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Martin & Malcolm

8 May

This picture was taken during the one and only time these two great men met. No one knows what exactly was said between them and so we are left wondering what was shared in that moment where their destinies briefly crossed. Was it a friendly exchange or was it one of tension and disagreement? We know that they were drastically at odds during most of their lives, however both went through monumental shifts in idealogy in the final stages of their lives.  Malcolm X clearly began moving away from his radical ideology which endorsed hatred of white people, to embracing all people who were willing to struggle for equality. On the other hand, Martin Luther King became more aggressive, realizing that the injustices and racism in the North were more resistant to justice and equality than he originally thought.  Many have even suggested that the ideological trajectory of the two men would have eventually met in the middle had their lives not been ended so abruptly (both where murdered at the age of 39).

I personally appreciate both men.  I love that Malcolm X was able to affirm his humanity and manhood in the face white supremacy and hatred. He did so with courage and strength, which is why he has and will continue to be an important icon in the black community.  I love what Martin Luther King did and stood for.  When I imagine someone taking serious the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ I think of Martin Luther King Jr., because of his commitment to peace, justice, nonviolence, and love for all humanity even to the point of death. Both the Church and all of American society are indebted to him for his example and unwanted progress he accomplished.

Freestyle with me, what are Martin and Malcolm’s significance to you…

Tom Skinner

31 Mar

I tend to have very different views than most black and white Christians I encounter or read. Few people embody much of my values, worldview, and beliefs as did Tom Skinner. He was a courageous evangelist who dared to both proclaim the good news and challenge injustice, of which he saw as inherently intertwined. While he has gone to be with the Lord, his ideas, books, and words live on. I am very grateful for him and others who have paved the way for folks like me. If you ever get a chance, read a book by Tom Skinner, you won’t be disappointed.

A Run through the Black Experience in America

8 Mar

Check this video out (and yes this seems to have been made right when Obama becomes President, which is why he is such a huge part at the end.)

What do you think? (This post is not meant to be political about Pres. Obama, but the black american experience in totality)

My Grandfather and Me

6 Mar

Messiah College Hosts Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Feb. 25th

6 Feb

Messiah College Centennial Celebrations: Keynote lecture

Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Alphonse Fletcher University
Professor and Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for
African and African American Research at Harvard University

Messiah College Humanities Symposium Lecture
“Genetics and Genealogy” • February 25, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
Brubaker Auditorium, Eisenhower Campus Center

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ph.D., will deliver the second keynote lecture of the Centennial year and the keynote address for the Messiah College Humanities Symposium. Professor Gates is editor-in-chief of the Oxford African American Studies Center, the first comprehensive scholarly online resource in the field of African American Studies and Africana Studies, and of The Root, an online news magazine dedicated to coverage of African American news, culture, and genealogy. In 2008, Oxford University Press published the African American National Biography. Co-edited with Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, it is an eight-volume set containing more than 4,000 biographical entries on both well known and obscure African Americans. He is most recently the author of In Search of Our Roots (Crown, 2009), a meditation on genetics, genealogy, and race, and a collection of expanded profiles featured on his PBS documentary series, “African American Lives.” His other recent books are America Behind the Color Line: Dialogues with African Americans (Warner Books, 2004), and African American Lives, co-edited with Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Oxford, 2004).

Immediately following the lecture, audience members are invited to attend a public book signing by Dr. Gates in the Eisenhower Campus Center.

This event is open to the public. Seating is by ticket only; no charge. Tickets available beginning January 14, 2010 through the Messiah College Ticket Office, (717) 691-6036.

Happy Birthday Rosa Parks!!!

4 Feb


On February 4th, 1913, Rosa Parks was born. She is now famously thought of as the “mother of the civil rights movement” for courageously sitting down on that city bus, so that the African American community could finally take a stand. It was her faith and resilience that gave her the strength to make that courageous move. We remember her today, and her faithful commitment to God’s principles of love, justice, and equality. Happy Birthday Rosa Parks!!!

Tom Skinner’s “If Christ is the Answer, What are the questions?

11 Nov

 

Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to look back. I am really excited after finding an old copy of Tom Skinner’s book “If Christ is the Answer, What are the Questions?” on Amazon.  Skinner has always been a hero of mine, and was also a family friend. While he is no longer with us, the insight and truth he spoke when it was not popular still has relevance today. In fact as I looked over the table of contents of his book (which was written in 1974) I noticed how many topics are still not easily discussed even now in our time.  It is upon the shoulder’s of people like Tom Skinner that I stand. It is crazy to think that much of what I say now has been said before. It is important to take note of those who have come before us.

Are you familiar with Tom Skinner?

Michael Eric Dyson on President Obama

26 Jun

Watch this edgy and controversial video of Michael Eric Dyson commenting on the first 100 days of the President!

What do you think about Dyson’s thoughts on President Obama? Is he right?  Freestyle with me, has the black community given President Obama a free pass without any critique or accountability?

I’ve Been to the Mountain Top

3 Apr

Listen to the last minute of King’s famous speech, the night before he was killed…

Faultless or Flawed?

6 Feb

Could it be that we are setting President Obama up for failure? Don’t get me wrong, I think Obama is very inspiring and I actually believe that he is going to try to follow up on the things he said. I also expect him to go down in history as one of our greatest presidents. However, my point is that all he can really do is try to follow up on the things he said. And there are some areas that I agree with him strongly, and some other areas where I think he is off the mark. Yet as I hear our President being talked about on the news and on the corner, he is often talked about as though he is Perfect. It is as though he has been ascribed Divine characteristics in the midst of our troubling economic times. This often happens to great people when they die, like Martin Luther King for example has become larger than life. People now want to dispute any human wrong mentioned in reference to him, because his legacy has become larger than life, especially after he died.

A huge problem for President Obama is that he is not dead, but rather he is alive and just beginning his presidency. He is bound to slip and make a mistake a time or two in his presidency. What will be the reactions of the people who thought they were following a God-Man, and instead found out he was just human after all. It’s a mighty big fall when you let people lift you up so high. How can we stop seeing him as Divine even as we continue to support and pray for him? Are we instantly seen as opposed to him if we critique him as a man and hold him accountable as a man? Flow with me on this, do ya agree or disagree?

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