Real Talk

Peace and blessings,

I wanted to provide a brief outline of the events surrounding the case of the Jena 6, a case that is gaining much attention throughout the country, and duly so. I encourage everyone to seek out more info regarding the situation, and participate in any and every way that you can. The information below can be found at

Color of Change

and

Truthout.

As you read the outline, I urge you to keep the following scriptures in mind, as this case represents another instance of how we often distort and manipulate God's conception of "justice."



"The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed."

Psalms 103: 6

"It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their
affairs with justice."

Psalms 112: 5

"I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor."

Psalms 140: 12


1) after black students sat under the "white tree," nooses were hung from
the tree. In reaction, black students sat under the tree in protest,
prompting the superintendent and District Attorney to get involved. The
superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," while the DA,
accompanied with Jena police, told the black students protesting that "I
can be your best friend or your worst enemy...I can take away your lives
with a stroke of the pen."

2) Racial tension escalated over the next couple of months, with the main
academic building of Jena high school getting burned down on Nov. 30th,
2006 in an unsolved fire. Later that same weekend, a black student was
beaten up by white students at a party. The next day, black students were
threatened by a young white man with a shotgon at a convenient store. They
restled the gun from him and ran away. No charges were filed against the
white man, but the students were arrested for gun-theft.

3) That Monday, a white student taunted the black student who as beaten up
at the party, and allegedly called several black students "nigger." After
lunch, he was knocked down, punched, and kicked by black students. He was
taken to the hosptial, released, and was well enough to attend a social
event that same evening. Six black Jena high students were arrested and
charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high (between
70,000-138,000) that the students were in jail for months as families went
into debt to release them.

4) The local district attorney Reed Walters, who initially charged the six
with attempted murder, later reduced the charges to aggravated assault,
contending that Bell's tennis shoes constituted a dangerous weapon.The
first trial ended in June 2007, and Mychal Bell (16) was convicted of
aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated (both felonies)
battery by an all-white jury. In addition, Mychal's public defender did
not call a single witness to testify during th trial. During the trial,
Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court
prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the
judge could see them.

5) Louisiana's 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, acting on an emergency
defense appeal, reversed the aggravated second-degree conviction of Mychal
Bell, ruling that the youth had been tried improperly as an adult in a
case. Last week, the judge who presided over Bell's trial in June, LaSalle
Parish District Judge J.P. Mauffray, vacated a conspiracy conviction
against the youth for the same reason, but inexplicably let the more
serious battery conviction stand. Now Walters must decide whether to
refile the entire case in juvenile court.

6) Walters said in a statement Friday, September 14th 2007 that he
intended to appeal the reversal of Bell's conviction to the Louisiana
Supreme Court

More on the conviction reversal can be found in an article by the

Chicago Tribune.

Rather you are aware of the situation or are just hearing about it for the first time. I'm interested in people's thoughts on the issue. What are your reactions? Who do you think plays a more significant role in how the events that have taekn place (Superintendent, local district attorney, the school for not addressing the tree issue sooner, etc...)? Do you see any difference between how justice is used in the Jena 6 case, and God's sense of justice as illustrated in the scriptures? From what i've heard about the case so far, the thing that gets me is how no attention (prior to these events taking place and while they were taking place) has been given to the tree-issue. The fact that there existed (for so long) a tree at Jena high school with this much racist, divisive power in itself speaks volumes as to the value the high school places on their students' worth, because racism and divisiveness is detrimental to all who are involved.

I am asking anyone who comes across more updates regarding this issue can sent it to me at info@speeklife.com, so that I can frequently update the blog regarding this matter. Also, make sure you check out the third video of fox news, and pay attention to the last minute of the clip, where Hannity "dodges" Rev. Sharpton's question about whether or not he supports the Jena 6. They have been talking for over six minutes, but as soon as Re. Sharpton asks this question, all of a sudden Hannity can't hear him. Even his partner on the show heard him clearly. Racism, like any sin, cannot stay "hidden." Eventually it's going to come out and get exposed. I'm not saying i'm perfect or anything, but Hannity's "true feelings" regarding U.S. race relations is extremely evident in this clip. Jesus help us... Please share your thoughts, continue to pray that God heals this situation, and as always, speekonit...

Labels: attention, God, Jena 6, justice, Lord, oppressed, Psalms, scriptures

Peace and blessings,

As a sophomore in undergrad, I was fortunate enough to attend an African American Christian Leadership conference. At the conference, I was able to learn from and interact with a host of students, pastors, and prayer warriors that helped give my life more direction while changing my music preferences. Although I heard from many powerul speakers, one in particular continues to stick out in my mind. For those who may not have heard of him,
introducing

Bishop George McKinney

After hearing him deliver a powerful message, I decided to approach him and get some guidance regarding a faith issue I was struggling with. At that time in my life, being in college and being exposed of all the injustices that have occurred and are still occurring against people of African descent, I was having a hard time (and sometimes I still do) trying to understand why and how something like 400 years of slavery could have happened. I refused (and still do) to say that God “allowed” slavery to happen, yet when discussions around slavery would come up in various contexts, I had no idea as to how to approach the issue (and similar issues of injustice) from a Christian-faith perspective. After telling Bishop McKinney these things, he simply replied, “the final chapter has not been written yet.” Initially I thought that he “short-changed” me with that answer as I expected much more. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that his reply was more than what I needed. Consequently, as soon as I returned home from the week-long conference and cracked open my bible, the first thing I noticed was a passage (I think in Exodus) that was talking about how God will avenge and restore His people (Children of Israel) who were enslaved for 400 years! At that moment I remembered how Bishop McKinney spoke with so much faith and conviction regarding the power of God through Jesus Christ to change lives and right wrongs.

Let’s fast forward about three years later while attending graduate school on the east coast. While visiting the school of Divinity’s library, I came across one of his books (see below) called “The New Slave Masters.” In a nutshell, the premise of the book is that just as people of African descent were stripped of their identity and oppressed beyond measure during the years of physical slavery, people today (of all races and walks of life) are in spiritually enslaved to drugs, gangs, materialism, crime, violence, hatred, racism, sexual immorality, and negativity just to name a few.



I recommend Christians and non-Christians to cop it. It’s not expensive, short, and it’s an easy read. In addition, it doesn’t come off as “preachy.” Do you think there are similarities between "social" issues and "spiritual" issues? Differences? Weigh in and speekonit...

Labels: African American, Children of Israel, Christian Leaderhip Conference, identity, New Slavemasters, oppressed, racism, sexual immorality, violence

Peace and blessings,



Pic courtesy of

Gustave Dore (1875-1950)

While reading the Old Testament and learning about the experiences of the Children of Israel (COI) in the book of Exodus, I noticed a phenomenon taking place that I could not completely understand. Although I understand that the COI had experienced severe hardships (hundreds of years of slavery and oppression), God, using Moses and Aaron, delivered the COI from Egypt and into the land He promised their ancestors. In addition, God performed a multitude of miracles during their slavery and during their journey into the promised land. Despite this, there are countless times when the COI rebelled against the commandments of God. Moreover, everytime the COI complained during their journey, they tried to justify those cmplaints by claiming that they would have been better off in the arms of their oppressors. As someone who is interested in social psychology and how individuals act within groups, one question remained in my head: Given that God met every need that the COI had, what made them (as a group) consistently rebel against God, and prefer being slaves?

One incident in particular that intrigued me was when the COI started to worship a golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain speaking to God and receiving the instructions for moral conduct that the COI would have to adhere to. What is more interesting is that the COI got Aaron, whom God would ordain as a priest, to build the calf. As an individual, who, liek Moses was called by God to aid in the liberation of the COI, I wonder what was going through his mind when the COI asked him to build them a golden calf. In social psychology, there is a wealth of literature out there that demonstrates the influence a group can have on individuals (even to where an individual intentionally gives the wrong answer although he knows it is wrong!). Also, I know it could have been nerve-wrecking to have Moses on the mountain for 40 days, and the COI unaware of his whereabouts. Despite these circumstances, the COI were able to witness what many people hope to witness, which was concrete miracles performed by God on their behalf. It is almost as if when things don't go our way in the present, it is easy to forget how far God brought us from our past. I am not pointing the finger at the COI, nor am I suggesting that I don't rebel against God despite the things he has done for me, because there are definately times when I do. The point I am trying to make is that there is something to be said for the influence of the "group," or the influence of a perceived "group."

For instance, I wonder what it would have been like for an Israelite who dissented and initially refused to worship a golden calf. We only read about COI being disobedient as a group, but I wonder if there were some individuals who withstood the group pressure or consensus and remained true to God. The lesson I took from the COI is that we must never forget where God has brought us from, especially in the midst of group pressure to conform and go against God.

A real life example related to this idea of group influence is the

Kitty Genovese murder in 1964

Pic courtesy of

the Genovese family and artists Alexandra and Rebecca Chipkin

The controversy surrounding the murder was that based on reports, it appeared that there were mutliple witnesses of the attack, yet minimal intervention (only one person apparently called the police, and this may or may not have been the same person who yelled something at the attacker). Supreised at the minimal intervention on behalf of the supposed witnesses, many psychologists began to study the factors that would discourage multiple witnesses of an attack to intervene in some capacity. Eventually the terms "bystander effect" and "diffusion of responsibility" were developed and suggested that when a large group of witnesses or bystanders see an attack, each individual member is less likely intervene, because he or she assumes that one of the other bystanders or witnesses wil intervene. Even though this is not an absolute and we may all be aware of examples of where witnesses intervened, this phenomenon should spark discussion nonetheless.

Although the initial report published in the New York Times in 1964 claimed that 38 witnessed the attack,

later examinations of the incident

contend that the amount of witness who either saw or heard any portion of the attack was no where hear 38, but instead around twelve. Despite the accuracy of the number of witnesses, this incident raises an important question: What are some of the forces that cause us to be complacent or indifferent? What are some of the forces that contribute to group compliance? To what extent does awareness imply obligation?

What do you think? Weigh in on the issue and speekonit...

Labels: Aaron, Children of Israel, Egypt, God, Moses, Old Testament, oppressed, slaves, social psychology