Faith in Action

On Friday, August 24, 2007, the brothers of BrothaSpeak and members of Young Clergy for Social Change went on location in an East Baltimore community where a firebomb attack occurred just days before. We went to the scene late in the evening (10PM - 12:30AM) to see for ourselves what was going on there and to establish relationships with the people that live there. Much to our surprise, a group of about 60 youth crowded the block and surrounded a group of young men who were preparing to fight. We converged on the scene along with police officers who were noticeably perturbed by our presence and filming of the situation.

(Eventually, the officer came over and asked us to turn off our cameras because it was illegal to film them in the midst of an investigation.  We suspect that he made this “law” up, but we didn’t have the facts at the time.  Next time, we will have our rebuttal ready.  Does anybody have info on whether or not this is truly illegal?)

We will be going back to continue establishing relationships with members of that and other communities.

Enjoy this special edition of BrothaSpeak!

I’ve been quite active over the past couple of days.  On Wednesday night, I spoke at a Back to School Rally in Turners Station.  There was a good sized crowd out at the Fleming Center to hear motivating words about school and to receive school supplies.  I received the invitation to this event on rather late notice, but I feel it important to take advantage of these types of opportunities.  I consider it a blessing to be able to make positive investments in the lives of youth.  All things being equal, they will see days that my eyes will never see.  So it’s almost like I’m impacting the future by speaking in their “now”.  Not only do I attempt to give them something of worth, but I receive something so much more valuable.  Engaging youth gives me an opportunity to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the world as they see it and hear it.  Young people, like Master Cedric who posted his comments in a previous post, have much to say and should be given the opportunity to say it.  It’s up to the adults to have the wisdom to listen.

On Thursday afternoon, I was blessed to be invited to be on the “Pause for the Cause” Radio program on 1010AM WOLB.  The theme of the show was “Where are all the Black Men?” 

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Mainstream media reports that about 100 Haitians reached Florida’s shores riding upon a “unseaworthy” sail boat yesterday.  The exhausted and dehydrated Haitians will be processed and returned to Haiti.  This is not the case for Cubans who launch out and brave the treacherous ocean determined to make it to American soil.  Cubans who arrive are allowed to stay in the United States under a policy known as “Wetfoot/Dryfoot“.

This 2000 Washington Times article points out the discrimination behind this Cold War policy well.  Referencing the then 6 year old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzales, who washed ashore with many other Cubans after their boat capsized, the author says:

“…if Elian Gonzalez were Haitian instead of Cuban, he would have been returned to Haiti immediately.”

What’s particularly interesting as well is that President Bill Clinton and Congress adopted legislation in 1998 that put Nicaraguan, Cuban, Guatemalann, and Salvadoran immigrants who had reached the United States before 1996 eligible for permanent residency or green cards.  Congress and Clinton excluded Haitians from these protective laws.  (and to think - some Black folks still want to call Clinton the first “Black” president - the man ignored genocide in Rwanda and kicked Haitians back out to sea, but some still love him because he played the saxophone on Arsenio Hall.)

Bottom line:  we need fair and just international policy that doesn’t reinforce racist immigration laws. 

The brothers and I had a spirited discussion about the immigration issue on a recent BrothaSpeak show.  Enjoy!

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To register and support FREEDOM FALL visit: www.myspace.com/freedomfallbaltimore

Some of you may know that I host a show on Black TV Online called BrothaSpeak. My show is a roundtable for Black Men to come together and discuss the pressing issues of the day.

Click the title of this post to listen to one of our post-show discussions and then head on over to Black TV Online to check out our latest full discussion concerning the alleged gang rape of an African American female by the majority Caucasian Duke University Lacrosse Team.

Enjoy!

My show is called BROTHASPEAK….think “barbershop talk amongst a circle of African men” and you got it….

CLICK HERE to see what I’m doing over at BLACKTVONLINE.COM