Mother Emmanuel

In reading the various “news” accounts of the yet another terrorist attack at “Mother Emmanuel” (Almost 200 years ago it was defiled and burned to the ground because of its reported connection to a planned slave revolt.), there has not been much talk about those who physically survived this assault.  It has been reported that one was a five year old girl who was in attendance at the prayer meeting with her grandmother.  Her grandmother reportedly covered her with her body and whispered to her to pretend that she was dead.

I can only imagine the pain of this grandmother as she covered this child’s body praying that she be spared.  I can only imagine the strength of her prayers of intersession, knowing that only her body and a merciful God stood between the child beneath her and the ultimate of evil.  There is probably not one of us who has brought a living being into this world, or cared for one, who cannot imagine the pain of feeling powerless to protect them.  Our prayers for their safety always occupy a portion of who we are.  Sometimes we articulate those prayers and sometimes we push them to the background of our mind because the pain of believing that they wouldn’t be safe in their daily journey is far too much to carry with as we move about our day. 

And, I CANNOT imagine what it must have been like for this child lying beneath her grandmother.  The incomprehensible horror of bearing witness.  The sense of guilt, loss and fear as she listened and felt her grandmother’s life slip away... as she struggled to hold on to her own.  No, I CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE!

Just like I cannot imagine what it was like for those fearless souls who stood in the halls of “Mother Emmanuel” before these.  Those who rebuilt it from the ashes left when it was torched by the hands of racism and slavery that still loom like a ghost stench in the very air that we breathe.  They were fearless souls. Like those that bear their legacy and invited in a stranger, trusting his intentions.  Without benefit of weapons other than their belief in goodness of humankind and the strength of an Almighty God.  They let him into a sanctuary, which was not theirs to exclude him from.  They let him into their hearts because that’s who they were. 

“Mother Emmanuel” and all that she is and represents will continue to move forward in the march towards freedom and a better world for us all.  She is fearless in the face of these many years of hate, racism and oppression.  She will continue to guide us as she has done in the past.  She will shelter children and adults as she did former slaves separated from their children, grandchildren, husbands and wives.  We will stand with her as she continues to call out and confront the ghost stench of racism that strangles this nation so that none of us can truly breathe.  We will stand with her as she calls it out from the hidden corners of our nation shrouded by an unhealthy and misguided allegiance to a legacy born of half truths and lies.  We will  She will call it out fearlessly until it falls away.     

My Sons... My Daughter

My thirty-three year old nephew posted this picture on his facebook page the other day along with this comment:

"This picture used to be in my house growing up. I really liked it then and I still do now. Shout out to the Pooh Bears in my life."

I have four nephews...sons.  They are gifts from my three siblings.  I gifted them with a niece...a daughter.  They are warm, loving, sensitive individuals...all of them.  They are responsible.  They are kind and caring.  They were the light in their grandparent's eyes.  They continue to make mine shine.  They give generous, unpretentious hugs and never leave me without pressing their soft warm lips upon my cheeks and reassuring me of their love.  They provide friendship and support to one another and have a strong understanding of what the word "family" means.  They struggle.  They work every day to meet mortgage and car payments and all the other financial obligations that come with daily life.  Like all of us, they try to make sense of their lives in this world on a daily basis.

I have four...sons.  They are gifts from my three siblings.  I gifted them with a daughter.  And, I cannot understand how it is reasonable for anyone to believe they are a physical threat to the extent that they would do them harm, physically, emotionally or spiritually.  But that is the argument which has been raised everywhere from the streets of New York City by the New York City Police Department, to a string of homicides from Trayvon Martin to  Sean Bell to Jonathan Kerrick to Renisha McBride. That is the argument they have been confronted with on vehicular stops.  That is the argument when they have been frisked in front of their dates. The argument is that by the very nature of their physical attributes--young, black with commanding physical presence--it is "reasonable" to believe they are a threat to society, should be viewed with suspicion, and handled accordingly.

I have four sons and a daughter...precious gifts.  And, everyday I pray for their survival and that their steps be guided and guarded.

Talking to myself... more often

I've spent a great deal of time this morning reading articles about two separate events:  The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial; and the erroneous reporting on the names of the captains who piloted the Asiana Airlines plane that crashed earlier this month.

From the start I knew I could not bear to watch the televised trial or listen to any of the reporting of Florida v. George Zimmerman.  For me, the stage was set long before the "trial" but the results were solidified with the defense attorney's opening remarks--a joke.    When the trial became the "Trayvon Martin Trial" it became pretty clear to me how we were painting the world (at least this corner of it).  Semantics help us to create images, and they describe how we see the world and the world we create.  We must always chose them carefully.  Trayvon Martin should have never been on trial.  But for many he was, and continues to be.

I think the most level statement I've read to date was the press release issued by Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center:  a response to verdict in State of Florida v. George Zimmerman.

"Can we respect the jury verdict and still conclude that Zimmerman got away with killing Trayvon?  I think so, even if we buy Zimmerman's story that Trayvon attacked him at some point.  After all, who was responsible for initiating the tragic chain of events?  Who was following whom?  Who was carrying a gun?  Who ignored the police urging that he stay in his car?  Who thought that the other was one of 'them', someone about to get away with something?

The jury has spoken, and we can respect its conclusion that the state did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.  But we cannot fail to speak out about the tragedy that occurred in Sanford, Florida on the night of February 26, 2012.

Was race at the heart of it?  

Ask yourself this question:  If Zimmerman had seen a white youth walking in the rain that evening, would he have seen him as one of 'them,' someone about to get away with something? 

We'll never really know.  

Racial bias reverberates in our society like the primordial Big Bang.  Some years ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson made the point in a dramatic way when he acknowledged that he feels a sense of relief when the footsteps he hears behind him in the dead of night turn out to belong to white feet.  Social scientists who study our hidden biases make the same point in a more sober way with statistics that demonstrate that we are more likely to associate black people with negative words and imagery than we are white people. It's an association that devalues the humanity of black people -- particularly black youth like Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman probably saw race the night of February 26, 2012, like too many others would have. Had he not, Trayvon probably would be alive today.

The jury has spoken.  Now, we must speak out against the systemic racism that still infects our society and distorts our perception of the world.  And we must do something about it."

You can find it in its entirety here.

The second event also is another which highlights the cultural discord and our continuing inability to see others as simply "others".  They are objects of amusement, even in the face of tragedy.

This a screen capture from an actual newscast reporting the names of the pilots in the Asiana crash earlier this month.  There are a number of accounts on how this happened.  No one seems to be in any hurry to resolve the matter. Only to absolve themselves and their organizations of any guilt. 

 

This looks to me like one of those inappropriate e-mails generated by folks around a water cooler or at a local bar.   It looks to me like one of those horrid e-mails that you get that leaves  you wondering how you got on this list.  Only this one...  this one...  got out of hand!  This one actually made the air.

I cannot admit to you how many times I have received similarly racist emails.  After deleting them, I can't admit to you how many times I have not taken the right next step.  I didn't call and have a conversation about the inappropriateness of the e-mail.  I didn't trust that the person/s who sent me the e-mail had enough humanity to understand why their missile was inappropriate.  I thought as little of them as they thought of the "object" of their ridicule!  That won't happen again.

  

Believe it or not, there are real conversations taking place across this country.  All with one single agenda: creating communities where we can all live together. They are happening in large groups and small groups.  They are taking place in large cities and small hamlets.

I'm not sure where we humans are on the evolutionary timeline. ( I can also respect that many people don't believe there is an evolutionary timeline.)  I don't think we have forever to get it right: to get our greed in check; our self-absortion and all of the other ways of being that constantly motivate us to exploit our home planet and each other.  We either learn to live together in mutual respect sharing the resources provided, or we die... together. Playing out our existence as if we truly believed that we cannot surpass our lower desire to remain Neanderthals.  It's as simple and as complex as that.