Happy New Year, 2014!

A new year is coming! Choose to  let go of what was, learn from the experience and focus on what can be!   To your future!  May it be the best yet to come!

Have A Blessed and Safe Christmas! Merry Christmas!

There are many people stressing at this time of year for many reasons.  Some financially, some lonely, some experiencing a past or recent loss and others for unknown reasons.  We must still try our best to focus on the reason for the season.  Yes, Christmas has been commercialized, but we don't have to buy into the commercialism.  We don't need to stress out for getting the right gifts for those special someones or wanting the right gift.  Our gifts for each other are from the heart not the wallet.  The greatest gift was given to us to receive eternal life.  How great can God's love be for us? We must do our best to be patient and understanding towards each other not just during the holidays but throughout the year.  It's not easy, believe me, I know!  But we can try.  I wish you all the very best for the new year.

How Great Is Our God!

Driving to work this morning gave me time to think how blessed I am.  Despite the heavy traffic and rain, I reminisced about how much I miss my mother.  There is not a day that I don’t think about her.  I am so grateful to God that I had so much time with her. I am sure there are so many others that feel the very same about their love ones, too.  I find it more amazing that I think of my brother every day, also.  I know that we were not that close in our younger days but since my mom’s transition, I pray for his welfare and safety everyday.  As I get older, I find God’s presence in my life more than ever.  Since, my elevator experience, my friend has given me so much insight on the power of faith that I have to smile to myself and get teary-eyed when I think of her unrequited love for and unwavering faith in God.  How great is our God?  Greater than our faith and beyond any description that we can find words or descriptions for.  Christmas and Easter were two of my mother's favorite holiday seasons!  She loved them all that celebrated the love of God but these two were very special to her.  I will pay homage to her by seeking the real reasons for the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  Maybe, I'll be a better man doing so.

Rest In Peace, Nelson Mandala!

I can use a lot more words but we've heard a lot of accolades and praise for the man who was down but got up, forgave and became the first Black President of South Africa!  What more can be said?  Faith is the key! Believing in something you can't see but know that it will happen!

Cloud Atlas - Live Piano - Mark Fowler!

Interesting movie and casting!  The sound seems to stay with you!

Never Forget Their Ultimate Sacrifice!

Veterans Day has come and gone and for some already forgotten!  Men and women who supported this country with military service are not treated as the heroes they are.  Instead, many lose their dignity, respect, and ability to find sustaining jobs because of ill-effects from the war.  What they have seen, felt and lost will never be replaced with a thank you for your service comment.  I'm not diminishing that statement, I'm saying that because most civilians appreciate what these survivors have done.  I am deeply concerned that many of our politicians can do more for our military but instead give them lip service.  At times, some VA doctors have been treating combat PTSD vets with more medication than treating the psychological problem.  I could talk more about this but it would continue to fall on deft ears.  Our military men and women deserve more!  Remember:  All gave some but some gave all!

Happy Birthday, Mom! God Be With You, Brother!

God Is In Control!

My mom's birthday is on October 21st.  She would have been 83 since her transition.  My brother is having major surgery that day.  I love them both!  God is merciful and has everything under control.  HE knows what HE doing and no one can do it better!  To God give the glory!

Grandstanding? No way!

14 days on government shutdown and the sleaze is oozing.

Cherish Our Love Ones!

Lord, we need you now more than ever.  You are calling our elders home.  You know what is best for them and there is no more suffering but peace and praise with you!

RIP, Ms. Essie Middleton!

Funeral service for Mrs. Essie Thomas Middleton will be held 1:00 p.m. Thursday at Zion Canaan Baptist Church, with burial in Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens. Wake service will be held this evening, beginning at 7:00, at Apostolic Church of Christ, 1041 Prescott Road. McCollom-Myers Mortuary & Cremation Service, 5003 Rhett Street. Surviving are her sons, James, Anthony and Sam Middleton; daughters, Mozelle Holloway, Pearline Livingston, Sandra Robinson and Marjorie Middleton; and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and other loving relatives and friends.  God bless you!

RIP, Mr. Willie "Son" Irby, Jr!

Services for Mr. Willie Irby, Jr., will be held 11AM Friday, October 11, 2013 at Palmer Memorial Chapel with burial to follow in Ft. Jackson National Cemetery. The family will receive friends this evening from 6-7 at Palmer Memorial Chapel. Mr. Irby died on October 7, 2013. Born in Orangeburg, SC, he was the son of the late Annie Stenson and Willie Irby, Sr. Mr. Irby was a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in 1950, attended Benedict College and served his country honorable in the United States Army. Mr. Irby is surviving a son, Lester (Patricia) Irby, daughters Beverly Irby and Doris Irby Drayton, three grandchildren Lester Boykins, Davielle and Dominique Drayton, one great granddaughter Mariella Boykins and other loving relatives and friends.  God bless you and the family!

This Is A Hate Crime!

This is another act of stupidity and people gone wild.  An innocent soldier celebrating the end of his service with his friends was attacked and killed because he was white.  The police in Lakewood, Washington reported that black men in a car yelled “cracker” repeated as the soldiers were walking along the sidewalk.  The two groups confronted each other but the report stated that the driver called it off after learning the soldiers were combat veterans.  But, one jerk wanted to be bad and stabbed Army Specialist Tevin Geike as they were leaving.  Not only are soldiers sacrificing their lives for our freedom everyday, we have jerks like this taking their sacrifices for our freedom for granted.  I still believe that the draft for military service should be reinstated.  It should be for all dropouts from the ages of 17-19 and mandatory for that same age group even if they have found a stabile career.  Shameful.  This country has enough problems already between the races and it seems to get worse everyday.

Wish U Were Here - Jamie Fox Live!

Day Three of the Government Shutdown!

What can I say?  Americans are held hostage by fellow Americans.  Rather than move forward towards progress, a few elected ultracons, backed by extremely rich folks, would rather keep everyone in the past.  It is amazing that if one lies enough, others will believe it as the truth.  Faux News is not telling the truth so they always resort to blame the liberal media.  I thought liberal meant being free, understanding and humanistic.  I guess aliens of some sort invaded that network.  It is a shame that they believe their own deceitful and divisive language.  It goes to show that everyone has a price.  Americans are still losing their jobs. The shutdown takes away even more from the economy.  No more visits to the Whitehouse and parks can not be worse than people being fed, losing their income and receiving healthcare.

RIP, Ms. Elease Price!

Mrs. Elease Harrison Price, 84, of 1501 Lorick Ave., Columbia, died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Palmetto Richland Hospital following an extended illness.  The Homegoing services for Mrs. Elease Harrison Price will be 1 p.m., Monday, October 7, 2013 at Saint Stephens United Methodist Church in Orangeburg, SC with burial in the Church Cemetery. Mrs. Elease Harrison Price was born to the late James and Annie S. Johnson Harrison on September 12, 1929 in Wolfton, South Carolina. At an early age she joined St. Stephen United Methodist Church where she attended faithfully. She shared her love of cooking and baking with family, friends, neighbors and children. She leaves to cherish fond memories, one son Eddie C. (Sandra) Harrison, one daughter Dorothy P. (Edward) Bates of Columbia, SC; a special nephew Bobby (Elizabeth) Mack; one brother, Edgar Clifton Harrison of Orangeburg, SC; five Grandchildren; six Great Grandchildren; and a host of special nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends who will miss her dearly.

Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestate/obituary.aspx?n=elease-harrison-price&pid=167390188&fhid=23110#storylink=cpy

Choose Wisely!

Choose Wisely!

Dr. King's Eulogy for the Young Bombing Victims 9/18/1963!

Eulogy For The Young Victims
Of The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
September 18, 1963, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama

[Delivered at funeral service for three of the children -
Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley - killed in the bombing.
A separate service was held for the fourth victim, Carole Robertson.]

This afternoon we gather in the quiet of this sanctuary to pay our last tribute of respect to these beautiful children of God. They entered the stage of history just a few years ago, and in the brief years that they were privileged to act on this mortal stage, they played their parts exceedingly well. Now the curtain falls; they move through the exit; the drama of their earthly life comes to a close. They are now committed back to that eternity from which they came.

These children-unoffending, innocent, and beautiful-were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.

And yet they died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity. And so this afternoon in a real sense they have something to say to each of us in their death. They have something to say to every minister of the gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows. They have something to say to every politician [Audience:] (Yeah) who has fed his constituents with the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism. They have something to say to a federal government that has compromised with the undemocratic practices of southern Dixiecrats (Yeah) and the blatant hypocrisy of right-wing northern Republicans. (Speak) They have something to say to every Negro (Yeah) who has passively accepted the evil system of segregation and who has stood on the sidelines in a mighty struggle for justice. They say to each of us, black and white alike, that we must substitute courage for caution. They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers. Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream.

And so my friends, they did not die in vain. (Yeah) God still has a way of wringing good out of evil. (Oh yes) And history has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is redemptive. The innocent blood of these little girls may well serve as a redemptive force (Yeah) that will bring new light to this dark city. (Yeah) The holy Scripture says, "A little child shall lead them." (Oh yeah) The death of these little children may lead our whole Southland (Yeah) from the low road of man's inhumanity to man to the high road of peace and brotherhood. (Yeah, Yes) These tragic deaths may lead our nation to substitute an aristocracy of character for an aristocracy of color. The spilled blood of these innocent girls may cause the whole citizenry of Birmingham (Yeah) to transform the negative extremes of a dark past into the positive extremes of a bright future. Indeed this tragic event may cause the white South to come to terms with its conscience. (Yeah)

And so I stand here to say this afternoon to all assembled here, that in spite of the darkness of this hour (Yeah Well), we must not despair. (Yeah, Well) We must not become bitter (Yeah, That's right), nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence. No, we must not lose faith in our white brothers. (Yeah, Yes) Somehow we must believe that the most misguided among them can learn to respect the dignity and the worth of all human personality.

May I now say a word to you, the members of the bereaved families? It is almost impossible to say anything that can console you at this difficult hour and remove the deep clouds of disappointment which are floating in your mental skies. But I hope you can find a little consolation from the universality of this experience. Death comes to every individual. There is an amazing democracy about death. It is not aristocracy for some of the people, but a democracy for all of the people. Kings die and beggars die; rich men and poor men die; old people die and young people die. Death comes to the innocent and it comes to the guilty. Death is the irreducible common denominator of all men.

I hope you can find some consolation from Christianity's affirmation that death is not the end. Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days.

Now I say to you in conclusion, life is hard, at times as hard as crucible steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. (Yeah, Yes) Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. (Yeah) And if one will hold on, he will discover that God walks with him (Yeah, Well), and that God is able (Yeah, Yes) to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.

And so today, you do not walk alone. You gave to this world wonderful children. [moans] They didn't live long lives, but they lived meaningful lives. (Well) Their lives were distressingly small in quantity, but glowingly large in quality. (Yeah) And no greater tribute can be paid to you as parents, and no greater epitaph can come to them as children, than where they died and what they were doing when they died. (Yeah) They did not die

in the dives and dens of Birmingham (Yeah, Well), nor did they die discussing and listening to filthy jokes. (Yeah) They died between the sacred walls of the church of God (Yeah, Yes), and they were discussing the eternal meaning (Yes) of love. This stands out as a beautiful, beautiful thing for all generations. (Yes) Shakespeare had Horatio to say some beautiful words as he stood over the dead body of Hamlet. And today, as I stand over the remains of these beautiful, darling girls, I paraphrase the words of Shakespeare: (Yeah, Well): Good night, sweet princesses. Good night, those who symbolize a new day. (Yeah, Yes) And may the flight of angels (That's right) take thee to thy eternal rest. God bless you.

50 Year Anniversary of the Church Bombing!

Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images  

Robert Chambliss - Burton Mcneely/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

The Four Innocents- AP Photo/The Birmingham News

On Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Ala., at 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Of the nearly 200 congregants inside, attending Sunday school classes and preparing for the 11 a.m. service, about 22 were injured. But perhaps most notably, four little innocent girls -- three 14-year-olds and one 11-year-old -- were killed, putting the bombing among the most well-known and most heartbreaking tragedies in the fight for civil rights in America's Deep South.  At what cost is hatred and bigotry?  Even now the question remains are black lives less valuable than others?  And from whose perspective?  50 years have passed and we still don't know the answers.

In 1963, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley died in a war they didn't fully understand, and died unnecessarily due to hatred.  Three of the four suspects responsible for the bombing were convicted. Two died in prison, Robert Chambliss, BobbyFrank Cherry and ThomasE. Blanton, Jr. is still in prison. In 1977, Robert “Dynamite Bob” Chambliss was convicted of murder or the bombing and sentenced to life terms of imprisonment.  He died in 1985.

Not more than seven hours after the bombing, two more people died, a sixteen year old and a thirteen year old.  They were shot by the police.  Young lives who have just begun to live. William Faulkner had it right: in the south, he once wrote, "the past is never dead. It isn't even past."

RIP, Mr. William Davis!

William Davis, Jr., 88, 1401 S. McDuffie St., passed away on August 11, 2013, at AnMed Health. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran. He is survived by his children, Qualma Davis Green, Leon B. Davis, Quinton E. Davis, Allen S. Davis; a host of grandchildren; two sisters, Christine Bussey and Bernell Winfield; and one brother, Charles Davis. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bernelle Singleton Davis; parents, Willie and Annie Lou Watson Davis; one son, William E. Davis; and two sisters, Wilma Reed and Vivan Edwards.

The funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, August 17, 2013, at St. Mary's Catholic Church. 

September 11, 2013!

Do you remember where you were September 11, 2001?  Do you remember the tragedies?  Do you remember what you did and what was said?  Continue to pray for the victims' families and the unity of this great nation.

I'll Cover You! Not From the Original Movie!

This is a beautiful song from another version of Rent!  Not song in the bass version as the original actors, but still touching.  Angel's funeral is inside a church which seems more profound.  We seem to have a lot to say after they are gone.  It is almost like remembering what should have been said or just realizing what should have been said.  Losing a loved one still leaves an emptiness that can't be filled.  Grief can be so painful. We have to consider to serenity they have transitioned to. Love while you can, my brothers and sisters, but keep God first in the equation.

Another Unknown Hero!

Few people have about James Hampton. I stumble across the name and his works myself.  Whatever reason people are kept in obscurity, we may never know.  But there are so many people that has contributed to this world one way or another that their value may not be important to the masses.  Yet, all of us are valuable to someone!

James Hampton was born in 1909 in Elloree, South Carolina, a small community of predominantly African-American sharecroppers and tenant farmers.  He died in 1964 in Washington, DC.  His father was a gospel singer and self-ordained Baptist minister who left his wife and four children to pursue the call to spread the word.

In 1928, when he was nineteen, Hampton moved to Washington, D.C., to live with an older brother Lee. Drafted into the Army in 1942, he served with a segregated unit that maintained airstrips in Saipan and Guam during World War II. Hampton returned to Washington in 1945, and began working a year later as a janitor for the General Services Administration. James Hampton died of stomach cancer in 1964. Although he expressed interest in finding "a holy woman," to assist with his life’s work he never married and had few close friends.

Hampton was raised as a fundamentalist Baptist, but he disliked the concept of a denominational God and attended a variety of the city’s churches. As early as 1931, Hampton believed that he began receiving visions from God, and by 1945 it appears he had made one small, shrine-like object while stationed on Guam. This piece became part of his larger work, and is now placed in front of the center pulpit.  

His work on The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly probably began in earnest around 1950, when he rented a garage in his northwest Washington neighborhood, which was also the city's center of African-American business, religious, and night life.  He had emblazoned the words Fear Not above the central throne. The complete work consists of a total of 180 objects that were donated anonymously to the SmithsonianAmerican Art Museum in 1970. Many of them were inscribed with words from the Book of Revelation. The objects on the right side of the central throne appear to refer to the New Testament; those on the left side, to the Old Testament.

Although a humble man, Hampton often referred to himself as "St. James." He gave himself the title of "Director, Special Projects for the State of Eternity."  He may have considered himself a prophet like John, the author of The Book of Revelation, the biblical writing that inspired Hampton's belief in the Second Coming of Christ and his desire to build The Throne as a monument to the return of Christ to earth.

Hampton worked almost every day on his project, often starting his work at midnight after completing his janitorial duties. He continued his efforts until he died in 1964. The Throne was discovered and brought to the public's attention after his death by the owner of the garage he wanted to find out why the rent was not paid. It is most likely Hampton's monument to his faith might not be completely finished.  For 14 years, Hampton had been building a throne out of various old materials like aluminum and gold foil, old furniture, various pieces of cardboard, old light bulbs, shards of mirror and old desk blotters.  Amazingly, he had pinned it together with tacks, glue, pins and tape.

What I found interesting is his notebook titled St. James: The Book of the 7 Dispensation. Most of the text had been written in an unknown script that remains undeciphered. The text is available online and has been the subject of research.  Some of this text, however, had been accompanied by notes in English. In Hampton's writing, for example, he used the title "Director, Special Projects for the State of Eternity" and ended each page with the word "Revelation." Hampton had also written texts, some of which refer to religious visions, on various pieces of paper and cardboard and on a few pages in each of seven other notebooks.

RIP, Elder Cephas Jackson, Jr!

Prayer Works!

We do need you now, Lord!  Prayer Warriors, we have a lot to pray for, don’t we?  Sometimes we pray for ourselves, friends and family.  We pray for ourselves when faced with issues that we don’t want anyone to know about or when things are not going our way.  We pray for family and friends when it seems that they have gotten off the right path.  (As if we know what path they should stay on.  God’s ways are not our ways.)  There are so many people that we don’t know, but still need our spiritual support.  The enemy is doing all that is within his power to destroy and kill our relationship with God.  We find ourselves alone, sometimes, fighting battles that only God can help us conquer.  We get weak from the fight and focus on how big the problem is instead of how big our God is.  Remember, no matter what we face in life, we must keep a firm grip on God’s Hand.  It’s not Him that lets go, it’s us.  My angel is opening my eyes more and more but gives it all to the glory of God.  My brothers and sisters in Christ, when two or more are joined together in prayer, we can shake this world.  If you happen to read this blog, directly or indirectly, stop and say a short prayer, boldly asking the Lord to bless our fellow man with faith, love, patience, self-control, good health and abundance.  I know one thing.  God is always on time!  It may not be the time we want but He is always on time.  Do not give up!  Stay on the battlefield.  Help is coming!

50 Years Anniversary - I Have A Dream Speech!

 The final refrain of Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speech will echo around the world on Wednesday, August 28, 2013, at 3:00 pm,  as bells from churches, schools and historical monuments "let freedom ring" in celebration of a powerful moment in civil rights history.  The walk on Washington is being conducted as it was 50 years ago by all Americans who supported civil rights.

Turning Around for Me (Live) - VaShawn Mitchell!

Ride For My Team – Dinobrite Productions!

This is Gamecock Country!

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New International Version (NIV))

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!

God’s On Your Side – Andrae Couch!

"Already Done" - Margaret P. Douroux & The Heritage Mass Choir!

Faith can change things!  But it changes the believer most of all! Glory to God!  We all are going through struggles and when we look back, we wondered how did we get through!  Nobody but God brought us through!

The Verdict Is In – Not Guilty!

What did you expect?  Too many factors, too many biases, too many opinions shaped this trial of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman from the beginning.  The trial seemed to me that the victim was the oppressor and the oppressor was the victim.  Isn't that the current culture we seemed to be facing?  Minorities despite where you live and how they are dressed are still considered threats to society. It doesn't matter if you hold the title of President of the United States, as a minority you are a threat to the very life of this nation!  This is another polarizing trial meant to maintain the country’s segregation of the races.

It’s time we faced the racial separation in this country and have a candid, honest talk about it.  I don’t care if you married across racial lines; I don’t want to hear you say that you married one of the good ones. A segment of any population can cause stereotypes.  The penal system might house a majority of minority population, but for what reasons?  White collar crimes suffer less time and punishment than being arrested for carrying 2 joints and/or a nickel bag.

Why are we running away from a national racial discussion?  Zimmerman said that “they always get away.”  Well, Trayvon didn’t.  How many non-minorities walked that neighborhood and were never considered to me a threat to Zimmerman?  How many got away?  Zimmerman was not held accountable.

They are some complex variables that are working behind the scenes and the voters are not noticing until it’s too late.  Haven’t you noticed Congress’ actions that they are not listening to the voices of America.  They are only paying attention to the constituents in their district because they reapportioned (gerrymandered) the lines that support ultra-conservative viewpoints.  Don’t ask how they got away with it, they did it in full view while many apathetic voters sat at home.  You don’t vote, you don’t have a say.  There is a push to change laws back to the old days such as changing Voting Laws.  Reform the Immigration law but in the process let’s keep them from being a part of America until hidden agendas are obtained.  Look at how the Ultra-cons are treating women and their rights now.  What is going on?

Look at this way.  The devil knows that his time is short but his aim is to kill and destroy.  If you leave the door open to your heart.  He will enter, tear it to shreds, and have you believe that it was the right thing to do.  You didn’t do anything to stop him, slow him down, or looked to God for help.  Now that everything is turned upside down, you are still wondering what happened.  We went to sleep while the devil never sleeps.

We are directing our anger at the wrong people.  Has anyone paid attention to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)?  ALEC is an American organization composed of legislators, businesses, and foundations which produces model legislation for state legislatures and promotes free-markets, limited government, and federalism at the state level.  In other words, these groups support states sovereignty.  Give power back to the states, keep the government out an let the state make the laws.  We are already seeing the effects.  It’s amazing that the many of the members of ALEC are the same businesses that we consumers support everyday. Examples, AOL, AT&T, BP, Charter Communications, DirecTV, Dow Chemical, DuPont, EBay, Fedex, Koch Industries, Taser International, Time Warner, UPS, Verizon, Visa and a large list of people we do business with and laugh at us after they got the money.

For decades, ALEC has been a conduit for the oil, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries to push legislation that changes the rules to limit accountability when a corporation’s products or actions cause injury or death -such as when a Koch Industries pipeline explodes and kills teenagers, or when the tobacco or pharmaceutical industries withhold evidence that their products are dangerous.

Cooler heads most prevail.  We must look at the overall picture and not let tunnel vision act out our emotions.  Diversion and distraction are a few common methods used by the media to cause or maintain confusion.  They are designed to misinform and keep the people off balance even to the point of polarization.  Race is always a hot topic, it provokes deep-seated emotions and arguments but not enough for all us to sit down and discuss.  We can get too sensitive sometimes, but it’s better to talk about our differences and understand each other.  

If the media truly cared what is happening among races in America, it will also write about possible solutions, it would cover more on the homicides in Detroit and Chicago.  From January 1^st to the 4^th of July 2013, 200 homicides have taken place.  In 2012, there were an overall number of 500 shootings.  I question if the media is concerned at all about black on black crimes when there seems to more interest in the racial aspect of the crime.  

We Americans can use this upsetting moment to be respectful of Trayvon's parents by not destroying or offending anyone.  We can do something to show unity in our struggle for equity and equality.  We must vote not only in the primaries but get out there for the midterms.  If the states want IDs and voter registrations, let's get them.  Let's show these politicians that they can not continue to use us or ignore us.  Let's exercise our civil right to vote!

Chrisette Michele – A Couple Of Forevers!

Happy Birthday, 14th Amendment! (Ratified July 9, 1868)

The 14th Amendment, now 145 Years Old, was the second of three Reconstruction Amendments passed in the years following the Civil War. The 13th banned slavery, and the 15th prohibits denying the right to vote based on race.  The 14th Amendment resolved the legal status of former slaves–it granted them citizenship and “equal protection of the laws.” Today, the 14th Amendment is referenced frequently in court cases making claims for legal equality.

XIV AMENDMENT

SECTION 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

SECTION 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

SECTION 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

SECTION 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

SECTION 5.

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Happy Fourth of July, America!

Have a blessed and safe holiday!

Who was Sarah Mae Flemming?

Too many of Columbia’s pivotal moments and landmark decisions have been forgotten. Even more stories have never been heard. A complete rendering of South Carolina's Civil Rights Movement and its dramatic impact on the quest for democracy and social justice does not exist.

In Columbia, South Carolina's capital city, courageous student activists, attorneys, and civil rights organizations waged a tenacious campaign to transform our community. Facing stiff opposition, these freedom fighters took action and forever changed a city, state, and nation.

Keep in mind that there are good and mislead people in all races.  We do not fault the whole because of a part.  Remember the rain falls on everyone, even if you have an umbrella, and the sun shines on us all.  Do your best not to carry ill-feelings towards one another.

An unknown heroine, lost in obscurity, like so many others, was returned to the forefront recently. Sarah Mae Flemming Brown (June 28, 1933-June 16, 1993), an African American woman was expelled from a bus in Columbia, South Carolina, seventeen months before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955. Flemming's lawsuit against the bus company played an important role later in the Parks case. But it never received the press that it deserved.

On June 22, 1954, Flemming boarded a bus to go to work. She took the only empty seat, which she believed began the rows in which black riders were allowed to sit. The bus driver, challenged and humiliated her. The kind and caring house worker signaled to get off at the next stop. The bus driver blocked her attempt to exit through the front of the bus and punched her in the stomach as he ordered her out the rear door. Considering how packed the back of the bus was, the easiest exit was through the front door. But, I suppose the bus driver felt that most domestics are to enter and leave through the back doors on buses like they did in the homes they took care of, including the children. It was unfortunate that medical records associated with this assault were not found.

Local civil rights activists heard of ordeal and enlisted attorney Phillip Wittenberg, a white attorney in Columbia, to represent her. Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE and G) was filed on July 21, 1954 in U.S. District Court. The allegation was that Flemming's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection had been violated. On February 16, 1955, Federal District Judge George Bell Timmerman, Sr. dismissed the case. 

His son, George Bell Timmerman, Jr., became the 105th governor of South Carolina from 1955 to 1959. He governed the Statehouse in a time of profound and painful social change after the Supreme Court's ruling in 1954 declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional. Mr. Timmerman fought the changes brought by the decision as a defender of what he called "the integrity of the races" and "our customs and institutions."  He took office as the state's last segregationist Governor, urging Congress to limit the authority of the United States Supreme Court. He regarded Northern insistence on racial integration as hypocritical. He continued his father’s practices of maintaining segregation through any means necessary.  He wanted to keep African-Americans separated and no where close to being equal.

Ms. Flemming appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and her case was argued on June 21, 1955. The Fourth Circuit reversed Judge Timmerman on July 14, 1955 and "remanded the case for further proceedings."

SCE and G appealed the decision of the Appeals Court. On April 23, 1956, the United States Supreme Court dismissed SCE and G’s appeal, and on June 13, 1956, Judge Timmerman dismissed the case once again. Due to imtimidations, threats, and cross-burnings, Mr. Wittenberg decided not to handle a second appeal and turned the case over to Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP.  He later moved out of Columbia.  For the third trial, Lincoln Jenkins, Jr. and Matthew J. Perry represented Ms. Flemming and the jury quickly found in the bus company's favor, SCE and G. By that time, the Montgomery bus boycott and the decision in Browder v. Gayle had been rendered, so a third appeal was not filed. Let’s note that this case was heard before a three-judge panel in Montgomery Alabama, not before one judge. That court ruled on June 13, 1956, that bus segregation was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment protections for equal treatment

During her legal case, Sarah Mae Flemming married John Brown of Gaston County, North Carolina. The couple had three children. Sarah Mae Flemming Brown died of a heart attack brought on by diabetes on June 16, 1993, just before her 60th birthday. She was buried in the Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery in Eastover, South Carolina.

In 2005, a documentary titled Before Rosa: The Unsung Contribution Of Sarah Mae Flemming aired on PBS stations across the United States.

Mrs. Flemming vowed to never ride on SCE and G buses after the lawsuit and she never did. We should find ways to respect our unsung heroes and heroines but do so that they will never be forgotten.  Here's another link from civil rights activists in 2005 acknowledging Ms. Flemming to Congress James Clyburn.

Twisted - A Part Of Things

So many twists and turns we take in this journey called life.

We are bound together in this short time through

experiences, loves, and betrayals brought on by deceptions.

The words we say don’t always match

the actions that we mean.

These living cells that made us are temporary

and our abused pasts

don’t always release the anger and bitterness.

The opportunity crossing paths are God-given

and should be cherished.

When we part,

let’s accept that at one time in our lives,

we were bound together for that specific moment.

We only withstood the trials, tests, and storms

because our ties were three-cord strong.

But always in the end,

it is life that will separate us.

Even then don’t let go of the pleasant memories.

A Part of Things ©

The Learning Circle

Brother G. Peralta shared some wisdom and charts with me and I want to pass it on!  For each defining-moment event that happens in our lives, whether good or bad, we need to look it as our learning circles.  Over time, these moments should resemble an open slinky.  There are many coils in the slinky but they are all attached and still able to attain unique shapes.  Certainly, our character defines the type of person we are.

Observe the moment, reflect on it, discuss it with confidants, ask God what was His will and what should you do to bring out His glory.  Plan what you need to do to resolve, rectify, or recuperate, hold yourself accountable, seek affirmation from your confidants, and act.  Do not observe and act, over reaction could cause bigger issues.  Split the circle in half, repent if necessary after observing, reflecting, and discussing.  On the opposite side, believe from your question, plans, accountability acceptance, and act accordingly.

Thanks, Brother G!  The learning circle works for all defining moments if used correctly.  I know that I will use it.  Understand that Brother G, is using Jesus Christ as his spiritual guide.  Many of us are doing the same.

I Wouldn’t Know You – James Fortune/FIYA ft. Nakitta Clegg-Foxx

Save Yourself For Me – Hiroshima

The Lord Is My Shepherd!

Blessings to Rev. Ben for getting me to question my relationship with God. Most of us like to think we are developing some type of relationship with God by trying to get to know Him. In order to do that, we must read and study the Word of God. There are passages that we see so many times that we don’t go any deeper than we have to.

Take Psalms 23 for example. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

We hear this Psalm all of the time. It’s short, it’s peaceful, and it is simple. So simple, that we take it for granted. Was that what David intended when he wrote it? I don’t know where he wrote and he went through enough struggles that he did think it was necessary to write. But one has to admit that the psalm is short and sweet.  Think about God's goodness and mercy.  Where would we be without them?  Where would we be without His love?

Don’t forget that David was a shepherd in his youth and he did defend his flock against its enemies. See where I’m going? He killed a lion, a bear, and Goliath! All were in the “in the shadow of death” where he walked and feared “no evil.” Why, because in the presence of his enemies, God anointed his head with oil. So much that his cup ran over. David remembered that the Chief Shepherd is with at all times and will supply all of David’s needs. Being near peaceful waters and resting in soft green pastures are what we all look for. David was a man after God’s heart and he wanted goodness and mercy to be with him all of his life. He expected it! David knew God like you know your best friend. You know what they like and don’t like. You know them sometimes better than yourself. But do we start off to know God that well? Do we try?

When our storms come as did David’s, do we forget about the Shepherd and look to our own way of surviving. And when we don’t get a hand getting out of that storm, we start reaching somewhere else. If we really had faith enough to trust God, we would know that God will bring us out of the storm! It’s just so hard to let go of old habits.  God wants us to trust Him.  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He is consistent.

Happy Father's Day!

  This is what being a real father is about!  Just in time for Father’s Day!  We need to see more positive things about people on the tube than our sons and daughters being locked up.  In an interview with NBC’s “Today Show,” Rasan Portlock, 29, shared his adoration, excitement, and pride as he discussed being a father to his son, Ryheim.

Congratulations, Teria!

Graduation Day, 2013!

Giant kudos to my niece, who recently graduated from high school with honors.  She's on her way to the University and success!  God bless her!  The Colonel did a great job raising those children to young men and women!  May bright lights and God's blessings be with them forever!

Lee Greenwood- God Bless the USA!!!

Meditating on Memorial Day! God Bless America!

I did not get a chance to post on Memorial Day!  No, I was not busy.  It was a day to meditate on how many people in the military, law enforcement, and civil servants sacrificed their lives for a causes many of us might not support.  Whatever those differences might be, these heroes are not here to share their moments with their families.  Consider yourselves blessed that you still can.  If you can but will not share these times with your family or friends, it is your choice.

RIP, Ms. Louise Bailey! (1925 - May 27, 2013)

Anderson, SC - Mary Louise Moore Bailey, age 88, of Anderson, died peacefully with her loving family by her side on Monday, May 27, 2013,  at Rainey Hospice House.

RIP, Ms. Sadie Ellison! (February 27, 1938 - May 26, 2013)

COLUMBIA — Sadie Mae Kinder Ellison, widow of the late Rev. John Henry Ellison, heard her master’s call at Providence Hospital in Columbia. Born on Feb. 27, 1938, in Manning, she was a daughter of the late Willie and Maggie Pearson Kinder. 

Proud To Be the Party of No (Dissension)

This is an opinion written by DeWayne Wickham of USATODAY.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, (R-Kentucky),  revealed the legislative game plan of congressional Republicans when he told the National Journal on the eve of the 2010 midterm election: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." When asked about blocking the Democrats' legislative agenda during a New York Times interview that same year, McConnell replied: "I wish I had been able to obstruct more."

Mr. Wickham went on to write, “Somewhere in McConnell's office there must to a shrine to Eddie Vrdolyak, the onetime Chicago Democratic boss who used the art of political obstruction to keep Harold Washington, that city's first black mayor, from governing the Windy City.  Like Vydolyak, McConnell has used the legislative voting bloc he controls to block the passage of bills and the confirmation of appointees. His goal is not just to assert the authority of the legislature, but also to render useless the powers of the chief executive."

Seems pretty much the facts to me.  People with attitudes like this would rather divide and destroy this country than see progress for the good of all.  It seems that our elected officials have their own agenda instead of helping the people that voted for them.  I guess gerrymanding the districts can make you overconfident.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Wishing you ladies the very best. God bless you all!

Pat Toomey: Background Checks Died Because The GOP Didn't Want To Help Obama

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) revealed that some members of his party opposed expanding background checks for gun sales recently because they didn't want to "be seen helping the president."  Two weeks ago, only three Republican senators voted for the bipartisan background checks amendment sponsored by Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), despite overwhelming popular support for such a measure.  "In the end it didn’t pass because we're so politicized. There were some on my side who did not want to be seen helping the president do something he wanted to get done, just because the president wanted to do it,” Toomey admitted on Tuesday in an interview with Digital First Media editors in the offices of the Times Herald newspaper in Norristown, Pa.  The Times Herald noted that in "subsequent comments," Toomey "tried to walk that remark part-way back by noting he meant to say Republicans across the nation in general, not just those in the Senate." Amanda Terkel - Huffington Post

All of our politicians should man up and tell the truth!  Maybe they can't because they have already sold their souls.

Death Valley Dreamlapse 2

The footage, shot and edited by Gavin Heffernan, is sure to leave viewers spellbound. It includes sensational star trails, astonishing landscapes and wild photographic techniques like "moonpainting." Plus, you'll see the sliding stones of Racetrack Playa, which appear to move across the desert.

Locked Out Of Heaven ( Live in Paris) – Bruno Mars!

Pray For America!

Keep the families of our citizens that have been and still is in harm's way, in your prayers.  The enemy is doing everything possible to destroy our morale and believe in this nation.  We all know about the families and loved ones lost in Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, college campuses and know Boston.  We can not forget the other tragedies that do not get the media's attention such as war, domestic violence, traffic deaths, suicides, and health issues.  We have a lot to pray for!  Prayer does move things.  “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  (Matthew 18:19-20 NIV)

Keeping It Simple!!!

I can’t speak for anyone else except myself but for some reason in my early years, I thought reading the Bible was complicated.  When I followed some of the readings, I saw some complex issues that I wondered if I was able to do what The Word said.  How can I be born again?  Why should I turn my cheek is someone hits me?  How can I be slow to speak and quick to hear?  As I got older, I realized after asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the readings to me that, The Word is a lot simpler than I thought.  After talking to Rev. Ben Colley, who I credit a lot of enlightenment to, and many others, who follow The Word, that God wants to save all of us, even to the point of giving up His Son.  Jesus was willing to die for us by obeying His Father.  We forget that as a God, Jesus denied himself and took the mortal form.  But we can’t forget that He was born without sin and that He could only be conceived by a sinless woman.  But a sinless man defeated death.  Christ broke death’s hold on us!  Death held that fear over us since the Garden of Evil where God gave dominion over all that He created.  “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  And the Lord God commanded man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17). “Thou shalt surely die.”  The introduction of man’s knowledge of death and we have been grieving since then.  We grieve for lost loves, family members, and anything else that we lost.  I know, I’ve been there.  On the cross, Christ said,”It is finished.” What was finished?  His mission? His death as a man?  Or overcoming death’s hold over man?  “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).  Christ had to go places where mortal men could not.  More importantly, He returned with victory!  What an amazing example of what happens when we obey God!  Can we ever comprehend the love and mercy of God the Father?  We must humbly bow down to a greater power with obedience, praise, and love.  We must strengthen ourselves with love and forgiveness towards each other adding patience, perseverance, and understanding.  It won’t be easy and it is never easy doing the right thing.  But if we try, who knows how much we can accomplish.  Let us continue to pray for each other.  Let’s keep it simple!

Rest in Peace, Mr. Jackson!

Anderson - William "Bill" Jackson was born August 2, 1928 in Easley, SC to the late "B" and Ethel Jackson. He passed away on March 18, 2013 at Rainey Hospice House. He was a member of Saint Mary of the Angels Catholic Church and an Army Veteran. Bill is survived by his wife, Yvonne Jackson and several grandchildren. The funeral mass will be held 11:00AM, Thursday at Saint Mary of the Angels Catholic Church. The interment will follow at M.J. "Dolly" Cooper Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Saint Mary of the Angels Catholic Church (1821 White Street Anderson, SC 29624)

I Feel Like Going On - Bishop Marvin Winans

Rest in Peace, Ms. Brown!

Nettie Catherian Kenley Brown, WEST COLUMBIA.  Funeral service for Mrs. Nettie Catherian Kenley Brown, 85, of 121 Worlin Drive, West Columbia, will be held Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at St. James Baptist Church, West Columbia, with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Born in Lexington County, she was a daughter of Annie Elizabeth West and Richard Kenley. Viewing will be held on Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Pearson's Funeral Home Chapel. Body will be placed in the church at noon Saturday. She was a member of St. James Baptist Church, leader of the Missionary Society, secretary of the church and secretary of the Sunday School union. Surviving are her daughters, Denise Brown and Iris Catherine Brown; sons, James Brown and Rev. Thomas Brown; stepson, Minister Ronald Gamble; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; sister, Thelma Kenley O'Neal. Pearson's Funeral Home has been entrusted with these services.

Tired Melody - Will Downing

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is a special day for many people involved in relationships.  It covers marriages, dating, and new relationships.  It can be stressful because there are certain expectations you might want to meet and can’t.  Or stressful that it’s the first date in years and you don’t know what to do or expect.  Either way, some folks are glad this day is over.  There are exceptions to every rule and this day is different for some.  In this case, Valentine’s Day will forever be imprinted as a day that a spouse was buried.  As the day for forever love, it will be a day to forever remember the love that was shared.  And this day, Valentine’s Day, will never be the same. For those that have lost a loved one, holidays will never be the same.  Nevertheless, we strive on because we know in their hearts that is what they want us to do.  Continue, move forward, do not give up or give in, and do not stop for them!  They are in a happier place and they know that they are loved.  To them, too, we wish them a Happy Valentine’s Day!

RIP Major Anthony Moye!!!

Major Anthony Charles Moye - Celebration of Life Services for Maj. Anthony Charles Moye, 41, will be held 11:00 a.m., Thursday, February 14, 2013, at Bible Way Church of Atlas Road with interment to be held at 2:00 p.m. in Fort Jackson National Cemetery. Visitation will be held Wednesday from 3 to 9 p.m. and the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Services have been entrusted to J.P. Holley Funeral Home, Columbia. Major Moye is survived by his wife, Moniet Trapp Moye; his parents, Charles, Jr. and Lula Louise Moye; brothers, Brandon (Jessica) and Dwayne (Sophia) Moye; godchildren, Steve Anderson, Jr. and Jalen Wilson; mother in-law, Charlene Trapp; sisters-in-law, Glenda (David) Johnson and Shanna (Donavon) Barnes; brothers-in-law, Louis, Jr., Brandon, and Jervin Trapp and a host of nieces, nephews, and other loving relatives and friends.

Words can't express how we feel about your loss. Our prayers are with you and your family.  His mission was accomplished.  God bless you!

Seashore Farmers' Lodge

Earnest Parks

The Lodge Needing Repair

I met Earnest several years ago at a Civil War enactment. He and the rest of the soldiers representing the 54th Infantry were in various stages of uniforms. Some were obtained from the dead and others made do with what they found and had. I enjoyed sitting with them for hours listening to them discuss how things were at that time in language used by freed and former slaves.

This is what Sol Legare Community was all about. A place where freed slaves settled and where their generations maintained the pride and history that kept them together. The Seashore Farmers’ Lodge was the meeting place. Now a museum it celebrates the 150-year old Sol Legare Community in a preserved and historical position on the National Register of Historic Places.



In Your Heart, You Will Know When To Let Go!

Chances – Isaac Carree!

Believe – Brian Courtney Wilson!

Brotherhood - Budweiser' Super Bowl Ad - Another Favorite

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