A Run through the Black Experience in America
8 MarCheck 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)
What is a man?
26 FebWorking out my thoughts for a talk to a group young black teenage males who are not “churched”. Freestyle with me…
Ecclesia National Gathering, 2010: Missional & White
19 FebFor the last few days, I away at Ecclesia’s National Gathering. Ecclesia is a missional network that specializes in coming around church planters and church leaders to relevantly minister to a rapidly changing culture.
I had some great dialogue with many people while I was there and definitely left with a lot to think about and chew on because the teaching was so rich. However, like my stereotype suspected (yes, I admit I prejudged them before I knew them… guilty!) it was an overwhelming white constituency. In fact, while I have been to many mostly white christian events, I actually think it was the whitest event I have ever been to. If you throw Blacks and Asians, (sorry, there were no latinos present) into one group it would total to about 1% of the group.
This reality is sad and unfortunate given that this new group of “missional” christians tend to see themselves as Evangelicals 2.0, who are supposedly more open minded and value diversity more than evangelicals do. While that might be in the teaching and vision, in reality, most evangelical events I have been to are closer to 5-10% minorities. I am not making that sound like that is a good number, but it is way better than 1%.
Despite everyone’s agreement through many conversations about the elephant in the room (lack of pigmentation), it didn’t seem hopefull that anything was really going to change.
What is going on?
Michael Eric Dyson: A Special Message to Young Black Men
20 DecGiven the troublesome black on black violence that has spiked in Chicago, and the overall black on black violent trends throughout America’s cities, Dyson has a word of encouragement. What does this mean to you? Freestyle with me…
Lynching: Michael Donald
13 Dec
While most think of lynchings as something from another era, lynchings while not as numerous went well into the 20th century. The last recorded lynching was on the 21st of March, 1981. The young man’s name was Michael Donald, and he was lynched at the age of 19. Even though we no longer have lynchings occurring in our country currently, nooses have continued to be used as a sign of terror and intimidation in contemporary America. Should we just forget this history as so many have suggested? Freestyle with me…
Lynchings: A Public Spectacle
11 Dec
While we tend to think of lynchings as an act by a few hateful individuals, the reality is that often times it was an event for the whole family. Many times as seen above, the whole town came out to watch the black body swing until the last breath has gone out.
Often black males were castrated before they were lynched. Many were also set on fire as this picture depicts. Pictures then would be taken with the townsfolk posing (often with grins) in the background. These public spectacle lynchings were especially common the first few decades after the civil war and the abolition of slavery.
Lynching: An American Symbol
10 Dec
Unfortunately, lynching is as much an American symbol as applie pie. You don’t have to teach people about a noose, because even if someone doesn’t know the details, a noose’s meaning is embedded deep into America’s core. It’s an ugly part of our history that most want to ignore or forget. That is because lynchings were so prominent in America. In fact, nearly 5,000 African Americans were lynched in the United States between 1860 and 1890 alone. Lynchings continued to be used as a means of control and fear over blacks well into the 1900′s. We will never know exactly how many black men were murdered this way, since not all lynchings were even recorded.
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