Today I’ve heard and read a few comments from people basically saying that the violence in Ferguson is representative of black people in general. That we all are violent, and therefore, it should be no surprise that police react to us in the way that they do. This is usually also delivered with a subtle cue that white people do not riot, and they certainly do not riot over racial issues.
Today we will debunk that lie. Rioting is no longer necessary by white society to exercise it’s social control and dominance. But historically, it has always been whites in this country that have rioted over racial issues, NOT black folks, when they felt justice was not served.
Don’t believe me? Ask your parents or grandparents! Ask what the reaction was in the neighborhood when black kids started coming to their schools and churches. I’d love to hear the responses below.
Those are just a few examples of rioting in this country, long before the ’60s race riots, Rodney King and now Ferguson. So if you hear someone yet again talking about “those people” in Ferguson, as if they are just a bunch of uncivilized savages, please share and ask, “So who do you think taught them to act in such a way?” or as my good friend would ask, “So what happened the day before?”
The answer is, the day before, parents, “good Christians”, college students, “hard-workers”, we out rioting, looting, killing, stealing and taking justice into their own hands when someone dared to move into their neighborhood, go to their schools, or break the Jim Crow color barrier.
However, one thing has remained the same, the dominant-society still escapes prosecution.
This only builds my faith in an eternal, all-knowing and all-seeing God that is also just.
For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
I applauded the letter written HERE by a “white” pastor calling for other “white” Christians to speak out for justice as he asked,
“Where is your conscience? Where is the little light you promised to shine for Christ? You have put it beneath a bushel and suffocated it.”
So what will you do about those INSIDE the church speaking as this pastor is from the pulpit?
Sermons are often interrupted to discuss Phil Roberson and his statements about homosexuality and defending his right of speech. Sermons are often interrupted to discuss politics, as though God is a Democrat or Republican. But in my 30+ years of being in various churches, I’ve NEVER heard a “white” pastor call out racism in his own community/church body.
Never.
…and I’m not talking about the, “…and we must love everybody because God loves us whether we’re black, yellow, red, blue, we’re all brothers and sisters in Christ!”
I don’t know any red, blue or whatever color invades your mind at that time.
I’m waiting on someone to go-in the same way this guy did with his congregation, and as you see, he had no shortage of “AMEN!s” either.
Perhaps that’s why it’s not done in most pulpits today, because they might be worried if they did speak out against racism, AMENs might be hard to come by in a majority “white” congregation.
Some say that Satan’s biggest trick on mankind today is making people think he doesn’t exist.
Maybe racist are pulling the same thing on most congregations today.
I hate to inform many of you with this news, but even with “black” members in your congregation, most are still thinking about how your church feels about racial issues. They don’t forget just because they smile and say “Praise the Lord” when they shake the usher’s hand at the door.
If the Church as a whole, continues its silence and not speak out against the racism in the ranks with the same amount of fervor that it does with so many other (sometimes trivial) issues, “black” Christians will continue to wonder whether they are a brother in Christ, or a brother to the Klan like this guy.
While Phil Robertson’s comments concerning the LGBT community have been the talk in Christian circles, I have been perplexed at the lack of discussion concerning his remarks about African-Americans.
To me, this is the equivalent as someone walking up to a married couple and saying, “You’re car is piece of junk and your wife is fat and ugly!” Then the husband exclaims, “Don’t you call my car a piece of junk!”
Then the wife looks at him and says, “Wait, is that all you have to say? I thought you love me, but you never defend me when someone insults ME!”
Therefore, I was so glad to read the article below by JEMAR TISBY.
In this episode, I interview my oldest boy Kory Devon on the Trayvon Martin killing. We discuss some of the issues he faces being a young man not far from Trayvon’s age group, whether people should use the “n-word”, and if America can ever get past its problem with race. Parents, if you have a problem with your children hearing such a frank discussion about race, then parental discussion is certainly advised.
It’s opening day of the 2012 baseball season! Today my son will be telling us about the life of a very special player in baseball history. We plan to make this a regular segment, and today’s the perfect day for it to debut.
I will deal with this story and issue soon. In the meantime, I wanted to post this video from Washington Watch, as it knocks down all the stereotypes that I’m sure people are looking for. Many times people will say, “Well, I’m sure something happened to make that guy act that way” or “Maybe the kid was threatening to the man”.
What saddens me the most is that my son and I were just visiting the Orlando area exactly one month ago. I gave him more freedom while we were away than I normally would at home since his other siblings were not there. My heart rate increases when I ponder on the “what-ifs” like, “What if neighborhood watch would have been following him when he was making the one-mile walk to his cousin’s house?” “What if something would have happened when he was out playing football and on his way home just before dark?”
I think I would be thinking just like Trayvon Martin’s dad said in the above video, he would have been waiting on me to protect him, and I would not have been there.
My mentor Dr. Lyn Lewis used to say something to the affect that black men grow up knowing that they are one step from jail or dead, no matter who they are or what they do in life.
I’ll echo another saying she’d say, that’s some good Sociology right there, because this Trayvon Martin murder proves her point. Good kid, good parents, smart, athlete, but still dead like a L.A. gang member.
Lets keep the heat on this story before it gets swept away by more important things like what the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing or what Peyton Manning is doing.
In CornerstoneDad’s house, Black History Month is not in February, it is all year. There is never just a month that we watch “Martin Luther The King” videos (as we used to say in my elementary school), Eyes on the Prize or something on American slavery. Sorry, history is history and truth is truth, and those topics should not just be discussed by families with parents who descended from slaves but by ALL families and schools in America if they are truly teaching history.
So while I did not want to write anything on slavery (or MLK) this month, my wife sent me this article that desires attention. An enormous mind-map could be created from the words of this former slave.
I’d love to hear your thoughts as you read the letter that can be found here.
Parents of all people groups should share this tremendous letter with their children to (and the fact that it’s Black History Month is a good excuse if you’ve never tackled racial issues in your family before) give them insight into American slavery. It helps explain:
– Why descendants of slaves in America share the same last name as their slave owner. [Notice both are named Anderson?]
– American slavery’s hierarchy was NOT like biblical slavery and the slaves were not employees. [Notice that Jourdon Anderson speaks of the attempted murder on his life as if this was no big deal or common?]
– The importance that Jourdon Anderson placed on education as obviously, he was a very intelligent man himself. [So not all slaves couldn’t read, write or do arithmetic.]
– How Jourdon overcame the stigma placed on him and his family in the north as people knew they were former slaves.
– How descendants of slaves started on an uneven playing field as they left fleeing for their lives in some cases like Jourdon, they started from nothing in a new location WITH FAMILIES and were never, ever compensated fairly for the work they had done for most of their lives [after 30 years, shouldn’t Jourdon have been retiring by American standards?]
– The faith and knowledge Jourdon had that God was going to judge and was still in control as he wrote, “We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense” and later said, “Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.”
Galations 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. –
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Luke 12:4-5 Do not fear those who can kill the body and afterwards have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
(Don’t be mad at me, I didn’t say it, the Bible did…you know, we do claim to be a Christian country and all…right? “One nation, under God…”America…God shed his grace on thee…” and all those other things we learned in school…remember?)
There are many more points that could be brought up, but I’m going to ask that you chime in with a few from what you read.
To me, Joudon Anderson is a true American hero. While he will never have a county, school and other structures built in his honor like slave owners such as the Macomb’s in Michigan, he showed tremendous respect, dignity and wisdom in dealing with his former captor and deceiver.
…and you know, I have a feeling that if ole P.A. Anderson would have offered him the world financially, Mr. Jourdon Anderson still would not have returned “to his old master”.
Last month I purchased The John Carlos Story (http://www.johncarlos.org/JohnCarlos/JohnCarlos-TheBook.html) for my two oldest boys. While I cannot wait for one of them to finish the book so I can start working my way through it, I have been listening to a number of interviews by Dr. John Carlos and David Zirin as they promote and tell the story behind the story.
But CNN (not Fox News) seemed to have another agenda in mind when they wanted to interview Dr. Carlos. Funny how this “mishap” as you will see, is an excellent example of the story of John Carlos and Tommie Smith. As long as they do what the nation and media wants them to do and say, great. Let us paint the portrait and you be the brush.
However, if you know anything about Dr. John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and Dr. Harry Edwards, you know these guys paint their own portrait, tell their own story, and the truth about America as well.
Dad’s, if you’re unfamiliar with the story of John Carlos and Tommie Smith and their protest during the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City, please check it out and learn more. This was truly a pivotal and misunderstood moment in world history. This is also a tremendous teaching moment for your kids: Will they be willing to take a stand for what is right, if it may cost them their life?
What did Carlos and Smith have to gain by keeping silent and not protesting for human rights? Certainly fame, money, power and privilege and all we have to do is look at the lives of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt to see the riches that can be gained just from being the fastest sprinter in the world. But what did they gain from their silent protest? Persecution, slander (by their own nation especially), broken marriages (the wife of John Carlos later took her own life), and unemployment.
How would sports be different today if more athletes would be willing to put all of that on the line to help others?
How would society be different today if more parents were willing to give up many of the same advantages to raise our children and do what is right as well?
But you know, I can honestly say I’ve never had to take a test like this.
Beaver Ridge Elementary parents held a protest outside their Norcross school Tuesday after a lesson on Frederick Douglass prompted third-grade teachers to use slave beatings to teach math concepts.
Channel 2 Action NewsSchool officials said that the questions stemmed from an effort to incorporate history into math lessons.
The protest was held as some parents of third-graders who saw the homework assignment met with the school’s principal.
About 60 parents, community activists and church leaders assembled outside the school. A few carried signs that read: “Shame on them” and “The teachers need to be fired.” Some drivers passing by the demonstration honked to show support.
Parent Christopher Braxton, who complained to the district about the slave math questions, said his son’s class was being led by a substitute teacher for the second day in a row as the investigation into the incident continues.
Braxton said Beaver Ridge Principal Jose DeJesus would not elaborate on the status of the probe or his son’s teacher.
“They apologized for the situation and said they could not speak about it further until they finish the investigation,” Braxton said.
Four of the school’s third-grade classrooms received the assignment, which made references to slaves picking oranges and filling baskets with cotton. It also included the question: “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”
This is the second time in two years race and ethnicity on a homework assignment sparked complaints at Gwinnett Schools. There was a similar incident in Cobb Schools last fall.
Last school year, third-graders at Gwinnett’s Chesney Elementary were given a reading homework packet that included a story titled “What Is an Illegal Alien?” The assignment, which was copied from the Internet by a new teacher, was not reviewed by the school’s subject area department chair before it was distributed. The math sheet created at Beaver Ridge also failed to undergo a content review, officials said. Under district policy, the worksheet should have been reviewed before being handed out to students, but that process was not followed.
In September, Cobb Schools came under fire for a similar incident, an assignment by a teacher at Campbell Middle School. Students were asked to write on the issue of dress codes and read a fictional two-page letter written by a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian woman. The character wrote approvingly of wearing the Islamic veil — and of her fiance’s multiple wives and the law of Sharia.
Gwinnett Schools human resources officials are investigating the Beaver Ridge incident to decide whether punitive action is necessary. District officials said they would work with math teachers to come up with more appropriate questions.
“These particular questions were an attempt at incorporating some of what students had been discussing in social studies with their math activity,” said Sloan Roach, Gwinnett Schools spokeswoman. “One teacher developed the questions, another made the copies and it was used in four classes.”
Ed DuBose, Georgia NAACP president, had a strong view: “The teachers, the staff responsible for allowing this to go forward should be fired.”
DuBose called off a press conference Tuesday and met with Gwinnett superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks.
One of the teachers involved in the incident is Hispanic, Braxton said. The district would not release the teachers’ names or races. All involved are being questioned about their role and are still employed with the district, Roach said.
School officials said the questions were not intended to be offensive and that copies of the assignment were being pulled so they wouldn’t be circulated.
Copy and paste the link to check out the video of the story:
Today is a day that I remember how blessed I am in two special ways.
Both of my parents are still alive
Both of my parents are still married
As I get older, I appreciate both of those points more and more.
CornerstoneDad.com is about promoting fatherhood. But because it is my mother’s birthday, I have to touch on motherhood today. Too often, mother’s are honored while fathers are taken for granted, scolded, and ignored. Even the Intruders cracked on dad in the song below for no reason! But not around here though dads, here you are safe. But please allow me to give my mom her props right now.
Perhaps the smartest decision my dad ever made was choosing the right mother for his children. Everybody talks about being that “Proverbs 31 woman”, but my mother has truly been that woman in our household.
Proverbs 31:10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
Yea, my dad picked a winner.
I remember my mom getting me toys from her job as a gift-wrapper at Hudson’s. I found a photo once, where she was one of the only black women in her corporate job back in the ’60’s.
My mom left the career behind to stay home and raise some kids. My dad didn’t make a ton of money, but they decided that her being home raising us was the best way to keep the streets from raising us instead.
Therefore, she was there when I took the bat outside to knock out Ricky Collins in elementary school. Yea, bullying isn’t a new phenomenon young readers. Instead of bombs, some of us had to handle it different ways. Mom kept me from getting in more trouble that day.
Mom would hold down my dad’s arm, to calm him down, as there were times he wanted to go knock out the truck drivers that called us niggas or other names on the CB on family vacations. “Okay, meet me at the rest area and say it in my face!” screamed dad. Mom would calmly but firmly say something like, “Please, let it go, lets just keep going…”. Mom kept daddy from getting into more trouble plenty of times too.
I guess that’s why I love Good Times so much as her and Florida sounded so much alike.
Mom told me about Jesus Christ at eight years old, and my life (and my family’s life) has never been the same since then.
Mom told me about Jesus Christ at eight years old, and my life (and my family’s life) has never been the same since then.
Mom taught me that taking two papers out the paper box was stealing, even if it was just sitting in there and my friend wanted to get one for the box scores also.
Mom almost died when I was around 13, and I’ll never forget the pain she was in as her “insides” fought like Ali vs. Frazier. The crying I heard still upsets me now.
Mom was at home when I called as my high school friends were getting blown out at parties and I didn’t want to join in because I knew the effects of alcohol, plus I was driving. She was my alibi for not joining in the “fun”.
Proverbs 31:27 – She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Mom wrote me a letter when she saw that after high school, the gravitational pull of the streets was too much for me, so she tried to pull me back.
It didn’t completely work.
So I’m sure mom wasn’t surprised when I told her I got a girl pregnant.
It was mom that was there when I saw my son for the first time, and no matter what kind of relationship I had with my son’s mother, it was my duty to be the best father I could be to him.
My mom never understood why white parents didn’t except her son, while she never mistreated or rejected any girl her boys brought home regardless of their skin color. Plus, knew that they treated women with respect because we always respected her.
Therefore, my Mom was at my wedding, when I was marrying a “white girl”…and to this day she loves her not because she has too, but because of the relationship she developed with my wife.
Proverbs 31:26 – She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
My Mom is a superb grandmother. The photo above is her telling them things that I never even heard about growing up, like her struggles in the segregated South. Tales about the old buses she had to ride in for school while the “white” schools got the nice new buses. Yea…so much for “Separate but Equal”. (see: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html)
Proverbs 31:28 – Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
If you’ve read this far. Thank you.
I hope it made you think about all your mother has done and if she’s still alive, please let her know.
I write not to be sappy, but because I do not believe in giving dead people the flowers and praise at their funeral instead of while they are here on earth to smell the flowers and hear the praise.
Young men, be wise, and choose the right woman to be the mother of your children. Every woman you lay with has the potential to be the mother of your child and I’d bet that many of them, you would not want raising your children (shout-out to Evander Holyfield, Shawn Kemp, and Travis Henry – all athletes that forget that sex and reproduction are still linked despite our 21st century technologies).
Mom, you are blessed.
You have blessed me and my family.
I thank God that you can still be here to read this.
Without you, there would be no CornerstoneDad.
Without you, I don’t even no where I’d be today.
Thank you, and may God allow us to see many more birthdays together as there’s so much more work to be done.
The series began in April 2011 and our family has been catching up on episodes over the last few weeks. Henry Louis Gates Jr. does a phenomenal job exploring the lives of African descendants in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Every story goes into the history of how Africans arrived in that country and why those descendants are in the economical and cultural condition they are in today.
Does your family need to watch?
Do YOU need to watch?
Ask yourself and your children a few of the following questions and decide:
– What does my family know about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?
– Was the United States the only country that imported African slaves?
– If not, did the United States import the most African slaves?
– Why is Haiti so poor?
– Why does baseball bring players from the Dominican Republic and not Haiti when they are right next to each other geographically?
– Why does the United States not have a good relationship with Cuba?
– Why do Brazilians speak Portuguese?
– Why does Brazil consider itself free of racism but not the United States?
– If you are considered an African-American in the United States because of your dark skin, what is someone from Mexico considered if they look just like me?
– If they are considered different, why, and how did it get that way?
There is so much more that can be asked as those only scratch the surface!
Ironically, American’s often speak of the necessity of knowing a second language like so many other nations around the world. However, American’s often want to learn a country’s language in a vacuum, without learning about the country’s culture, it’s people or the history.
Then again, American’s tend to have selective amnesia when it comes to its own history, so I’m really not surprised.
Furious Fathering 