My thoughts on the Charleston Incident

Charleston, S.C....nine killed – did this really happen?!!!   African Americans are killed in their place of worship while conducting Bible study?   A young white man enters the church service, and sits with them for more than an hour, before he pulls out a gun and all of the racist anger that he can muster, he shoots the worshipers of God dead.  It has been reported that he reloaded his gun at least five times while shooting his victims multiple times to ensure that they were dead!   Yes, this really did happen.  The whole nation was rocked by this cowardly act of one individual, who represents the views of many that decided he wanted to start a race war.   At the age of 21, this young man was able to generate enough hate in his soul that he could sit in the house of God with the people of God and still dig deep enough to find the darkness of death and destruction in his heart.  Again and again we awake to the reality of true hatred.  
 
Can there ever be a blessing at a time such as this?  A time when hatred is so massive that we can’t seem to remember what good looks like.   I say 'Yes'.  Even at a time like this we can find blessings.  Many of the grieving family members demonstrated this when they told the racist killer that they were able to forgive him.  The people of God, from all walks of life, sent their prayers and blessings to the families of those killed.   President Obama addressed the senseless act of violence and gave the Eulogy for the Pastor who was the first person killed.  The debate over the symbol of the confederate flag was reignited and the flag was taken down from the South Carolina State House.  The issue of race relations has again become a real conversation. 
 
Yes a tragic event occurred and the question has to be raised....'Now What'?   I have a strong suggestion; the people of God must be heard!   We must speak out against violence, ethnic intimidation, racism, sexism, classism, and all things that divide us as a people.   We can't just preach about it, we have to be intentional about it!   We must have cross-cultural programing without the fear of losing our own identity.   We have to be honest about our fears, dislikes, and false teachings about each other.   We have to be determined to live the religion that we preach.  I truly believe that that you must be proud of your culture and heritage, while appreciating the culture and heritage of others.  When hatred speaks up, love must speak up even louder!!!   There are thousands of ways to love.   We, the people of God, must find it within us to love when it seems that hate is winning!   The last word must always be love!    

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Mass Incarceration is NOT the Answer

She is passionate, informed, beautiful, and brilliant, and she wants to end mass incarceration of people of color.   She wants to end the pipeline from school to prison.  No, she doesn’t want to reform the systems that incarcerate people of color at a disproportionate rate she wants to dismantle the systems!   And, I agree with her.  Her name is Rev. Dr. Madeline McClennely-Sadler, founder of the Exodus Foundation, Inc.   Dr. Sadler recently was a guest of Messiah College, in Pennsylvania, where she spoke on the issue of Mass Incarceration of people of color.   She also requested to meet with local clergy from the Greater Harrisburg Community, especially those from the African American Community.   She left us with a great sense of urgency to do something, anything to end this flawed, unjust system of modern-day-slavery.   She stated what most of us know, but don’t seem to think it is an epidemic.   She said that one out of every three black boys living today will spend time in the prison system.  Their lives will be greatly impacted by the system.  The damage that the system will do to their families for generations to come cannot be measured.  Their quality of life will often be impacted by the types of employment they will be limited to.   Their self-esteem will often lead to poor decisions.   The system of mass incarceration is devastating communities of color!   The epidemic is not being televised!

There are many things that can be done to change this downward spiral of destruction for people of color.   We have to vote!  If we want people in office that understand the issues that matter to us, then we have to get rid of all excuses about “The Man” and march to the polls in record numbers.   Once we elect the persons that we think should represent us, we must support them and hold them accountable.  Tavis Smiley put together the “Blueprint” years before President Obama was elected.  Once Smiley began to ask the tough questions of President Obama, Black folks turned against him.  They said that Smiley was jealous of the President.  In the meantime, the African American community continued to suffer from high unemployment, poor educational systems, poverty and mass incarceration.   President Obama was pulled in many different directions and he had a tough job to say the least.   I truly believe that if the African American Community had pulled and pushed a little harder on the Presidents coat-tail, I think we could have gotten more out of his leadership to benefit our community.

The other thing we can do is support our Black Churches.  Attend church and contribute your time, talent and resources to the Gospel that commands us to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, heal the sick and visit the incarcerated.   If we as a community do the work of the Church we would have fewer people going into the system.  Instead of tearing down the Church and the people of the Church, get off your pride and join the fight!   We need more “Doer’s” in the African American Community and fewer “Jack-leg Social Commentators” who get nothing done!   If we had more “Doer’s” we would have more mentors, intact families, better schools, engaged churches, more black businesses and less incarceration.   The more we do for ourselves on the front end, the less we have to undo on the back end.   It seems to me that the back end is getting more and more like the system of Slavery for people of color.   We have to stop the madness before we transition to a time that we thought was long forgotten, a time called “Dixie!”

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Meet Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler

Madeline McClenney-Sadler is an abolitionist and an ordained Baptist minister with over twenty-five years of experience serving the church. She completed a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, and a Master of Divinity Degree at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she was an active advocate for the homeless. She continued her education at Duke University where she earned a Ph.D in Old Testament Studies in 2001, with minors in Women’s Studies and Islamic Law. As an advocate for the underserved, she received a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2001 for her humanitarian work in the community. She served as a sentencing specialist for ReEntry Inc, in Raleigh North Carolina while completing graduate studies. As sentencing specialist, the went to the court at the time of sentencing to make a case for anything but prison for defendants. In 1999, Dr. McClenney-Sadler founded Exodus Foundation.org, a national Christian faith based charity headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. As a published author, Dr. Madeline, as she is often called, is one of several nationally known contributors to the 2011 Judsen Press release Ministry with Prisoners and Families: The Way Forward, a groundbreaking tool for pastors and congregations. Her next release, in 2015, will be a chapter in Church On Purpose entitled, “Believers Unchained: Why Christians Must Abolish Prisons or Stop Preaching the Gospel.” Dr. McClenney-Sadler was recognized by the Center for American Progress as “1 of 15 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2015.” She is married to Union Presbyterian Seminary Professor, Dr. Rodney Sadler, and they have one daughter.

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Depression Runs Deep (Dealing with Family Matters)

Recently, my family experienced a very tragic event when one of our relatives killed his wife, and then committed suicide.   It was one of the most horrible, shocking days of my life, and for all who knew them and loved them.   They were a loving couple, with well-adjusted, accomplished children.  They were well educated, and had great positions of authority.   They were like by many, and individually made notable contributions to their community.   They were young with a very bright future ahead of them.   So, what went wrong?   No one knows for sure, but there was something that brought about a period of great depression, anger, division, and ultimately death for the both of them.  We are all left asking the questions, why didn’t we see this coming?   Why did this happen to two very good people?  Why didn't they come to us?   What are we to do now that this has happened?   All of these are very tough questions with many possible answers that each individual left behind must grapple with.   I don’t have the ultimate answer to any of these questions, but I do know which one of the questions that I intend to address; 'What am I to do now that this has happened?'  
 
I am going to study to strengthen my understanding of depression and the signs to look out for.  I am going to dig deeper to know what in my community currently exist, that can help persons going through deep depression and suicidal thoughts, to get help before it is too late.   I am going to make myself more aware of how I open myself to others in need of help, to ensure that I am presented as a helping presence and not a judgmental force.  I am also going to let go and let God have the last say, with the full understanding that no matter how much you try, you will never be able to save everyone.  
 
The best we can do to help persons in deep depression is be aware that they are crying out for help.  Sometimes their cry for help is masked by their silence.   What they say or don’t say, can speak volumes, especially if we can hear them.  By the way, sometimes you need to listen to your own voice to make sure that it is not you that needs to be heard.
 

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Why Black History Month?

The question is asked time-and-time again, by whites who could care less, and blacks who want to forget, "Is Black History Month necessary?  I always respond with a resounding “Yes!!”   The thought that this has to even be asked and answered makes me sick!  I can’t on any level understand how anyone could dare ask the question.  Consider the level of “historical understanding” that far too many of our Black Youth have today about their own history.  It is, to say the least, a disgrace and a sad reality that does not speak-well for the future success of our people.   Studies have shown that the current generation of young African Americans may less-educated, and more economically challenged than their elders.   The prospect of returning to enslavement is a possibility for our people if we are not mindful and on-guard.  This time our enslavement will look like the “prison industrial complex”; economic debt, lack of technical knowledge, and lack of spiritual development.  I am a hard-and-fast believer that the African American Church, National Black Organizations, Black Colleges and Universities, and the Black Press made it possible for the Black race to advance and rise above Slavery and Jim Crow Laws.  If we allow ourselves to forget how we “got-over” I fear we are doomed to return to the “dark-past” of our history.   Consider This: “Segregation was a contemptible way of life that institutionalized humiliation at every level of day-to-day commerce.  A Black-owned railroad project was launched, for example, but could not long sustain itself against increasingly insurmountable roadblocks to its operation.  But no matter the obstacle, Black entrepreneurs and investment groups continued to mount major efforts to turn a lemon of a situation into the lemonade of business advantage…..”   “When questions are raised on the quality of Black business leadership, the answer is that regardless of the odds against us, African-American business has been and remains a major source of achievement and innovation.”   (Glory Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African-American History – by Janus Adams; Harper Collins Publishers).
 
We must never forget the struggle, the sacrifice, and the progress that we have made as a people.  Black History is not to be remembered only during the month of February, but every day of the year.  We must celebrate our history in such a way that our youth will learn, be inspired, and try to up-hold the forward progress of our people.   We can’t afford to allow anyone or anything to deter us from knowing and growing further away from all forms of slavery and ignorance.  Should we celebrate Black History?  Yes we should!   We must celebrate Black History every day and in every way!   By the way, I believe in learning about all races, cultures and ethnic groups.  In celebrating world  history it makes us stronger as ONE!      

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