Hustlin’ for Justice on the 1st day of Holy Week
A “hustler for justice” - that’s what a good sister-friend of mine called me not too long ago. And if that is the case then today I got my hustle on big time.
Faith in Action the radio program aired on Spirit 1400AM at 1PM and we talked about whether Faith or Race should hold ultimate authority as Believers engage matters of politics, public policy, etc. Pamela Wilson, author of Finding Soul Brothers: Dismantling Black Christian Racialism and Dr. Jonathan Walton, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside were our guests. The conversation was pretty interesting. Wilson contends that our cultural identification should be minimized when we “come to Christ” while Walton took the position that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be narrowly defined by the “either-or” lenses of Faith or Race. You know where I stood with my Red, Black, and Green, Pan-Afrikanist, Daishiki-wearing, Revolution starting, White Power Structure critiquing self. (Have you donated to the Faith in Action show yet? If not, why not? I haven’t proved myself yet?)
We were joined in the conversation by Tracy Ward, reporter and writer with The Baltimore Afro American Newspaper. Sis. Ward is a powerful orator, poet, community activist, etc. who has given new life to the Faith in Action page of The Afro. That page has been a place where one could read about everything BUT people of Faith putting into practice what they believe. Ward’s writing is a breath of fresh air as she is on the grind telling the stories of Believers who are in the trenches living out Luke 4:18,19. Sis. Tracy was in the studio today working on a piece about me and the work that I’m doing in the Baltimore Metro area. The piece may be out this Friday, March 21, 2008 - “Good Friday.” I pray that the piece encourages those who are out there “hustling for justice” and that it convicts those who choose to neglect their duty as laborers in the vineyard. (I believe that at this stage if you’re a preacher and you’re not active in some substantive way in the community then it’s because you don’t want to be. Ignorance is not an excuse.)
