterday Ferguson burned. Tonight ‪#‎Baltimore‬ burns. Tomorrow it will be another city in our homeland. Watching the coverage I’m hearing yet another version of a nauseatingly familiar narrative. Violence by police reciprocated by violence by the community, reciprocated by violence by police reciprocated by…. It seems fruitless to continue to analyze, condemn, and respond to these dreadful episodes. “Frustration, anger, tension boiling over, upset and unfortunate” are words we hear from Baltimore residents. When it comes to law enforcement, race, poverty, education, immigration we always talk about fixing “broken” systems. We resolve to legislate for education, job creation, and systemic overhaul. These are helpful and definitely needed BUT we have done all of these things ad nauseum and look at us!! Without a change of heart these attempts fail us. So what can we say? What can we do? Systems are broken because people are broken and if systems are fixed without hearts being changed the result will be a legalistic attempt that will lack long term results. Our problems are wholistic and common to the human heart. Hatred, prejudice, exploitation, pride, self righteousness, secrecy, and rebellion, manifest itself in the explosions we’ve seen over the last year, the last century, and the last millennia.

Tonight I see so much entrenched pain without remedy. Most are handling it without violence while a few are committing the unacceptable.
Tonight I see young children, asking like my daughter did earlier, “What’s happening daddy”, in desperate need of parents to walk them through these disturbing scenes.
Tonight I see “smoke,” but we must address the fire. The response that we are watching is just “smoke” from years of hopelessness. After each situation the more I am convinced that the love of God for our fellow brothers and sisters who were created in His image, is our only hope for reconciliation. But the only way we can even see him that way is if God illuminates our view and changes our thought process. I’m not talking about holding hands and singing. Love is an action that compels one to treat another with dignity and respect even if they don’t deserve it. It pushes for education and opportunities for those in poverty. It gives identity and self worth. It administers justice without abuse. It honors authority and promotes peace. It is not weak, but strong for what is right!
Tonight I see a brokenness that only Christ can give us the wisdom and power to mend.

We pray for every disaster that happens to us. Bombings, natural disasters, cancer and outbreaks. What we’ve seen in our country lately deserves that same attention. Our attempts to fix this have fallen short.
We, and most importantly, the body of Christ, must stand for justice in all areas, for all people. We must set the standard for the correct way to treat people.

Tonight I pray for the pastors, leaders, police and community of Baltimore.
Tonight I ‪#‎PrayForAmerica‬.”

Thank you Mr. Watson, for sharing your insightful analysis!

Do Black Lives Matter. . . Only When?

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black lives matterFirst, let me preface my statement by saying I protest and detest the recent killing of Black unarmed young men by police officers in Ferguson, MO, New York City, and other places where these acts of excessive deadly force have occurred! I am in no way protesting the protests! But I am curious as to why there are so many protest against these violent acts by the police and yet so few protests against the common every-day-violence perpetrated by young Black men against other young Black men and women in Black communities across the country on a daily basis. It seems to me the subliminal message is: “Black lives matter . . . but only when taken by White police officers!”

It could very well be that the Black community has told White America by its apathetic stand on violence within the Black community that it is OK for Black people to kill Blacks but not for White people to kill Blacks! Until Black people have the same level of respect for a Black life taken in the Black community by another Black person as exemplified in the recent demonstrations, there is a double standard. It’s like the use of the n-word. In most neighborhoods, it’s alright for Blacks to use the word in reference to one another, but it is an atrociously racist word, falling from the lips of a White person! It’s like saying: “It’s OK for us to disrespect us; but it is not OK for you to disrespect us!” We’ve got to find a way to move beyond the hues of skin-tone and understand that all lives matter! The Black skin and the White skin are just coverings; all blood is red and the essential essence of every life is immaterial spirit. Every life has purpose and when that life is prematurely ended, especially by an act of violence, it is a degrading detraction from all of humanity!

A few hours prior to writing this post, I was moved tears after reading an account of a young man who was murdered trying to protect his mother from a home invader! This young man was a middle school scholar with a bright future ahead of him! But his life was viciously snuffed out by someone with a set of morals that deems it OK to rob and steal instead of working!

I know the situation in the Black community is varied and complicated and there are no easy answers. There are social and economic factors that breed a sense of hopelessness and helplessness that seems to pervade many inner-city ghettos. But, we’ve got to find a way! Smoking dope, getting high, getting laid, and shaking our butts, do nothing to solve the real problems! We need the help of the Higher Power for the wisdom and the resolve to deal with the real issues. Not only do we need the help of God, we need every life to make the contribution it was created and born to make! Every life is a minute expression of divinity! Every life has a destiny to fulfill and a contribution to make! Therefore the taking of any life in acts of violence is an assault against God and all of humanity!

So our protest and outrage shouldn’t be confined to the killing of young Black men by White police officers! We should protest, every time a mother has to bury her son because of a drug-deal gone bad! We should protest every time an innocent bystander is killed in a drive-by shooting! We should protest every time a young woman is killed in a domestic dispute by her boyfriend or husband! We should protest every time a gang-banger is killed by another gang-banger!

Yes! Black lives do matter, even when they are not taken by White police officers! Black lives matter! White lives matter! Yellow lives matter! Red lives matter! Green life matters! All life matters! The taking of any life in any unlawful and violent circumstance is reason to protest!

Another Look at Moses and the Ethiopian Wife

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Moses and the Ethiopian

“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.”

Numbers 12:1-2 KJV

Most of the commentaries I have read suggest that Miriam and Aaron’s real beef with Moses was not about the Black woman he married. They suggest that the real and only problem was the fact that they were envious of Moses’ unique position of leadership and the criticism of Moses’ marriage to a Black woman was just a smoke-screen of an excuse to address the real problem. But could this interpretation be a case of inserting modern-day Western values and mores into the ancient Eastern text? The unspoken suggestion of most commentaries is that Miriam and Aaron felt that Moses was lowering his social status by marrying a Black woman! But was that really the case? I would like to suggest that it was not!

First of all, who were the people of the dominant culture at that time? Well, I learned in Sunday School as a little boy, that it was actually the Hebrews who were enslaved by the Egyptians! The dominant people in that place and time and in that culture were the Black Africans! Therefore, for Moses to marry a Black woman was not a matter of him marrying someone who was considered socially beneath him but rather it was a case of him marrying someone who was considered to be socially above him! Moses did not marry “down,” he married “up!”

When we consider this possibility, Moses’ marriage to the Ethiopian woman and the complaint of Miriam and Aaron are not so dis-jointed after all! When Moses married the Ethiopian woman, as far as Miriam and Aaron was concerned, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back! E. R. Richards and B. J. O’Brien write in their work: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible: “The Cushites (Ethiopians) were not demeaned as a slave race in the ancient world; they were respected as highly skilled soldiers. It is more likely that Miriam and Aaron thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying above himself. That makes sense of the tone of the passage. “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they whined. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” (Num 12:2). In other words: Moses is not the only prophet here. Who does he think he is?” And to top it all off, he has the nerve to try to make himself more than what he is by marrying an Ethiopian woman!

 

Richards, E. R., & O’Brien, B. J. (2012). Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (p. 61). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.