One of my new gigs this year is that I’m a book reviewer for InterVarsity Press. Thanks to this blog, someone from the publishing company contacted me and wondered if I would be interested in reading and writing reviews of their publications. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I LOVE books! I understand that new technology is making ebook readers popular (like Kindle and Nook); but I doubt that I’ll ever leave traditional books. There is something about feeling the pages, making markings in paragraphs, and yes even the smell of a good book that does something to me. (FYI – The best smelling books can be found at Everyone’s Place in Baltimore City, MD)

So this new gig doesn’t pay me in dollars and cents, but in something better – BOOKS! Free books for the asking. All I have to do is read them and write what I think about them. Can’t beat that.

The FedEx guy just dropped off my latest set of books and I’m looking forward to jumping into them. I really tried to focus on books that would expand my thinking and challenge me to engage topics critically. Here they are:

1. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey
2. Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community by Andrew Marin
3. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah
4. The Prophet & The Messiah: An Arab Christian’s Perspective on Islam & Christianity by Chawkat Moucarry
5. Warrior Princess: Fighting for Life with Courage & Hope by Princess Kasune Zulu

Each of these books will challenge me in a different way and I’m looking forward to being in “conversation” with the author. I’ll probably start with one of the books this week (probably the piece by Soong-Chan Rah) and will be done in 2 weeks. Review to follow. If anyone has any of these books and would like to read “together” let me know. I’m down for a virtual book club.

Dear Rev. Brown,

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

Dear Mr. Brown:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for providing debt relief to poor, developing nations that have borrowed from the United States , other creditor governments, and international financial institutions.

I share your concern for highly indebted countries that are in desperate economic straits and unable to repay loans and honor other financial obligations. These nations must often commit large portions of their national budgets to servicing debt at the expense of human development and social programs. Senator Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA) introduced S. 2166, the Jubilee Act, on October 16, 2007. The bill would cancel debt of eligible developing countries and would establish a framework for creditor transparency and responsible lending. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, of which I am a member.

While many countries have already paid off the principle debt , they continue to pay heavy interest. I share your belief that debt relief for impoverished nations will provide resources for desperately needed development initiatives and human services. Without the burden of debt, countries can better focus their efforts toward economic develo pment and poverty reduction .

Again, thank you for sharing your views. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other matter.

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I appreciate your response to my email about the unrest in the Middle East and the military offensive Israel is waging against Lebanon, however, as I shared with a member of your staff earlier today, I strongly disagree with you.

You reference in your email UN Security Council Resolution 1559, but you make no mention of UN Security Council Resolution 242 which calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict and termination of all claims or states of belligerency”. Resolution 242, which predates 1559, makes clear that Israel has been in violation of international law for 37 years. Israel has been illegally occupying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for close to 4 decades!

Is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other Jewish lobbying groups so powerful that elected officials are not allowed to challenge Israel on this fact? You are far more intelligent than I am. Why didn’t you mention the roots of this conflict in your email or any public statements that you’ve made? Israel is oppressing the Palestinian and Lebanese people by occupying their land, killing their civilians, destroying their infrastructure, and controlling every aspect of their daily movement.

In your email you spoke of bringing sanctions against Syria and Iran for sponsoring Hezbollah, but you said nothing about the expedited arms shipments that the U.S. is supplying Israel in this conflict. How can Condoleeza Rice & America be an honest broker of peace when the bombs obliterating Lebanon say “Made in the USA”? We are sponsoring the destruction of Lebanon therefore, America is complicit in the attacks.

I am seriously concerned about your perspective on this matter. While we agree on issues like Genocide in Darfur and Debt Relief in Haiti, our views are vastly different on the matter of occupation and oppression in the Middle East. You democrats are sounding too much like the Republicans on this issue. This is not the time to buckle under mainstream pressure. This is the time to be courageous and bold. The American public doesn’t need the narrow views on this issues that are being manufactured in Washington and broadcast on corporate-sponsored media 24/7. We need elected officials who are brave enough to stand for what is right even when right isn’t politically popular.

I would highly recommend a wonderfully insightful documentary called “Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land”. It clearly explains the history and roots of the current unrest in the Middle East with special attention to Palestine, but relevance to the situation in Lebanon as well.

Again – I’m praying for your COURAGE,

Min. Heber Brown, III
Baltimore, MD
7th Congressional District

Dear Congressman Cummings,

First let me thank you for your valued leadership. As my representative, I follow your political activities closely and most times your activity matches my desire on various issues.
I write you today because, like many, I am deeply concerned about the Middle East crisis in Lebanon/Israel. I grieve for the civilians who have been murdered and victimized by this crisis and of course, my prayer is for peace.

However, I am also concerned with the disproportionate amount of destruction that Israel is pouring upon Lebanon. Hezbollah militants have no where near the fire power that Israel’s full military has. The number of civilian casualties in Lebanon is increasing far more rapidly than the civilian casualties in Israel.

In addition, Israel is bombing telecommunication buildings, bridges, roads, and residential neighborhoods. The infrastructure of Lebanon is being destroyed and I won’t be surprised if soon we’ll see the type of unrest and destabilization in Lebanon that we are used to seeing in Iraq.

Bottom line: United States Representatives and Senators should fight the temptation to give unconditional support for Israel. Israel should be challenged to be responsible in its military campaigns against Hezbollah. Further, the United States Congress should investigate why groups like Hezbollah exist in the first place. Let’s stop throwing the label “terrorists” around and start trying to understand why some groups are dissatisfied.

One of the teenagers that I serve at church asked me yesterday if this was the start of World War III. My response to her was – it doesn’t have to be if our elected officials find the courage to challenge Israel and “take the high road” to negotiation and peace. Violence should never be a first resort. If we tell our children that, we as adults must demonstrate it as well. Do as I say and not as I do has never worked. It didn’t work on us and it won’t work on today’s youth.

I’m praying for your courage,

Min. Heber Brown, III
Young Clergy for Social Change

Mr. Victor Starr
Program Director
WERQ 92Q Jams
1705 Whitehead Road
Baltimore, MD 21207

Dear Mr. Starr,

I appreciate your timely and thoughtful response to my May 2 letter. In addition, I am glad that you agree with me that the “Big Phat Wire” segment was inappropriate.

As it pertains to the “give it up on the first date” question, I still believe that this question is an inappropriate one as well. I believe that asking adults if they would “give it up on the first date” might negatively influence a youth to think that it’s ok to do such. Then on the flip side your station brings people on the air like Debra Hickman from Sisters Together and Reaching (STAR) to talk about HIV/AIDS. I view this as potentially confusing to young impressionable minds.

Me turning off the radio won’t do anything to protect the young people from conflicting messages that add more confusion to the already complex society that they’re encountering.

I doubt if we’ll ever come to a point of agreement on this issue, but I have been encouraged to become a more aggressive media justice advocate. I know now what the FCC defines as obscene, profane, and indecent broadcasts. I am also becoming increasingly aware of how lack of non-White media ownership and payola is impacting what stations like WERQ is broadcasting.

While the music industry and radio broadcast companies are used to older people challenging artists’ lyrics and stereotypes, I believe there is an ever increasing percentage of younger listeners like me who are a part of the hip hop generation that are sick of how corporate influence is perverting our sacred genre of music.

I’ll be joining with other young advocates who refuse to continue to dance to the tunes of our own demise. No matter what Lil John, Busta Rhymes, Ying Yang Twins, Shawnna, major media conglomerates, or their corporate sponsors say – I know African people are better than this.

I’m sure at some point our paths will cross again. I appreciate the dialogue.

Respectfully,

Minister Heber Brown, III

Mr. Victor Starr
Program Director
WERQ 92Q Jams
1705 Whitehead Road
Baltimore, MD 21207

Dear Mr. Starr,

While riding to work this morning, I was flipping through the channels and landed on 92.3FM. At the time, an interview or prank phone call of some sort was playing. A woman and a man were arguing about a paternity test and describing explicit sexual acts. There was an onslaught of profanity covered by the traditional “beeps” that do little in masking what was said. The time was about 8:45AM.

It was appalling to me to hear such vulgar discussions first thing in the morning on the city’s most popular morning show. As I was driving, I was passing school aged children at bus stops with headphones in their ears and I kept thinking about what if these children are listening to these vivid descriptions of oral sex and profanity?

In a city that was ranked with the fifth highest annual AIDS rate of any major metropolitan area in the country, I know for a fact that our city is suffering from an HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Baltimore City Council commissioned a report of this problem and in 2002 they, along with the Mayor, issued a STATE OF EMERGENCY because of the “pervasive impact of the epidemic in the city.” Speaking of the “face” of HIV/AIDS in Baltimore, Dr. William Blattner, Chair of the Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS, warned in a 2005 Interim Report that, “youth in high-risk African American neighborhoods have a sense of hopelessness that translates into behaviors that continue to fuel new infections.”

While I appreciate the community outreach activities that WERQ engages in on a fairly regular basis, I also believe that public relations events do not give the station a license to broadcast material that is detrimental to the health, safety, and wellbeing of listeners and particularly our youth.

I would advise WERQ 92.3FM to reevaluate its ethical standards as it relates to the irresponsible discussion and broadcast of sexually explicit information over its airwaves. Broadcasting profanity laced arguments about oral sex and asking if people will “give it up on the first date” during the Wednesday morning dating interviews is not acceptable. Perhaps that type of mature content would be better served during the middle of the day (after morning rush hour and before mid-afternoon) when most school children should be in school.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Minister Heber Brown, III