We All Need To Stand Up!!!

I’m not a big fan of the NAACP, but without them and others I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I have my own personal reasons. One is picking their fights. Injustice is injustice. But don’t get it twisted, civil rights groups are necessary. We need them to speak up for the common man and minorities. That’s right all of us poor and underprivileged people. The right voices can reach the right people. Lyndon B. Johnson said, “While the races may stand side by side, whites stand on history's mountain and blacks stand in history's hollow. Until we overcome unequal history, we cannot overcome unequal opportunity....It's time we get down to the business of trying to stand black and white on level ground.” He went on to sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964. LBJ also made a speech Monday, March 15, 1965, a week after deadly racial violence had erupted in Selma, Alabama, as black people understand that. I just think that they need to expand their purview within the black community. There are injustices that we are committed against each other. There are a lot of people that disagree with a lot of Minister Farrakhan’s philosophies but I do believe that once blacks become self-sufficient by supporting each other, we will gain national acceptance. The Asian and Latino community has done it. They stick together even though they face discrimination, too, but not on such a large scale as blacks.

It would be nice if they address black on black crimes, gangs, high school dropouts, children having babies, deadbeat dads, unemployment, just to name a few. I, personally, think that it is a waste of time to worry about a flag waving in our face than finding ways to change the hearts of people who believe in inequality.

I applaud the Greenville Chapter to speak out against the New Black Panther Party. The two guys in Newberry were friends no matter what color they were. Shooting and dragging the other is extreme. I’m not degrading gravity of the crime. There have been crimes of passion that were considered extreme, too! One wonders what was the impetuous that drove him to such a horrific act. Murder is still the highest charge against anyone, but a hate crime? Yes, we get caught up and we need to use some self-control. But the Greenville Chapter of the NAACP is speaking out and where is the news about that? The media picks the negatives to report on because it sells! Nothing like reporting on a fight rather than a party. The major networks reported on the gag order issued but not a word yet on the NAACP stand against the NBPP. I always did believe good news don’t sell!

We All Got Bigger Problems!!!

Wall Street Executives received over 1.7 billion dollars of bonuses while the unemployed had to wait weeks for their extension to get approved. It’s ironic that some folks on the right complained about the unemployed getting this money and causing laziness in the ranks of the needy. Many of the unemployed were laid off due to problems in our economy and I doubt that so many people would rather sit on their butts and not provide for their families. Those that are working are still playing the lottery hoping one day to cash in on their individual American dreams. Too few employment opportunities are available when so many apply. I didn’t hear the media pressing the argument about the Wall Street bonuses. I wonder is it because the market giants are heavily invested in the media and can control what is released in the media. Again, I question the integrity of the news media. What is more important, the sponsors or the listeners? The more listeners, the more money provided by the sponsors. We are a money-driven society where it is more important to have a healthy bottom line than a compassionate heart. Love won’t pay the bills and if you have several homes, jets, and cars, you’ll need more money. Let’s be honest. True we do have racial issues to deal with but there is a bigger problem underneath. That agenda is widening the gap between the classes, the haves and the have-nots. There will only be rich people and poor people. The middle class is becoming a memory. It is going the way of the dinosaur, extinct. While we are focusing on race relations, there are powers that are moving towards putting all of us poor people, regardless of color, in these two categories, rich and/or poor. We need to wake up, people. Our fears are being used against us and we are being misinformed everyday to convince us that wrong is right. If we don’t have the right sense to know any better we will regret it later. Yeah, I said it. Some folks would want a race war, but it won’t work. There are still too many from all sides that will fight together. We will always remember that we are one nation, indivisible, under God! Even if it means that it is necessary for the Federal Government to reinforce it!

TEMPERatureS Are Rising!!!

It’s getting hotter every summer. But of course, it’s not due to global warming. (Hint of Sarcasm). We’re having extraordinary weather and storms but global warming doesn’t have a thing to do with it. We’re having some flash floods and wind storms with tornado force but again who’s to say they are happening because of global warming. So many people criticized and laughed at Al Gore about global warming and conserving our natural resources that if all of these catastrophes were the effect they wouldn’t accept global warming as the cause. So you know that they wouldn’t believe that God might be trying to tell us something. Of course, when temperatures rise in the summer, so do peoples’ tempers. Our impatience increases and attitudes heighten to the point where it seems we just don’t care. We have to work on this by working on ourselves. In the meantime, the smallest incident can provoke us to a major temper tantrum. Relationships go south, friendships explode, and social discourse takes a back to seat to quick tempers. I will always believe that there are more people willing to work together and encourage each other than those who prefer total separation of the classes and races. It is inevitable that all people will live side by side in harmony and peace because it is written and said by our Lord and God. There will always be those who hate and only see things their way. There is nothing that can be done about it. Ever since the devil entered Eden mankind changed for the worse, but it will never last forever just as we won’t. Everything that has been said philosophically by me is my own opinion. This includes religious, social and racial tolerance and political views. We all must make individual choices on what is right for us even though some of those choices can be wrong. We must still, if we believe, hold on to our faith, and to always include God in our decisions. I believe that whenever we keep Him first in our lives, he will always lead us in the right direction.

The Absolute Power of Negative News!!!

  Andrew Breitbart

By now everyone who has a TV has heard about the mistreatment of Shirley Sherrod, former employee of the US Department of Agriculture. A doctored videotape by an extreme right wing conservative, Andrew Breitbart, was sent to Fox News Network that created a giant wildfire comparable to California’s disasters. It managed to propel an innocent, gentle woman to the forefront of racial injustice and disparity. In his desire to discredit the NAACP, Breitbart almost ruined this woman’s reputation. Thank God she was the right one that he chose. This woman truly had God as her defense! Breitbart failed on so many levels. He wanted to prove that the NAACP was racist instead of the Tea Party. He tried to hide the fact that he is part of that group that want to keep America divided and return to the 50s. He tried to hide the fact that this woman at age 17, father was killed by a white farmer full of pure racial hatred. A woman later in life found in her heart to help all poor people not just black and white. I don’t have to go over the whole story, you already know how it goes. It’s shameful that Breitbart didn’t bother with a true apology to this woman who was used as a scapegoat. It’s embarrassing that our first Black President is reluctant to speak out against race relations because the country is now so sensitive that our elected officials are afraid of not getting reelected. Racism is not going away, people. It’s like the color of your skin, it’s not going anywhere. We can treat our skin, darken it, even lighten it, but we will still be the same person. We need to look in the mirror. It’s disgusting that these same officials on both sides of the aisle are not trying to represent all of the people, just the ones who yell the loudest. Please understand that I know that you don’t have to agree with any President’s policies. I also have enough common sense to know that it doesn’t make you a racist because you don’t agree. But there are some people hiding like cowards behind these smoke screens who are afraid to admit the truth. The truth will prevail. Lies and negative news travel fast. The past 48 hours were filled with nothing but the bad news. The power of mainstream media is absolute until we stop believing everything we see and hear. There are few such as Keith Olbermann & Rachel Maddow, who are not afraid of Fox or their bosses at MSNBC. The rest of the news stations bow before Fox, they must be afraid of the label liberal. Frankly, I credit the media with a lot of this racial division and political polling every other day. They seem to want to keep crap going. I have never seen so many polls taken about this current president. Yet, not one time has anyone polling agency asked my anything.

 Here is an excerpt from Seattle Times News:

*Conservative Andrew Breitbart on Monday posted a 2 ½-minute snippet of Shirley Sherrod's 43-minute NAACP speech on his website, BigGovernment.com.

*Fox News Channel then began its pursuit of Sherrod in prime time Monday night on three successive opinion shows that reached at least 3 million people.

*Leading off, Bill O'Reilly asked on his top-rated program, "Is there racism in the Department of   Agriculture?" He discussed the tape, plugged Breitbart's website and demanded that Sherrod resign  immediately. By the time O'Reilly's remarks, taped in the afternoon, were broadcast, Sherrod had resigned.

*Next up, Sean Hannity treated the resignation as breaking news. He played a short part of what he called   the "shocking" video from Breitbart and later discussed the development with a panel of guests, mentioning the NAACP's recent accusations of racism within the conservative tea-party movement.

*Fox's 7 p.m. show also covered the resignation as breaking news (Sherrod says Fox never tried to contact her before running the video clip repeatedly Monday).

*By Tuesday, Sherrod's forced resignation was the talk of cable-television news.

Side Note: The earlier footage of an undercover sting of an ACORN office, was even more flawed. The undercover operatives, James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, heavily edited their footage, implying they dressed as a pimp and prostitute when they went to seek financial advice on their illicit activities from ACORN employees. But they actually never wore such flamboyant attire to the ACORN office. He and Giles are now facing civil suits from ACORN employees.

They lied but more importantly the mainstream media didn’t want to follow that up.  Just like now.  Is America afraid to confront racism?  Post-racial society is not here just because a black president was elected.  Whether he spends only one term, it was still more than expected for just being elected.  It's not the right against the left, it's the far right against change.  I applaud Lindsey Graham for reaching across the aisles despite his party's politics of obstruction.  Change can not take place if you want to keep the status quo.

All I can ask is that those of you that really care for a positive, united progression for our nation, pray to our God for strength and maintain hope in our leaders to represent all Americans.

When Race-Baiting Backfires: Mishandling Shirley Sherrod!

Oops, it looks like somebody pulled the hood over everybody’s eyes! The extremes people are willing to go through just to make someone look bad. Well, if you dig a grave for your enemy, dig two, you’ll need one for yourself. As I said before, there are groups out here in this nation willing to sacrifice all to destroy this country. Harmony and peace is not in their vocabulary. Polarize, divide, and separate from within is worse than the terrorists we are fighting internationally. This stinks from Willie Horton days and the heinous act of Timothy McVeigh. Yep, Rush, Glenn & others are the front men but somebody, somewhere is paying. Bizarre that Glenn actually defended Ms. Sherrod. One thing for sure, Fox won’t apologize! "The politics of fear cannot overwhelm the politics of truth, and she has truth on her side." J. Jackson.

Vonetta McGee, Film and TV Actress, Dies at 69!

Vonetta died on July 9 in Berkeley, Calif. She played in “Blacula”, “Shaft in Africa”, “Eiger Sanction”, “Thomasine & Bushrod”, “Melinda”, “Hammer”, “Brothers”, “Repo Man”, “To Sleep with Anger”, and “Hell Town.” Don’t get her confused with Lonette McKee who played in “Sparkle.” Vonetta was 65. There seems to be an error in her birthdate. She was born on January 6 or the 14th, 1940. That would make her 69. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. Rest In Peace, Ms McGee.

Honorable mention also goes out to James Gammon, who passed yesterday.  He was 70.  You might remember him from the baseball movie, "Major League."  He was the gravel-voiced coach.  Rest in Peace, Mr. Gammon.

Resegregation: Now Or Later?

In a June 15, 2010 photo, North Carolina chapter NAACP President Rev. William Barber is escorted from the Wake County Schools board room in handcuffs by Raleigh Police after he was arrested for staging a sit-in with three other activists during a recess of the board's meeting. The Wake County Board of Education's decision to scrap a much-praised busing-for-diversity program has sparked a public backlash not seen for decades in these parts.

It is discouraging to see how some adults can act stupid but question their children’s behaviors. They wonder where the kids picked up that kind of language and actions because they couldn’t have learned it from home. They don’t realize that children watch what adults don’t do, too! I hear some parents say that they don’t tolerate racism or bigotry in their home but will not speak out against injustice. Currently, the argument is whether or not Tea Party activists or racists. I’m sure not all of them are, the majority is mostly white and there are opportunists in every race that use organizations as a front for their own hidden agendas. My question is this. Have people really forgotten the reason why so many black organizations, newspapers and functions were formed? Do they realize that Blacks were not admitted to any mainstream America organizations simply because they were black? Cotillions, parades, magazines, contests, restaurants, and etc., were not opened to blacks, so we developed our own. Segregation was wrong because not all schools had equal access to finest educational material available. The black teachers made do with what they had and I think they did a helluva job with what little was available to them and teaching us in subpar conditions. They didn’t put up with the foolishness we now see at schools. Integration brought on busing. Kids were leaving their neighborhoods to attend school across town even though their old school was right down the street. Wouldn’t it had been cheaper to improve the schools and improve the technology, give the teachers higher salaries and upgrade the books than buy buses and maintain them enough to haul kids across town? Now 50 years later, resegregation is gaining ground and ground zero is in Raleigh, NC. Black and White Americans couldn’t predict that when integration cracked segregated walls, there were bound to be some fallout. It could expand opportunities for jobs and improve black children’s access to quality education. Common sense would dictate sending your child to the closest school, it’s practical safer and cheaper. The problem is how much better is your school in your area? Low income neighborhoods may not get the funding and support they need to better equip their children for school and technical vocations. Let’s stay away from the stereotypical labeling expected from low socioeconomic upbringing because not everyone is the same. So what’s normally the color of the majority in poor neighborhoods and the majority in affluent neighborhoods? We all know if you live in an affluent area, you’re going to ensure you have all your needs met without going to far to find them. What we as a people need to know that if people don’t want to be around you, why be around them? You don’t have to spend your money to prove to people that you got it. It hurts more when you don’t do business with them and spend it in their stores. What concerns me more are the code words for state’s rights and sovereign statehood. I lived in the 60s and these ultra-right conservative politicians want to take us back to it. Don’t vote on party lines, vote for what’s right for all Americans.

Thoughts from Rev. Ben Colley

Rev brought me some insight on his sermons. You’d need to be there to get the full effect! The subject was on people are looking for a word. I’ll try to give you a picture of what he’s saying. Wall Street is waiting on the government, the government is waiting on each other, BP is waiting for a solution, the people in La are waiting for an answer and Main Street is waiting for jobs and hope. People are like cars, running out of gas and just about ready to stop. So he presented 4 principles to think about while Jesus was in the boat during the storm. The first, Jesus was in the boat with the apostles sleeping while a terrible storm raged about them. It frightened the apostles so bad that they woke up the Son of God. All He said was, “Peace be still.” Immediately the storm ended. The premise is recognizing the external conditions. The apostles didn’t have control over the storm but God does. The second, Jesus asked them, “Where is thou faith?” He addressed their internal conditions. Before I go further, you have to ask yourself, if you had Jesus with you would you worry about anything? The third, Jesus told Peter, “I have overcome the world.” He was speaking to Peter about the future. He had taken the power out of failures. The fourth, Jesus said, “Believe in me.” Yes, you can see the utility bills, the doctors’ bills, credit cards, and all things physical, but you can’t see Jesus. Where do we go from here? I only touched on Rev’s sermon. I can’t do him justice except to recommend that you hear him.  He keeps The Word simple to understand!

You Should Have Stood Up Sooner, Bob!

Former South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis says too many Republican leaders are going along with what he calls a poisonous "demagoguery" that threatens the party's long-term credibility.


Inglis was defeated in the Republican primary last month by Spartanburg prosecutor Trey Gowdy. Inglis says that approach is dividing the country into partisan camps, making it difficult for people to work together and find solutions to problems.

I don’t see a problem with anyone’s political affiliation or loyalties, it’s their choice. The problem is allowing that loyalty to overwhelm the heart for the few and forsake the many. Both of our nation’s parties are polarizing the nation. Hate speech and untruths are flooding the airwaves and only the truth-seekers will not be convinced or persuaded unless they did deeper into the “hearsay.” Some will say Inglis is a bitter, sore loser, others will say he should have said it while in office. Both could be right, but at least he did say it. It does matter to stand up for your constituency as their representative. You might sacrifice the “good life” and connections in the election but right is right. You’re not just looking out for your special interest groups who can pay you to speak up for them, you’re looking out for the people who don’t have anyone speak out for them. In the meantime, we can watch our nation literally split in two, while those that wanted this will sit back and continue to sow the seeds of strife and discontent.

Am I Giving God The Proper Respect?

I’ve been thinking about this for some time and have been very objective with my answer. My answer is no, I’m not giving God proper respect. I’ve been developing a relationship with Him so that when I do enter valleys, I know that He is with me. My intentions are to praise Him in the good times and in the bad. God won’t take you so far and then leave you. If anything, we leave Him. But back to my answer on respect. I’d like to think of myself as a Christian but sometimes in this life I’m living, I’m not always being Christ-like. To respect God, I must begin with myself and then my fellow man. The dilemma is knowing exactly what respect is. One of Webster’s definition of respect is: To take notice of; to regard with special attention; to regard as worthy of special consideration; hence, to care for; to heed. Again, I ask, am I giving God the proper respect according to this definition? If respect is towards another means this, then I’m not even a tenth of the way towards giving God respect and honor. I must be still care careful not to confuse respect with obedience even though they both go hand in hand in honoring God. Choices, choices, choices. My choice is simple. Joshua 24:15.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Rawl!!

Mr. Rawl & Grands (Undated Photo)

Frances L. Rawl was murdered Tuesday by a young thug who thought it would be easy to rob a 91-year old man. Police say 18-year-old Jesse Ray Lane was arrested at his home in Hopkins around 8:30pm Wednesday. Rawl's grandson, Les Rawl, says he got worried when Rawl didn't show up for work at the family business. Les found the body inside the house. I met Mr. Rawl in 1975. I had moved off campus from USC and worked part-time at WLTX on third shift. The duplexes were close to the TV station furnished and cheap. I could walk to work, which I did. Mr. Rawl and his sister Elizabeth were two of the kindest people you could meet. Why either of them lived on the property in one of the duplexes, we may never know. One thing was for certain, they didn’t have to. They had the money but they chose to live a humble and modest life. He didn’t talk much of his past or family. I knew that he was a former legislator and worked at a golf course. I didn’t know that he owned it! He didn’t drive a fancy car and Ms. Rawl walked everywhere. As landlords, they really cared about the tenants. So if you had a backed up toilet, other problems or even wanted to borrow the lawnmower, they took care of you. Ms. Rawl departed years ago. I pray for the family and Jesse Lane. God bless us all.

Happy Independence Day!!!

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by 12 of 13 colonies (New York not voting) on July 4, 1776, but wasn't actually signed by all the delegates until August 2, 1776. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and member of the Committee of Five died on July 4, 1826.  John Adams, not very liked, also a committee member, died on the same day.

In a famous clause that was ultimately deleted from the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson cited the African slave trade as one of the examples of British oppression. Jefferson refers to the English government's repeated vetoes of attempts by colonial legislatures to restrict or halt the import of slaves. Virginia, especially, had profited from a great natural increase in its slave population and had no desire for a further slave "surplus" or for competition with its own profit of selling slaves to South Carolina and Georgia. By including only three-fifths of the total numbers of slaves into the congressional calculations, Southern states were actually being denied additional pro-slavery representatives in Congress. While there were a few Founding Fathers who were pro-slavery, the truth is that it was the Founders who were responsible for planting and nurturing the first seeds for the recognition of black equality and for the eventual end of slavery.

The 56 men who signed this important document in American history had only one man who signed it on July 4th. John Hancock, whose name appears above and larger than all the other names.  The names of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence were kept secret by the colonists for almost a year, because the British government had offered a $2,500 reward for those men’s names, considering them guilty of high treason, a crime punishable by death!  What a price for freedom, giving up everything that you loved for a cause that you believed in heart and soul.

HBO ran a series on John Adams this past weekend. It was as close to the History Channel as can get. I really enjoyed it, maybe because I did go to Independence Hall a few months ago and imagined what it was like. The mural above, by John Trumbull, was not liked at all by John Adams because he said it was false. The members were not always together at one time and they were all not very peaceful!

Is It Heritage Or Something Else?

A picture is worth a thousand words. It can speak to your mind and massage your soul. I’ll let this picture speak for itself.

Out With The Old, In With The New!!!

The Gamecocks win in the College World Series over shadowed the quiet but historical inauguration of Columbia, South Carolina’s first black mayor, Steve Benjamin. He was sworn in by the first black federal judge, Matthew Perry. Major Benjamin replaces Major Bob Coble after twenty years. I foresee a day that people will not be described by their color as a signature of firsts. I might not live to see it but that day will come. He has some unifying goals that would be nice if implemented. The majority of the people in this city is tired of the same old system and would like to see some positive changes occur. I wish the best for our city’s new major.