Faith in Action

I don’t have time to fully unpack this, but suffice to say when Tim Russert asked Barack Obama about whether he rejected the support of the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan and Obama “denounced and rejected” the Minister, a little air left my Barack Obama balloon.

I am fully aware of the particular nature of national politics and that it is a game, at times, of compromise, however, it does not sit well with me that Obama obliged mainstream thought and separated himself from a man that many in the African American community respect and hold in high esteem. He allowed mainstream thought to decide for him who the villains and heroes of our society are. He put the Minister at arms length and, I think, by extension showed that he is willing to put his people at arms length if it is politically expedient to do so.

Again - I understand that this is part and parcel of the game that seemingly must be played to get to the White House, but this morning and last night - that move by the Senator from Illinois does not sit well with me. Who’s to say that he won’t have to continue this behavior of rejecting those African Americans that mainstream america doesn’t like - Nat Turner, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, John Brown, Jeremiah Wright, etc.??

Then again I asked myself how would I have responded on live television to that question. After having the luxury to think it out a bit more; I decided that I would have said something to the effect of welcoming votes from all quarters of America and that the name of the game in national politics is to get more votes. Then I might have gone on to say that the support given by the Minister is evidence of the BIG TENT - the American tent that “my” campaign makes room for. It doesn’t mean that everyone under the tent of voting for me will agree on everything, but it means that the majority of Americans feel like the established system is ignoring them and that people are setting aside their differences to find common ground in an effort to move this country forward in a positive direction. (Barack - feel free to take this line for the next time you’re asked about this…yes, I give you permission.)

Watch the video for yourself and let me know what you think.

Hey folks. Look at the ipod at the left of the homepage and you can listen to the interview that we conducted this past Monday with Sen. C. Anthony Muse on Faith in Action. Sen. Muse is in a unique position in relation to the gay marriage debate. Muse is a State Senator and also a Pastor. Listen as he explains his position on whether or not same-sex couples should be granted the right to marry in Maryland.

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I must admit that this year, I was feeling a certain way about Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union Roundtable. I’ve watched in previous years and have been inspired but this time around, I just wasn’t interested in the linguistic olympics featuring Dr. Mike Eric Dyson, Dr. Cornell West, Dr. Na’im Akbar and the other usual suspects. I think Tavis needs greater diversity…ideological diversity. It’s getting to the point now where you pretty much know how people are going to come down on the issues. I would like to see more grassroots-activist types, artists, OG’s from street oganizations…I mean let’s really shake it up! Allow the crowd to benefit from the wide variety of thought that is found within our rich culture. I feel like the panel is getting too academic…too “talented tenth”…too…dare I say - bourgeois. That’s not directed at any individual panelist, just the feeling I got from the event this year as a whole. (Disclaimer: to be fair I only watched the 2nd panel) I was thankful last year to see Min. Louis Farrakhan on the panel. In some respects he made the discussion for me with his fiery rhetoric.

This year, Dick Gregory’s participation made the discussion for me. He communicated his truth in lay language - down where the goats could get it and do something with it. He made great sense and though he was the oldest participant, he was, in my estimation, the most courageous. As he said himself - he was the turtle….hard on the outside, soft on inside, and willing to stick his neck out from time to time. I’m not sure I could say that about the others.

Enjoy this clip of Dick Gregory from this year’s State of the Black Union 2008. I uploaded the rest of his sharing to my youtube page.

Today, Rev. Scott Adams and Pastor Reginald Thomas (Greater Gethsemane Church) will be holding it down in my absence on Faith in Action. I have some business to take care of today, but the show will be left in very capable hands.

They’ll be talking about Gay Marriage in Maryland. This has been a perennial issue in Maryland for the past few year’s in our state’s General Assembly and some say that the “pro-gay marriage” activists have built the necessary support needed to push this over the top.

There are a plethora of bills that the Legislature is considering. The State Senate had its first round of hearings on these bills on Feb. 14th. The House will be hearing its bills in committee this Thursday, February 28, 2008. (Click here to see the full rundown of bills being considered.) Some say the issue is whether or not same-sex partners should be afforded the same rights that heterosexual partners are afforded under the law. Others say the issue is the normalizing and legislating of deviant behavior that goes against natural order and God’s design.

How should the state of Maryland come down on this issue?

That’s the question we’ll be asking Sen. C. Anthony Muse who is a member of one of the committees considering this issue and Chair of the Prince George’s County Legislative Delegation. Muse is also the pastor of The Ark of Safety Christian Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He is the lone democrat who has joined five republican senators in pushing legislation that would authorize a man and woman to enter into a “covenant marriage” - a move intended to strengthen heterosexual marriages, but does not address same-sex marriages.

Find out what he, Pastor Reggie Thomas, and our spirited callers have to say about this issue today at 1PM on Faith in Action on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore). For those outside of the Baltimore area, the audio will be posted to the blog later this week, but in the meantime feel free to post your comments/questions here and we’ll possibly address them on air.

Democratic hopeful, Hilary Clinton, took it to the next level over the weekend as she accused Obama’s campaign of engaging in dirty politics. At the center of it were two mailings that Obama is sending around that Hilary says are false. Obama responded that there is nothing false about them and they’ve been around for weeks. He suggested that this was a tactical move by Clinton being that all of her hopes hinge on how she does in the next round of primaries on March 4. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

In the CNN/Univision debate last week, some of that desperation from Hilary came out again when she accused Obama of plagiarism saying that he stole lines from one of his national co-chairs, Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick. Obama explained that Patrick told him to use the lines before saying that we were entering “silly season” in the political race. That’s when Hilary came back saying that Obama isn’t offering change you can believe in, but “change you can xerox.”

“BOOOOOO!“, the crowd responded.

Interestingly enough, I found this youtube video this morning that points out some interesting passages that Hilary has seemed to “borrow” from past candidates and her husband. Her regurgitation of her husband’s lines is especially interesting because that was her closing line at the CNN debate that many of the TV talking-heads said gave her the slight edge in the contest.

Silly Season indeed.

I went to school with a good dude named Jerome Pleasant. Jerome always had smiles and would make you laugh. Just an all around good guy. I hadn’t seen him since he graduated, but I would see his older brother around and always ask about him. I was glad to hear that he was doing well.

You can imagine then my shock and dismay when I learned a couple years ago that Jerome’s then 3-year-old daughter, Talia Marie Pleasant, had been diagnosed with cancer. She had a grapefruit-sized tumor in her brain. She was rushed to surgery where they removed the tumor, but sadly another rare form of cancer was found some time after that in her stomach. During the successful surgeries to remove the cancer from her stomach, Jerome developed a rare bone cancer. Jerome’s surgery was successful and his cancer is now in remission. He’ll tell you that he is a better man because of Cancer. Though the road was rocky there for a while, it seemed as if Talia and Dad had beaten cancer for good.

However, I received sad news this morning from a high school classmate. Cancer has returned to Talia’s body. At 4 years old, this little girl has had to undergo more surgeries than many people do in their whole lifetime! Talia has proven one thing though. She is a fighter and she’s fighting right now as the doctors are talking to her family about quality of life and hospice care for the remainder of her life. The doctors were wrong before and there are many people praying that they are wrong again.

God is able. And I am a witness that the authority of God is higher than the ability of humanity. I’m sure that there are many people reading this right now who are witnesses to the miraculous healing power of God. I ask that you join in prayer with thousands of others who are interceding on Talia’s behalf right now. Below you’ll find some links to learn more about my boy, Jerome and his lovely daughter - the survivor, Talia.

WBAL TV 11 Coverage

The Baltimore Examiner Coverage

Talias Journey

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The Justice for Isaiah Group is asking you to call the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison.

Who: Jennifer Korn (Director) or Julie Warren (Associate Director)

What: Express why you think it is important that they further investigate the death of Isaiah Simmons III at the Bowling Brook Preparatory School. Express your outrage that Isaiah murders were only charged with reckless endangerment even though the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Further more all charges have been dismissed against the counselors responsible for his death.

In your own words, we want everyone calling Korn and Warren strongly encouraging the United States Department of Justice to immediately get involved in the Isaiah Simmons Homicide case of January 2007. Let her know that we understand that they are waiting for a resolution on the Maryland State level, but it has been over a year and more children’s lives are being jeopardized the longer we do not address the injustice of this case.

When: NOW

Where to call: 202 514-3456

Or you can write to:
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Suite 1629
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Why: Our goal is to flood their telephone lines and mail boxes so that it is understood that citizens/ taxpayers are concerned about this matter.

Click here to learn more about Isaiah Simmons, III.

In my continuous involvement in social issues from a clergy/activist standpoint; I tend to, from time to time, receive requests from White people about partnering on community projects or initiatives. That’s fine. I’m open for true partnership with most anybody who is serious about social change. However, it’s been my experience that the soils of the souls of White people need to be tilled so that a true foundation for cooperation can be established. Frankly, I’ve wasted a lot of precious time in conversation with some White people who weren’t prepared to engage the world from another’s perspective. This inability or unwillingness hampered any efforts to sincerely seek solutions. Once that was realized, I would walk away choosing to devote my energy to those people/organizations/causes that were primed for engagement. Perhaps that’s why I can count on one hand the number of White people that I’m in budding partnership with. I’ve learned my lesson. I can’t waste time with people - in this case White people who seem to mean well, but who aren’t comfortable surrendering the illusion of their superior positioning in the world…who aren’t willing to peer through the lenses of “minority existence” in the world…who aren’t courageous enough to look in the mirror and see how their people group has oppressed other people groups for generations. So as not to waste anybody’s time, I cut right to the chase. I tell White people where I am, what I believe, and what I think about them. If they get offended and walk away - no harm no foul…no ones time is wasted. If they engage in productive dialogue with me and take actions to show that they are serious about LEARNING and DOING - then I explore the possibility of next steps. For those who are interested, Bro. Malcolm X presents his position on this issue as well.

Where’d this come from? Good question. I had lunch today with two people who are looking to establish partnerships with members of the Black Community. I thought it was a pretty good initial conversation. They emailed me after lunch and I responded a few moments ago. I share this edited version of the email because I believe it provides insight on how I feel about the prospect of interracial partnerships.

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Hey folks,

Faith in Action is on Mondays at 1PM now on Spirit 1400AM. The signal strength on Sunday night wasn’t strong enough to encourage a large listening audience.

The first Monday afternoon show was yesterday and it was great. There was greater energy and some great calls during the To The Point segment. Rev. Scott Adams and I hosted the program. We opened the phone lines to talk about the issue involving the former minister of music at Bethel AME Church who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 12 year old member of the congregation. I didn’t really want to engage this issue in isolation so we discussed it from a broader perspective of what can we learn from this extremely troubling experience. What safety precautions should Black Churches employ to minimize the possibility of sexual/physical/emotional exploitation and violation in the congregation? Many great ideas were shared during that segment.

We then went on to to talk to Derrick Compton, Sr. (Baltimore Dry Out Initiative) and Steve Fogleman (Chair, Baltimore City Liquor Board). It’s nothing new to those local to Baltimore that there are about as many liquor stores in the Black Community as there are churches. Many communities struggle with poverty, crime, poor educational options, etc. and the presence of liquor establishments only compound those issues. What steps can concerned citizens take to deal with troublesome liquor stores? What steps can residents take to remove these establishments from their community altogether? These questions were answered during the latter half of the program.

Like I said - a great show all around. To listen to the show check out the media player on the right of the screen. It’ll also be up on itunes soon as well.

I am extremely thankful for two businesses that helped to underwrite the costs of this week’s show.

LaTarsha’s Math Tutorial

Call Latarsha’s Math Tutorial - where tutors specialize in tutoring mathematics. Again the number is 443-394-7337.

I’m also appreciative of Absolute Presence and its founder - Chip Dizard.

Absolute Presence is a friend of Faith in Action and I appreciate the support that they provided as well. For those in need of web development and/or video production services, I urge you to visit Absolute Presence. Their work is of the highest quality and affordable. Tell him I sent you his way and he’ll take good care of you.

Here are a few ways that you can support Faith in Action as well:

Please help me to keep this platform available to the broader community. As I said on the radio program yesterday, it’s not about Heber Brown, III - it’s about ministry. Help me keep this ministry going!

Thank you in advance for your support.

For those who were not able to attend either of the Barack Obama rallies here in Maryland yesterday, here is a clip from his speech in Baltimore yesterday. I was one in the number as 13,000 people cheered him on.

You can view the rest of this video and all of my other vids on my youtube page.

Here’s video from the Obama Rally at the University of Maryland College Park. Thanks to Chip Dizard from Absolute Presence for providing this great piece.