When people ask, "what is the biggest mistake made in the Black Panther Party?" I tell them very clearly that what we did wrong was to take God out of the movement. -Afeni Shakur (Former Black Panther and Mother of slain rapper,Tupac Shakur)
I was blessed to join about 50 others last night in downtown Baltimore as we stood for justice on the National Day of Action for the Palestinians. I’m always amazed at the great diversity of people that show up for these types of events. I met a young missionary who just got back from Palestine. (He spent 15 months there.) I met and reconnected with Jewish brothers and sisters from Tikkun. I met reps from the All People’s Congress, A.N.S.W.E.R., and just a bunch of people who found out about the event on Facebook. As I’m sadly getting used to, I was one of only a handful of Africans there and in the video above I speak of the imperative for Africans in America to speak out against injustice and unrighteousness no matter where it is found in the world. As Dr. King’s oft quoted saying reminds us: “Injustice ANYWHERE is a threat to justice EVERYWHERE.” My statements in the video could have been a bit sharper, but nevertheless they were sharp enough to get me called an “anti-semitic” on my youtube page.
Within the last week, I have had at least 25 (or more) people ask me if I am going to “The Inauguration.” Several of my relatives asked me if I was going. I asked, “What for?” They looked at me, then they looked at each other, then they looked back at me with this strange look on their faces and said, “For Obama!” That’s when I remembered that the masses of our people do not know what I (and others) know about Obama. So, I told them that I will be there, up close and personal via my television. I further explained to them that I am going to hear every word, see each facial expression, with a better view than the ones sitting closest the stage because the network cameras will have that privilege. And it will only cost me the amount of my monthly cable bill.
Several weeks ago, I told with a friend and co-laborer, Amefika Geuka, about several people in The Afrikan Village that were upset with me because of the things that I said while teaching them what most people do not know about Obama and who he serves. Amefika said that he was taken by the fact the some would be upset with their teacher and spiritual leader (who they know to have taught them the truth for years) over what I said about someone who they know nothing about and never heard of before 2 years ago. Several days later, as I was rethinking Amefika’s words, I painfully admitted the disappointment of having my words of exhortation to my followers and students overpowered by CNN, FOX, C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, NBC, radio show hosts, newspapers, and other media sources. It was as though I watched my people energetically turn from the truth to embrace deception with joy and love. I began to recall the pain of the dedicated ignorance in my people that made me retire from the pulpit in 1993 when I first began proclaiming our Afrikan story.
Thousands of our people are going to spend money that they need to go to Washington, DC for an one-day “EVENT” that will have absolutely nothing to do with our (or their) empowerment. What’s worse is that they won’t even get within 1,000 feet of what it is they are going to see. But they are going to sacrifice much needed funds just so that they can say, “I was there.” It is tragic that we will (without reservation) throw away hundreds to thousands of dollars for an “EVENT” but will not regularly give $25.00 to support an on-going “PROCESS” or “PROGRAM” that exists for the liberation and empowerment of our people! I am trying so hard to understand this psychosis in us.
Today, I preached a sermon entitled, “Hanging on to Christmas” with a scriptural focus of Matthew 2:16-19. This passage describes Herod’s murderous response to the birth of Jesus. For fear that the Christ Child would push him from his perch as client ruler of Judea, Herod ordered infanticide in Bethlehem and the surrounding area hoping to ensare the baby Jesus and add his corpse to the pile of dead bodies in town. Those in the Catholic Church identify this sorrowful occurrence in scripture as The Slaughter of the Innocents. In my sermon, I remarked on how soon after the birth of Jesus, the scriptural focus centers on Herod and his deadly campaign. The reader can barely get through the giving of gifts by the Magi before spiritual wickedness in high places demands an audience.
The parallel to current events is gravely ironic.
Two days after Christmas 2008 - two days after many purpose to celebrate the birth of the central figure in the Christian Faith, Israel began a murderous military campaign killing hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
So you’ve heard this story by now. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California has been invited by President-Elect Barack Obama to offer the invocation at his inauguration. This sparked outrage among some members of the Gay Community because of Warren’s support of Proposition 8: a California ballot measure that restricted the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman, thus eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. The outrage has prompted a response from Warren on his News & Views blog.
For inviting Warren to pray at the inauguration, Obama has received letters and calls with strong urgings for him to rescind his invitation to Warren. Likewise, Saddleback Church has been a target of protests as well.
This is an issue that I believe will be around for some time.
When I attempt to count up all that I am thankful for this year, I must confesss that I am extremely thankful for my Faith in Action family. I did not realize how important this site of meaningful exchange was for me until life got real busy this summer and I wasn’t posting or checking in as much. I got a little off balance. It was then that I realized that this blog has become a principle outlet for me. I sincerely thank each of you for your visits, comments, compliments, and critiques. As it is my custom, I’ll be looking for ways to relaunch the blog in a fresh way for the new year. I welcome your input.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas, a Happy Kwanzaa, and an amazing New Year! (Posting may slow down during the Holyday break, but who knows…some news or world event may just force my hands back to the keyboard before the first day of 2009…in fact, count on it - (smile)
As a resident of the Govans Community, I would like to invite your participation and the members of Faith In Action to participate in a Spring 2009 event (Inter-Faith Service) concerning the Baltimore United For Peace and Justice Coalition of which I am a Executive Member/Organizer. For the past two years we have focused on the Obama Campaign in voter registration, campaigning in various states, contributing to Democratic Party Platform, Veterans For Peace issues,union organizing, and single payer health care. It is my expressed hope that the clergy and other concerned members of various congregations will become engaged for this is indeed the time.
There’s one thing we can all agree on: 2008 has been an extraordinary moment in our nation’s history. Thanks in large part to the rise of a “small d” democratic movement for change, we can look forward to allies taking the reins of the Executive branch, and a majority in Congress. But as we have seen in the past, it’s not enough to simply elect a leader who’s sympathetic to progressive causes. It won’t stop obstructionist conservatives or guarantee that Democrats will respond to those who worked so hard to elect them.
As the year draws to a close, we can’t rest on out laurels. The new year presents unprecedeented opportunities for the “black church” and the people of God. Will you consider inviting me to present a plan of action as to how we can move forward?
In His Service,
Rev. Pierre L. Williams
The Sanctuary of Hope
In a city that seems all too eager to embrace simplistic explanations of crime and violence with the “good” people and “bad” people properly assigned, City Paper has joined almost every other major publication/news broadcast in Baltimore in featuring the tragic story of Zach Sowers. A young husband who was robbed and beaten into a coma by three teenagers in June 2007. Mr. Sowers eventually died from his wounds. The three teens were arrested and given various sentences.
The story has garnered great traction in the press since then because of a variety of “newsworthy” factors. While, the beating received coverage partly on its own merit, one can’t forget that the tragedy took place during the run-up to Baltimore City’s Mayoral Election and allowed for politicians to dust off the perennial campaign issue of “public safety.” The dynamics of the beating also were salacious to media outlets: the victim was White and the attackers were Black - an unavoidable fact in light of a city that is ruled by the minority (the White Power Structure). The persistence of Mr. Sowers’ widow has also been a driving force. Her efforts to create some type of change in the city as a result of her husband’s beating and murder have been well documented. And finally, a well-oiled communications team from the megalith that is Johns Hopkins surrounded the victim’s family and have used all of their resources to keep Mr. Sowers in the press.
During a surprise farewell visit to Iraq over the weekend, President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki stood before a pool of reporters answering questions related to the U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement. It was during the Press Conference that Muntadar al-Zeidi, a television reporter for Al-Baghdadiya News, stood shouting statements at Bush and then hurled both his shoes at him. The President ducked behind the podium as the shoes nearly hit him in the head. The man was restrained and removed from the room. The Press Conference resumed.
Initially, I was amused after watching the news clip. It was hilarious to me that finally someone broke through the static, staged, and sterile press conference to interrupt the propaganda theater of the Empire.
However, further observation impressed upon me the need to look for deeper meaning in this event. It was not just funny. It was actually an indictment. Throwing a shoe at someone is a sign of great contempt and insult in Iraqi culture.
But what was he angry about? According to President Bush he just wanted attention. As idiotic as that sounds, Bush is doing exactly what history teaches Heads of Empires to do. More specifically, Bush’s actions validate Walter Brueggemann’s work on the “Royal Consciousness.” In his book, The Prophetic Imagination, Brueggemann describes in great detail the consciousness that is needed to promulgate an oppressive regime. Brueggemann argues that this consciousness can be seen in biblical writ in the visage of Pharaoh and becomes crystallized during the administration of Solomon.
There are times when I believe props and ploys become too much of a distraction from the meat of your message. This may have been the case at Greater Grace in Detroit, Michigan where Bishop Charles Ellis, III positioned three SUV’s on the altar of his church in between he and the choir for a special prayer service related to the auto company’s request for bailout money in Congress.
At first glance, one may believe that with the SUV’s up on the altar and Auto Workers and Union Reps speaking at the mic, that the service was to pray that Congress give up the money that the “Big 3″ American Auto Companies need to stay afloat. However, Bishop Ellis seems to suggest something deeper:
Bishop Ellis encouraged the congregation to pray, not that Congress would “do the right thing” and approve loaning money to the car companies, but that Detroiters would “make it” through these tough times.SOURCE
Or perhaps he wasn’t suggesting something deeper. That’s the point. It’s not clear. It’s hard to see past three, thousand pound, shiny SUV’s on the altar. Was this about God giving us what we need to “make it through” hard times? Or was the prayer for God to move our elected officials to give the Auto Industry a financial bailout so that people can keep their jobs?
While I’m sensitive to the unique position that Bishop Ellis is in leading the largest church in a city that is so reliant upon the American Auto Industry, at the same time I wonder if the SUV’s are too much of a distraction for people to really get the point of believing God in tough times. What purpose did the SUV’s fill that could not have been achieved otherwise?
Within the last week, I have had at least 25 (or more) people ask me if I am going to “The Inauguration.” Several of my relatives asked me if I was going. I asked, “What for?” They looked at me, then they looked at each other, then they looked back at me with this strange look on their faces and said, “For Obama!” That’s when I remembered that the masses of our people do not know what I (and others) know about Obama. So, I told them that I will be there, up close and personal via my television. I further explained to them that I am going to hear every word, see each facial expression, with a better view than the ones sitting closest the stage because the network cameras will have that privilege. And it will only cost me the amount of my monthly cable bill.
