I was already a bit on the fence about my primary bank which was Wachovia. Though I had been with the bank for some years, I began to give Wachovia the side eye when I learned about 8 years ago that it had history wrapped up in the enslavement and sale of my Ancestors. I would not have learned this if it had not been for former Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman who introduced the Slavery Era Disclosure Ordinance in 2002.

But Wachovia went from being on the fence to getting kicked to the curb when Wells Fargo acquired the bank earlier this year. Wachovia fully transitioned into Wells Fargo in Baltimore this past October.

That pretty much did it for me. Wells Fargo’s lending practices have been particularly predatory as it relates to the American African community. Consider these findings from a 2009 National People’s Action Report entitled, The Truth About Wells Fargo: Racial Disparities in Lending Practices.

• Over 37% of all loans made by Wells Fargo to African American borrowers were high cost loans; compared to 12% of loans received by White borrowers.

• 45% of all refinance loans received by African American borrowers were high cost, compared to 19% for White borrowers.

• For low- and moderate-income borrowers, 48% of all Wells Fargo loans to African Americans were high cost loans as compared to 20% of the loans for equivalent White borrowers.

• For middle and upper income African American borrowers, 34% of Wells Fargo loans were high cost loans as compared to 11% for equivalent White borrowers.

• African Americans were charged higher interest rates on high cost loans than other borrowers.

• African Americans paid an estimated $137 million more than Whites for their high cost Wells Fargo loans.

How could I continue allowing this bank to have my business considering its role in helping to manufacture the hardship that so many people are facing!

As if that wasn’t enough, I learned that Wells Fargo has 3 1/2 million shares in the private prison industry valued around $90 Million dollars. Wells Fargo is helping to prop up the Prison Industrial Complex – that same system that preys disproportionately upon Black and Brown people in the so-called United States.

I cannot in good conscience continue to do business with Wells Fargo.

In her book, Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of our Daily Choices, Julie Clawson helped me to think about my everyday actions as either helping to foster social justice or helping to maintain systems of oppression. Down to where I buy food, what clothes I purchase, what gas station I buy from, and in this case – where I bank. It’s not always that cut and dry, but in this case where I bank is a moral decision.

And today, I have decided to join countless others on November 5, 2011 in withdrawing my money and business from Wells Fargo. It’s been a long time coming, but I will no longer cooperate with a bank that fosters injustice and disharmony the world over. I will no longer support a bank that preys on my people and the impoverished of the world.

I will be formerly closing my Wells Fargo bank account on Saturday, November 5, 2011 and designating my credit union account at MECU as my primary account. Instead of making stock holders and investors first like corporate banks; credit unions serve their members and support the communities in which they are located in a myriad of ways.

Will I miss having my bank’s ATM on every corner or flying to any city in America and seeing my bank there – sure. That convenience will be missed, but now I’ll feel much better while banking because I’ll know that I won’t be actively participating financially in the exploitation and subjugation of others. Instead my money will be helping to support small business start ups, assisting families in purchasing their first home at reasonable rates, and will support community projects that help empower the place where I live.

For those who wish to learn more about this effort or to find a credit union or community-oriented bank in your community, you can visit the Move Your Money Project website among many other sites.

Mr. Marshall "Eddie" Conway

Mr. Marshall “Eddie” Conway is a true servant of his community. Imprisoned for more than four decades for the crime of murdering a Baltimore City Police Officer – a crime for which he maintains his innocence – Mr. Conway has not allowed the prison cell to suppress his spirit and will to organize his community.

The former Baltimore-based, Black Panther Party Leader, has been a stabilizing and healing force in Maryland prisons. Mentoring young prisoners, co-creating violence prevention dramatic presentations, and speaking to the world through his writings – telling his story of growing up in Baltimore so that others might be helped.

I am so thankful that members of my church and I have connected with Friend of a Friend Mentoring Program – an effort that Mr. Conway cofounded that focuses on conflict resolution, communication, and coping skills inside three of Maryland’s correctional institutions.

On Tuesday, November 1, 2011, there will be a parole board hearing for Mr. Conway. Supporters are asking that all people of Faith and Conscience would consider faxing a letter to the Board requesting that Mr. Conway be granted parole. He has been a tremendous blessing to so many individuals and families while behind prison bars; there’s no telling the positive impact he would have on the community as a physically free man. Please consider editing the letter below and given the deadline PLEASE PRINT OUT AND FAX THE LETTER TO THE FOLLOWING NUMBER TODAY: 410-764-4355

Please comment below to let me know that you’ve faxed the letter if you feel led to do so. You’ll be joining more than 200 others who have already extended themselves in support of Mr. Conway. Thank you.

Honorable Members of the Maryland Parole Board
6776 Reisterstown Road
Suite 307
Baltimore, Maryland 21215

RE: Marshall Eddie Conway, # 116469

Dear Honorable Parole Board Members,

Support for the release of Marshall Eddie Conway has been previously and persistently expressed by thousands of Maryland tax payers and community citizens throughout the nation and abroad. This petition respectfully reiterates the sentiments of those who support the parole of Marshall Eddie Conway.

Inmate Conway, whose parole is scheduled for November 1, 2011, has been incarcerated in the Maryland state penal system for over four decades. Throughout that period, inmate Conway has utilized and continues to utilize his time to resolve conflict, build peace, and improve life outcomes for fellow prisoners and at-risk youth. The information below highlights ways in which Marshall Eddie Conway has been of invaluable service to the prison and Maryland community.

• Founded Friend of a Friend (2007), a peace building program that has trained 200 plus inmates per year to be mentors and peacemakers

• Collaborated with WombWorks Productions to produce “The Birth of Peace”, a play about finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts between street organizations in poor communities

• Worked to secure a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help improve the literacy skills of Maryland inmates

• Created a counseling program for youth at risk of imprisonment that operated for 12 consecutive years

While incarcerated, Mr. Conway has exhibited extraordinary character and personal commitment to peace building and positively impacting society. Maryland residents, including those representing the Baltimore City Council and the Maryland General Assembly support Mr. Conway’s release and re-integration into the Maryland community. In light of these factors, I respectfully ask this Honorable board to grant parole. Marshall Eddie Conway has proved himself a model inmate and will undoubtedly prove a model citizen.

Respectfully submitted,

[Your name]

Rev. Heber Brown, III with Former Black Panther, Kathleen Cleaver

The first time I met Kathleen Cleaver was a November 2007 Black Panther Rank & File Symposium that the Maryland Institute College of Art put on. As my blog article from that day reveals; I was touched by the continuing flame of Cleaver’s passion for the same issues she put her body on the line for back in the Panther’s heyday.

Which is why I’m excited that she’s on her way to Baltimore once more. This time to talk about Cointelpro – the U.S. Government’s covert and illegal assault upon those individuals and groups that it deemed were a threat to national security. (sound familiar?)

There will also be a viewing and discussion of COINTELPRO 101 – an educational film about the FBI program.

This is a timely event and viewing given that Clint Eastwood is preparing to release a film about J. Edgar Hoover – the man who directed COINTELPRO and has federal buildings named after him today -authorized the harassment and in some cases outright assassination of Black people in this country.

If you’re in the Baltimore area, you don’t want to miss this event:

SOURCE: David Shankbone

If all goes as planned. Today – October, 4, 2011 – will be a day that is remembered and perhaps even recorded in the “People’s History of Baltimore City.”

For the past couple of years a committed group of activists have been challenging Maryland state plans to build a multi-million dollar youth jail in East Baltimore – in a community that is already saturated with prisons and jails. While initial activism around the issue was met with strong resistance from political and agency leaders; some of them are beginning to become more vocal opponents of the youth jail citing stats that reveal that crime among youth in Baltimore is decreasing (following a national trend related to crime in general) and fiscal restraints are forcing political power brokers to consider other options.

Last year, this month, community leaders and grassroots activists hosted Youth Justice Sunday which brought a crowd of a few hundred to the neighborhood and site of where the construction of the youth jail is planned in East Baltimore. Today, youth leaders are joined by nonprofit professionals and their allies to once again march and raise awareness about the community’s continued disagreement with this youth jail project – demanding instead that dedicated operating and capital monies be redirected to schools, recreation centers, jobs, and other critical services that residents desire.

Today also marks the start of #OccupyBaltimore – an outgrowth of the #OccupyWallStreet effort that’s been going on for two weeks now in New York. The New York effort – which is a logistically impressive and passionate protest – has gained much attention in people-owned media and communication media, but just recently began grabbing the attention of corporation-owned media after NY police officers pepper-sprayed female protesters. (Wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the #OccupyWallstreet camp knew that crying White females on television in America gets the national TV cameras there quick!)  The #OccupyWallStreet narrative continued to develop with what protestors call the “Battle of the Brooklyn Bridge.”

200 people show up for inaugural meeting of #OccupyBaltimore

#OccupyBaltimore, which was started by the actions of those inspired by the NY-action, organized rapidly – largely on social networking sites and google. Remarkably, approximately 200 people attended the first meeting of the group (Sunday at 9PM!), more than 400 people have joined the Google group, and nearly 1,000 people have said on Facebook that they will join the group as they will begin “occupying” (that word has heavy negative baggage, but I get it.) downtown Baltimore at the corner of Pratt and Light Street – in the heart of Baltimore’s corporate and tourist district. Interestingly enough, the Baltimore police have already begun “monitoring” and likely infiltrating #OccupyBaltimore according to the Baltimore Sun:

“Baltimore police were monitoring social media and news reports for updates on the Inner Harbor protest, said spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.”

Stay tuned for up to the minute details regarding Baltimore’s Day of Protest. We’ll have pictures, video, and livestream of protestors and reactions.

Troy Davis was found guilty of murdering a police officer 19 years ago, based upon the testimony of 9 witnesses. Today, 7 of those 9 have recanted their testimony entirely, and there are enormous problems with the testimony of the remaining 2 witness accounts. There is NO OTHER EVIDENCE. The murder weapon was never found. There is no DNA to test. Troy is scheduled to die by lethal injection on September 21, 2011.

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.

As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.

I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.

So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.

I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,

“I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”

Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!

And it is there – in the gap between people’s needs and available municipal resources that Mountain Christian Church in Bel Air, Maryland is actively making a difference.

As a subscriber to their church e-newsletter (yes, pastors subscribe to other church newsletters all the time!), I received the note from Pastor Ben before Hurricane Irene hit Maryland. Like most Houses of Prayer in the area; Pastor Ben was sending out an update to the congregation about worship services that weekend. However, after informing readers that worship would be cancelled; he wrote something that excited my spirit. His message read in part:

Often I write an enote urging you to COME to church. That’s what you expect from a preacher, right? “Go to church!” But this weekend, I have a different message for you.
This weekend, DON’T GO TO CHURCH. Instead, BE the church!

Storms like this can bring people together, build community, and create ministry opportunities – a chance for us to rain down big time blessings on others, to help them see the real heart of Jesus’ people. Be thinking how you can build relationships with neighbors through this.

Pastor Ben redirected the attention and energy of his congregation from church service to…well – church service. Calling this initiative Operation Irene; he gave his parishioners ideas on how to serve others before, during, and after the storm like opening their homes to the elderly so they don’t have to ride out the storm alone, anticipating school closures and offering to help parents with childcare arrangements after the storm, and buying extra supplies (water, flashlights, etc.) to share with neighbors.

On top of all of that, the church set up a phone number that people could call to request help with removing debris and cutting trees after the storm. They have a ministry called Bodybuilders – “a construction/repair ministry…made up of teams of people with different skills who are prepared to work on a number of different building projects.”

Sharing their post-Irene storm assistance number on their website and other outlets, people could call on the church to come help clear away damage and secure homes. Word is that even their county government and even the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was giving out the church number for those needing help within the neighborhood of that church!

With all the criticism that the Christian Church receives in the world (a lot of it much deserved!); it’s great to see churches like this extending themselves beyond themselves to make a difference for somebody.

Shout out to Pastor Ben and the Mountain Christian Family!

Fusion Partnerships, Inc.

Community Conferencing Center

Baltimore’s Safe and Sound Campaign

Public Justice Center

Chesapeake Youth Development Center

Maryland Education Coalition

?Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood

NAACP Baltimore City

Baltimore Algebra Project

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom [of God] is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it’s a beginning, and a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the workers.

We are the workers, not the master builders.

We are ministers, not messiahs.

We are profits of a future not our own.

Photo Courtesy: Adam Jackson (Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle)

So on that faithful Saturday – at that forum – I finally had to promote the exploration of a new path for my people. Instead of the usual song and lyrics, I offered up for the consideration of the crowd possibilities that are enveloped in practical philosophies that are less popular in this city. I prodded the crowd toward Black Nationalism and Pan Africanism. We’ve been promoting other paths for our people for so long with so few results for the masses that it’s about time that we found the courage to at the very least begin exploring other avenues for communal empowerment.

Let’s not denounce or dismiss Black Nationalism and Pan Africanism from the table of options before we even give it a try. Let’s not disregard these two philosophies because it makes other people uncomfortable. What about the depressing conditions that make our people more than uncomfortable, but uneducated, unemployed, uninsured, and uninvited?

We talk about diversity, but how diverse are the Black voices that we commonly hear speaking about our condition as a people. Even when they appear to be arguing different positions – like the much discussed “debate” between Dr. Cornel West and Rev. Al Sharpton – closer analysis will reveal that they in large measure are arguing nuances of the same position.

As I said “Black Nationalism” and “Pan Africanism” on the LBS panel that day, I sensed an uneasiness with the audience. White people were in the audience and it’s been my experience that Black people get nervous when you start talking Black Pride around White people. – as if cultural pride and love of self are inexcusable offenses. But the uneasiness just might have had to do more with my poor job of explaining what I meant by those loaded terms. Black Nationalism/Pan Africanism isn’t taught in schools, talked about in churches, or examined on television so one must not assume general understanding.

I wish I would have been able to succinctly define Black Nationalism as Bro. Malcolm X does in this clip.

Can any conscious American African person genuinely disagree with what is advocated with the philosophy of Black Nationalism based on that understanding? As one listens to Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) speak on Pan Africanism can the oppressed African masses truly discard its potential power so quickly?

We don’t need a juvenile Black Nationalism which beats its chests to proclaim it’s hatred for White people. Black Nationalism in its most powerful expression revolves around LOVE for African people not hatred of another people. And we don’t need this rhetorical revolutionary Black Nationalism/Pan Africanism which touts the long listing of books on revolution that have been read. With that, as Amos Wilson said, you’ll just die Black and Proud and your obituary will read, “Here lies a Black Revolutionary who read a lot of books, but left no enduring legacy.”

American Africans need to explore and embrace a Black Nationalism and Pan Africanism which holds as its most important action love of self. Only deep and abiding love of self can provide the sustainable energy necessary to re-orient, re-educate, and release African people around these two powerful concepts. Furthermore, a Pan Africanism fueled by love can appropriately re-connect African people in places where the African Holocaust (or MAAFA) fractured and disconnected us.

Think about it – one of the mandatory goals of the MAAFA involved the DISCONNECTION of African people from their names, their language, their land, their history, their cultural ways, their communities, their families, etc. Disconnection prompted discombobulation and we are largely still confused because we’ve lost our unique orientation to the world. Pan Africanism promotes a RECONNECTION to our ancestral identity which has the potential to bring about the communal healing that we so stand in need of. There’s no doubt about it – if African people don’t embrace love of self and its expression in tangible ways in every area of our activity and thinking then we are likely to remain in bondage.

Furthermore, with this reorientation to love-of-self, we must also commit ourselves to the construction of conscious anchor institutions – schools, banks, businesses, cultural centers, spiritual centers, etc. Especially in these cities where the population is predominantly African, we need to start building enclaves which champion our cultural values, orients our children to the world based on our ancestral understanding, and promotes an active unity and interdependence within the community.

It’s an enormous task that is possible by taking measured steps. For instance on the way to organizing an Afrikan-centered Public School System that is independent of the government funded public school systems; we can start a Saturday academy or after school programs in partnership with kindred spirits. Don’t just try to jump up and build a whole school system! Start one quality program and learn how to run it well before trying to organize a system. On the way to food sovereignty for our community – where we return to eating only what we grow ourselves; start a community garden or assume responsibility for a vacant plot of land. Grow there and supplement your diet with what you grow with your own hands. Learn how to grow and manage a garden well before you jump out there to run a farm! In the way of economic empowerment, perhaps a first step is to organize a Giving Circle before you begin talking about starting a credit union or bank.

These steps can present building blocks toward greater manifestations of what is needed. The American African community must embrace self-determination, self-government, and most important of all – SELF LOVE.

The question now is can we love ourselves enough to even consider different modes of understanding that will give rise to different communal behaviors that can potentially lift African people exponentially?