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Black America is under siege. Black faith institutions,
particularly Black churches, are being undermined on a number
of fronts – culturally, via disunity, via fear, paternalism and
misogyny, and plain old bribes. Though there is a historic precedent
to undermine the lives of African-Americans, African-Americans
are weathering new and continuing assaults on a number of fronts:
- Lies about Iraq (Weapons of Mass Destruction),
which have cost over 1,500 American lives and has unnecessarily
placed African-Americans and other over-represented groups in
the military in harm’s way;
Propping up a new black “leadership” (consider Armstrong
Williams, Janice Brown, Condoleeza Rice and other “pet negroes”)
by white conservatives, and;
-
The movement of white “Christian” fundamentalists,
some conservatives, and those who voted for President Bush based
on “moral values” to not only create a theocracy (with the overt
and covert action of Bush and his cronies) but to shape God
in their own image. These are the same type of people that
have historically told black people to be obedient to their
masters during slavery, accept their poor lots in life, and
to wait for the “sweet by and by.”
Perhaps the most insidious and evil affront to African-Americans
has been to its children. During the years of our first “Black”
president, Bill Clinton, examine the following excerpt from the
Monday, May 9 edition of the DiversityInc.com
newsletter:
To gain access to hundreds of HIV-infected foster
children, federally funded researchers promised in writing to
provide an independent advocate to safeguard the kids' well-being
as they tested potent AIDS drugs. But most of the time, that
special protection never materialized, an Associated Press review
has found.
(…) The practice ensured that foster children,
mostly poor or minority, received care from world-class researchers
at government expense, slowing their rate of death and extending
their lives. But it also exposed a vulnerable population to
the risks of medical research and drugs that were known to have
serious side effects in adults and for which the safety for
children was unknown.
This modern-day Tuskegee Experiment has been coupled
with several other affronts to African-Americans:
1. The Undermining of Hip-Hop – as
one of the originators (along with Latinos) of this movement or
culture, control of the artistic side, rap music, is mainly controlled
by white executives who have no problem promoting the most ignorant,
most misogynist, and most materialist of performers in order to
make money. Granted, they do not hold a gun to these artists’
heads, but those artists will dance to the piper’s tune to create
the music that sells. Moreover, there is a more sinister (if
inadvertent) result of promoting negative black artists: as Hip-Hop
is promoted around the world, white promoters are creating a new
cadre of “white” people in terms of attitudes towards African-Americans
– the grinning, dancing, lazy, unaware, and violent African-Americans.
How can foreign visitors or immigrants think any differently
of black people as Hip-Hop along with the other negative images
of African-Americans via other forms of media are thrust upon
them?
A quick example of how people from other countries
perceive black people can be found via the May 19 edition of the
DiversityInc.com newsletter:
[Mexico] President Vicente Fox tried to smooth relations
with the U.S. black community yesterday after saying Mexican immigrants
take jobs that "not even" blacks want, promising to
work with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to improve labor rights for people
of color in the United States.
President Fox’s comment reveals what he thinks of
African-Americans – we are the lowest of the low. What helped
Fox’s perspective? It is not necessarily Hip-Hop but, it is the
same type of corporations that fuel American media.
2. The Bush Administration’s Approach to Gangs: explore the following commentary by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
from the May 12 BlackPR.com/BlackNews.com e-mail
newsletter:
“The Congressional panic over gangs makes even
less sense considering that juvenile crime, according to FBI
crime figures, has dropped, and more states faced with ballooning
deficits have scrapped their lock em up and toss the key measures.
That approach has dumped more than 2 million prisoners in America's
jails. That gives America the dubious distinction of running
the world's largest prison warehouse system. States now opt
for job training, drug treatment, and counseling programs as
more cost effective ways to deal with crime. The bill also flies
in the face of the much-touted anti-gang initiative that Bush
unveiled in his State of the Union Address in January. Bush
said that he'd shell out $150 million to youth education and
violence prevention programs that target at-risk youth. Bush
promptly dispatched wife, Laura, to several inner city neighborhoods
to meet with community leaders, educators, and gang intervention
specialists to get a White House handle on the problem.”
Laura Bush, a de facto “Anti-gang Czar?” This scenario
should cause The Black Church to pray and “just say no!”
3. Insults to and the Leasing of the Black Church: One of the biggest insults to The Black Church was committed
by the athletic shoe giant Nike. A commercial featuring basketball
superstar LeBron James and comedian Bernie Mac has Mac as the
“preacher” in a basketball court which is set up like a church
made up of famous basketball players such as Jerry West and Julius
“Dr. J” Erving as “congregants.” Bernie Mac proclaims the coming
of a “savior” and initiates the “call and response” style found
in some black churches by asking the congregation “Can I get a
lay-up?” which mocks black preachers asking the congregation “Can
I get an amen?” James portrayed as a “savior” appears handling
a basketball as the congregation “worships” (although exaggerated
for a supposed comic effect) in awe with the type of music and
dancing found in some black churches. Nike felt it could get
away with mocking elements of black worship given that the National
Basketball Association is primarily black in terms of players
and since Nike is an extremely popular brand with black youth.
Nevertheless, Nike would not do a series of commercials in a synagogue
or mosque-type setting. Nike seems to have this penchant for
using or pandering to nonwhite people with its refusal to pay
living wages to those (primarily Asian) making its shoes and taking
for granted sales of its shoes to black people.
Speaking of taking things for granted; politically,
the Democratic Party has taken black votes for granted for decades
with little in return for black communities. Progressive and
black voices within the party are being pushed aside in order
to make the Party a light version of the Republican Party by directing
its energies to win the votes of those in the “Red States,” “Soccer
Moms,” and “NASCAR Dads,” which are code words for white lower-
or middle-class voters. The Democratic Party has so much disrespect
for black communities they believe if they make some cursory or
last-minute visit to churches, the NAACP, Urban League, or black
neighborhoods, blacks will come out in large numbers and vote
for their candidates. Historically, African-Americans have responded
to these weak overtures; but according to the May
25 edition of the Diversity.com newsletter, Democratic National
Committee (DNC) chairman, Howard Dean feels a rising tide of black
resentment:
Black voters are upset with the Democratic Party for coming
around just weeks before elections seeking their votes, party
chairman Howard Dean said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated
Press.
Taking black voters for granted is a long-standing
problem for the party that dates to the 1960s, said Dean, who
promised changes in strategy even as he cited diversity at the
top of the Democratic National Committee.
"Blacks are annoyed with the Democratic Party
because we ask them for their votes four weeks before the election
instead of being in the community now and that's a mistake I'm
trying to fix," he said. "There's a new generation of
African-American leaders and a new generation of African Americans.
We can't go out and say could you vote for us because we were
so helpful during the civil-rights era."
In terms of politics, some black churches are being
rented via faith-based grants to help them develop or maintain
programs. On the surface, this looks like normal, everyday resource
development for nonprofit corporations (many churches have the
Internal Revenue Service [IRS] designation 501 (c) 3). However,
when the Bush administration uses these ministers as “photo-ops”
and these ministers sing Bush’s praises because they got grant
money or because he resonates their concerns regarding gay rights
issues or abortion, it creates a number of illusions: that significant
numbers of black people support him and that George Bush cares
about nonwhite and/or poor people. Conversely, these illusions
are far from the truth, especially since he does not support any
raises in the minimum wage and believes in a new type of “voodoo
economics” (a term used by Ronald Reagan criticizing George Herbert
Walker Bush’s [“Dubya’s” father] approach to address the nation’s
economy during the 1980 campaign for the Republican presidential
nomination) to craft a budget with deep cuts to social programs
while making the budget to fund the occupation of Iraq a separate
document.
My own commitment
As a faith-based organization advocate and consultant
for over eleven years, all I wanted to do is to make sure the
community development corporations (CDCs) associated with or developed
by faith institutions (not the faith institution itself) to have
more opportunities to secure grants. For the faith institution
itself, I wanted it to have representation on more corporate and
nonprofit boards and be involved or have access to any community
economic development projects initiated by the public and private
sectors. In short, I wanted it to serve as a community watchdog
and address equity and justice issues while speaking for the powerless
or the ignored.
President Bush, white conservatives, and their black
flunkies have bastardized the faith-based (which is not just Christian)
movement to control particularly black churches and create a white-controlled,
fundamentalist Christian “New World Order.” Essentially, Bush,
et al have become self-appointed, Koran-desecrating, Christian
prophets and begun a religious/social/cultural Armageddon with
the premise that “our (Christian, conservative, white) God is
better than your God (insert your choice here).” Some black ministers
are pawns in this war and are allowing a new sort of blasphemy
to surface. Nevertheless, this does not mean that black faith-based
organizations should not seek government grant money because it
is our tax money; it is just that this money should be sought
and accepted with extreme caution. Any mistakes in the use of
this money make have serious consequences for our black religious
leaders, especially if they are unafraid to challenge the president’s
policies. And for those black conservative leaders that, in addition
to getting government grant money, believe that they also have
access and influence with the president remember this: just because
you can walk through the front door of the White House does not
mean you are IN the White House!
For better or worse, America, unwittingly, has made
Black America its conscience; America speaks of freedom, yet African-Americans
have known Massa’s lash and Jim Crow, America speaks of justice,
yet is committed to making black people the overwhelming population
in its justice system, America speaks of opportunity, yet undermines
black children by not properly investing in its public education
system (which could be a major influence on low black and Latino
high school graduation rates). In short, as in the movie, The
Matrix, black people are the “glitch in the system” and points
out when the system changes things unfairly or without warning
towards its citizens. The Black Church, as Black America’s most
stable and prominent institution, bears the brunt of speaking
out against the daily indignities leveled at African-Americans.
However, as one of the main defenders and advocates
of Black America, it stands to “clean its own house” to solidify
its stature as a leader and advocate in black communities. First,
it must remain prophetic. But the main challenge to one of its
greatest functions is government money; receiving grant money
is fine to support programs, however, it should not purchase silence
to administrations that are counterproductive to Black America.
The Black Church must remain vigilant in telling America when
it is right and when it is wrong. It cannot mimic much of the
news media and cower to Bush. Consider the following quote
by Reverend Grayland Hagler, national president of
Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice and is pastor
at the Plymouth Congregational Church UCC in Washington, D.C.:
”Bush is able to portray himself as 'pro-life' while
his policies have killed people. He has sent folks into harm's
way in Iraq and his waging war has killed we don't know how many
Iraqis. When Bush was governor of Texas he signed more death warrants
than any other governor. If you have principles and moral standards
that are real then they apply in all cases. If you don't, then
it is simple hypocrisy."
This quote raises a number of important questions:
In relation to the third question, we should all
be cognizant of President Bush’s uncanny ability to distance people
or institutions that do not agree or follow his ideology (or the
ideology given to him by Republican strategist, Karl Rove) without
sanction. Mull over his association with former Secretary of
State Colin Powell. Whenever Powell used his own ideas or failed
to follow the company line, the administration seemed to “keep
him out of the loop,” so to speak. Notice that Mr. Powell has
become more critical of the administration since he has resigned.
(Now, if only the Church can intellectually “lay hands” on new
Secretary of State Rice but then, I guess there are some things
even The Black Church cannot do. We can always pray for her enlightenment.)
Moreover, within its ability to be prophetic The
Black Church must be able to decipher and challenge American myth.
America likes to sell dreams and illusions. To its citizens it
promotes the “self-made” man or woman, where an individual rises
above all odds to individual success. It is an extension “if
one works hard, one will succeed” illusion. In reality, there
is no such thing as the “self-made” person; “successful” people
are supported by the people around them whether it is moral support,
financial support, or informational support. Many people get
jobs because they “know somebody” or part of some informal network
comprising of friends, neighbors and relatives. In essence, many
people succeed because of communal relationships. Churches create
community; churches are communities. Churches, especially
black churches, must remind America that many people work hard
and do not “succeed” as they work without health insurance, low
wages, and the like. It must also be wary of the African-Americans
it likes to promote. For example, America loves Oprah Winfrey
– she is safe because she refuses to challenge systems or speak
out on anything that truly harms Black America. However, there
is something Oprah “preaches” that could be viewed as the antithesis
of The Black Church. To highlight this observation Nelson (2002)
notes the following:
At the center of Oprah's mission, of course, is
her daily TV talk show, which entered its 17th season this fall.
Amid its hodgepodge of topics - female war correspondents, the
decorating challenged, moms who are mean to their kids, crime
victims who forgive their assailants, and, oh yes, the quest
to lose weight – Oprah stresses a message: Make yourself happy.
Oprah's work is about maximizing happiness for
oneself and thereby for others. Make yourself happier, make
your family happier, make your community happy, and better,
by "using" your life. Far from being distinct, "happier"
and "better" are pretty much synonymous in Oprah's
world. From a biblical standpoint, her teaching is idiosyncratic,
like her name – a misspelling of Orpah, Naomi's other daughter-in-law
in the Book of Ruth.
From a Black Church perspective, Oprah’s ideas could
be viewed as “out of sync” with African-Americans because, the
strength of the black community lies in its connectedness—and
seeking personal satisfaction first goes against beliefs that
we can also gain redemption and happiness by helping others.
If we follow Oprah Winfrey’s perspective, we would never
help other people because we would be so consumed with our own
personal happiness. This is the ultimate hubris of what has been
called “The ‘Me’ Generation.” But then, perhaps she is only reflecting
the desires or mores of white America – most of Oprah’s viewers
are white women. Similarly, The Black Church must remain ever-vigilant
in defining and re-defining what it is to be successful and remind
America there are only four things in life in which we will be
remembered: our faith, our family, our friends, and our works,
NOT our bank accounts, houses, cars, or jobs.
The Black Church must go beyond reactionary politics
and using conflict models to address indignities leveled at Black
America. At times, it seems like the only time that black church
leaders get together is when some insanely egregious act or slight
has been leveled within black communities such as senseless murders
and other acts of overt racism. Using conflict models of change
such as protest marches, boycotts, and making statements of righteous
anger will continue to be needed and are effective but, we in
the church must create systems and partnerships that examine inequalities
and affronts to Black life on a daily basis. Perhaps
that way we, in the church, may be able to head off or predict
when a major affront will happen.
Next, the Black Church must do a better job in “tooting
its own horn.” In Black churches across America, there are tens
of thousands of wonderful programs such as tutorial programs,
job training, health clinics, housing developments, and businesses
being operated with tremendous results. It must highlight these
achievements, especially ecumenical or interfaith activities,
through videos, books, submitting articles to the press, and the
like. The Black Church must reaffirm and validate itself. Moreover,
The Black Church must reaffirm itself through writing. Pastors
must write more books and articles, especially academic journals
and Christian magazines. Black pastors must explain and continue
to define black theology. Theology is the study of faith seeking
understanding. The way Black pastors interpret the Word, define
our faith, and live our faith is our gift to the world. Theology
has, for too long, been defined by white males; their work is
considered “valid” and “scholarly.” Black theology is special
because it has been forged and developed via hope, oppression,
anger, and vision. It is a special perspective that must be shared.
God gave us many gifts including the gifts of intellect, passion,
and prophecy; we must share this perspective with the world because
black theology is a freeing and revolutionary theology.
Black Church validation has to also take place via
its structures, particularly when it comes to the role of women.
In many Black churches, there are men in the pulpit and women
in the pews. Black churches must nurture and develop female ministers
in order to survive for if women left black churches en masse
there would be no Black Church! Sisters have the word of
God and light of Christ in them so, we in the church, must encourage
them to proclaim their faith via leadership positions within the
church, especially as pastor. The Black Church can revolutionize
Christianity if more women took their rightful place in the pulpit.
The Black Church must address a number of issues
to remain relevant, including:
Sex: Sex is not “the nasty” or any
other derogatory name. Granted, people do things to defile
sex instead of it being part of a committed, loving relationship.
Humans are sexual beings, however, it is up to the church to
create and facilitate open dialogues about sex, particularly
when it comes to young people. Sex goes way beyond the physical;
there are also mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial aspects
to it in which the church must highlight and make cognizant
within black communities. This will not be an easy task but,
black churches must address it because if it does not, society
will continue to define sex and sexual mores which could be
to the detriment to any community, especially black communities.
Nevertheless, as black churches engage in facilitating discussion
and addressing sexual issues, it must do so in a loving, non-punitive
environment. Failure to do so may get in the way of arriving
at truth, making corrections to negative behaviors, and passing
out needed information.
Drugs: Drug abuse of legal and illegal
substances is tearing at the American social fabric in terms
of crime, the destruction of relationships, disease, mental
health, and lost productivity. The Black Church must continue
and/or develop partnerships with the medical and mental health
communities to address drug abuse and misuse. The Church must
particularly explore the issue of drugs as it relates to prescription
drugs and children. Drugs could be inadvertently prescribed
to children to quiet them when, in reality, they may need more
structure and attention from their parents, their communities,
and their schools.
Education: Black churches since
their inception have been leading advocates for education in
terms of providing scholarships, training, defining policy,
supplying cultural development, and advocacy. However, it should
strengthen its efforts in terms of advocacy regarding student
labeling. Racism within the American educational system has
led to steering black students away from college prep courses
and into special education, vocational education, and learning
disabled programs when, at times, it is unnecessary. These
actions can be viewed as one of the greatest threats to black
communities because it will determine our future leadership.
Health: Black people overall, have
poorer health and less access to quality health care than our
white counterparts. Black churches have been in the forefront
in addressing black community health needs via health clinics,
health screenings, food/nutrition programs and the like. Nevertheless,
greater emphases can be placed on mental health and addressing
HIV/AIDS. The Church must help to remove the stigma associated
with these diseases and must remove the stigma or fear in our
community in terms of seeking mental health counseling. Seeking
mental health counseling does not suggest one is “crazy.” In
fact, black churches would do well in being part of an effort
to help people with their issues; it will not only open the door
to healing but allow people to be more productive. For example,
my church, Tried Stone Baptist Church in Detroit, has developed
a concept called “Social Renurturing.” We believe in holistic
community development and redemption, where the individual, despite
his or her past, or the institutions that have failed him or her,
will rise above it all to be spiritually empowered, psychologically
whole, and professionally able to function in the community.
In turn, the community is healed and revitalized. Nonetheless,
this community revitalization cannot begin until the individual
confronts his or her past.
Ultimately, The Black Church must take the lead
in addressing black America’s issues; the times demand that it
use its vast financial, social, organizational, and political
resources to ward off the national and even international indignities
leveled at Black communities. With that responsibility, it must
nurture and retool itself to maintain its vibrancy and legitimacy.
Of course, there are numerous other issues The Black Church is
and should be addressing and will be explored in future articles.
Reverend Reynard Blake, Jr. is a Baptist minister
from East Lansing, Michigan and president of Community Development
Associates, a firm committed to faith-based and nonprofit training
and research. He serves as minister of community development
at Tried Stone Baptist Church in Detroit. He is also a graduate
student in Pastoral Ministry at Marygrove College in Detroit.
He can be reached at [email protected]
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