Category Archives: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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White Greenville Oaks Church of Christ Lead Minister Collin Packer Shares Support of Black Slain Worship Leader Botham Shem Jean…

Hello World,

I’m so disheartened and yet not surprised that Dallas, Texas police officers are reporting what was allegedly found in the apartment where 26-year-old Botham Jean, who is black, lived and was killed by Dallas police officer Amber Guyger on Sept. 6. The office-duty police officer, who is white, shot and killed him after thinking he was a burglar in her apartment when she mistakenly went into Jean’s apartment. CNN is reporting the items included “two fired cartridge casings, a metal marijuana grinder and 10.4 grams of marijuana. The search warrant indicates that officers went inside the apartment looking for drugs the night of Jean’s death, his mother, Allison Jean, said during a news conference Friday with her attorneys. She accused authorities of defaming her son.”

Further down in the story, it is noted that  “A CNN team visited Jean’s apartment Friday, where a small memorial of flowers and a photo with his mother adorn the front door. Several books were scattered around the unit, including C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters,” which was on Jean’s bedside table. Some dishes were left in the kitchen sink, and a bowl filled with ID badges, keys and notes covered the counter.”

Honestly, I don’t care what they found “good” or “bad.” What may have been found does not explain why this police officer shot this man who was in his own apartment and minding his own business.

All of that aside, I was encouraged when I saw a Facebook post by a white Texas minister Collin Packer who acknowledged the startling racial dynamics at play in this tragedy. Jean had visited his church a few times.

And if you cannot see the entire post, here are his words below:

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Botham Shem Jean. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had. Botham was a man of God, a graduate of HardingUniversity, a worship leader, and a brother in Christ. We shared the same city and the same small religious tribe. He attended our church a few times.

8 days ago, Botham was murdered in his home. The shooter was not taken into custody until 3 days later. And yesterday, while I was sitting at his memorial service, those in power prepared to release the results of what often happens when African-American men are murdered: a thorough investigation into the life of a victim to criminalize him and somehow help others come to the conclusion that he, because of some flaw, “deserved” the bullet that took his life in his own home.

We don’t just murder African-American men. We murder their character. And we continue to justify systems that have continually devalued black bodies from the moment they arrived on our shores on slave ships.

I am a white minister in Dallas. My family has lived here for generations. I have benefited from so much that this city has offered me. But my experience is not the experience of everyone in Dallas.

And I refuse to be silent and complicit any longer. Botham’s Memorial Service, along with many other events over the past few years, have unstopped my ears and cleared my eyes.

In his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke words that still ring true in our day:

“I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice…”

I want to challenge my white brothers and sisters in Christ to be willing to speak up for justice. May we be willing to stand in solidarity. May we be willing to listen without being defensive.

The voice of our brother’s blood cries out to us from the ground. May justice roll down like a river. Let us do what we must to tear down any dam constructed to block the flow of that river.

Also, in support of the Jean family, below is a positive image of Jean leading worship at Dallas West Church of Christ Church the Sunday before he was shot and killed:

May God be with the Jean family as they grieve the senseless loss of their loved oneBotham Shem Jean. Below is a Dallas News video snippet from Jean’s homegoing service last week. And here is an article about the entire homegoing service “Botham Jean ‘was the light in the dark room,’ Dallas minister says at funeral.”

Any thoughts?

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Bishop Eddie Long Accusers Announce Release Date for Book Recounting Sexual Abuse Allegations!

Hello World,

It was just over a year and half ago that the untimely death of Bishop Eddie L. Long, megachurch pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia was announced, sending shock waves in the religious community. It was the end of an era if you grew up in the A. Even if you weren’t a member, I will bet that every black person in the metro Atlanta area knew someone who was a member at some point, thereby multiplying his influence well beyond the church’s walls.

But don’t be mistaken! Bishop Long’s ministry garnered worldwide attention as the world came to his church’s doorstep when the funeral for the widow of Atlanta’s greatest native son the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mrs. Coretta Scott King, was held on the premises in 2006. At the time, Dr. King’s youngest daughter Dr. Bernice King was an elder at New Birth.

That’s why it was so devastating when Bishop Long was accused of allegedly priming and eventually convincing four young men to have sexual relationship with him in a 2010 lawsuit. The matter was settled out of court and presumably never to be spoken of again as demanded by the rules of the settlement awarded to the young men. But as has been said truth is stranger than fiction and as I say, the best fiction is based on truth! To that end, the four accusers – Spencer LeGrande, Maurice Robinson, Anthony Flagg and Jamaal Parris – are writing a fictionalized account of their alleged experiences, according to the AJC.

The roman a clef — “Foursaken” — centers around a scandal involving the charismatic preacher of a thriving megachurch. While technically a work of fiction, LeGrande said there should be no doubt the sordid tale of power and betrayal is one they experienced firsthand.

Now this novel has been in the works for at least a year and this book isn’t the only one written about the experience. The fifth accuser, Centino Kemp, who wasn’t included in the initial lawsuit wrote a book entitled “First Lady,” which was published in 2013. If you want to read an interview with Kemp, check out The Christian Post’s interview with him about that work.

According to the AJC, “Foursaken” will be released before the end of 2018. And the leadership of New Birth Missionary Church, which has suffered a loss of membership since this scandal, will be among the novel’s readership if only to ensure that the authors maintain the settlement’s boundaries. New Birth board chairman Thomas W. Dortch Jr. detailed his position to the AJC.

“If they cross the line, then they’ll answer for it,” Dortch said. “If they violate the agreement or, if at this point, try to embarrass Bishop Long’s family, there will be consequences. We’ll take whatever action is necessary within the law.”

Also, as has been said before, there are three sides to every story, mine, yours and the truth. I don’t know whose account is true, but prior to his January 2017 death from cancer, Bishop Long wrote his own story “The Untold Story – The Story of Adversity, Pain, and Resilience.”  Now, according to an interview with Steve Harvey, Long could not address the sexual abuse allegations in the book but all three of these works should give insight into a tragic set of events.

Will you be reading this book when it is published?

Any thoughts?

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in May 2018

Hello World,

I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women! So below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for May ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out 🙂  As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

1. “The Ragland family of Jonesboro celebrates one of their own in Meghan Markle” by Stephen Boissy

Excerpt: The Raglands were forced to come to Jonesboro in the early 1800s. Revolutionary War veteran William Ragland won a land lottery as a reward for his service. The property he won was on then frontier land in Georgia. The city of Jonesboro that would serve as the backdrop for Margaret Mitchell’s Tara. He bought slaves forcing them to work the land and also forced his last name on them. Meghan Markle can trace her roots to them. Her side of the family would leave Georgia in the early 1900s, but leaving behind plenty of other family members. See more at: 11alive.com.

2.”How Female Celebrities Used Their Met Gala Outfits to Both Honour and Subvert Religious Norms” by Katie Edwards

Excerpt: Solange Knowles paired her braided golden halo with a black du-rag, pushing back against the notion that heaven is white and reminding onlookers that contemporary African-American sartorial culture is also heavenly. In an interview on the red carpet, Solange stated that she was directly influenced by the Black Madonna and African saints. See more at: independent.co.uk.

3. “Beyoncé And The Intersectionality of Faith” by Sonya Eskridge

Excerpt: By now you have probably heard of the Beyoncé Mass. At first glance, this looks like an entirely blasphemous church service praising Queen Bey, and many people of faith have taken deep offense to the fact that it even exists. Some have outright refused to watch the investigative piece about the service, dismissing whatever value it may have simply because it looks unorthodox on the surface. See more at: madamenoire.com.

4. “Austin Channing Brown: White people are ‘exhausting’” by Emily McFarlan Miller

Excerpt:  “White people can be exhausting.” That’s the first line in Austin Channing Brown’s new book, “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.” Brown, who writes and speaks about justice and racial reconciliation, said she chose those words carefully. “Exhausting” was truer than “frustrating” or any other adjective she tried, and, she said, “In the whole book, I’m trying to be as honest as I can about what it’s like to be a black woman who navigates whiteness on a very regular basis.” Plus, she said, she didn’t intend to write an introduction to racial justice. She wanted to move the conversation forward by sharing her experiences that showed how hard and sometimes dangerous it can be for a black woman navigating white Christian spaces, while also celebrating blackness. See more at: religionnews.com. 

5. “They Were the Only All-Female, All-Black Team in a NASA Science Competition. Then Came the Hackers” by Gianluca Mezzofiore 

Excerpt: Three teenagers came up with an innovative way to clean lead-contaminated drinking water in public schools — an idea so smart it made the finals of NASA’s coveted nationwide high-school science competition. The trio — the only all-female, all-black group in the finals — engineered a filter that purifies drinking water in old public-school buildings by detecting impurities such as chlorine, copper, and bromine.But when NASA opened the contest to online voting, users from 4chan, the image-based online bulletin board, launched a campaign to hack the results, forcing NASA to shut down the voting. See more at: cnn.com. 

6. “From Dating to Marriage, He Had a 5-Prong Plan” by Vincent M. Mallozzi

Excerpt:  “Both Elizabeth and Michael are really gracious, hospitable and friendly people, each with a wacky sense of humor,” Ms. Augustin said. “They are also very much grounded in their Christian faith, which is why I thought they would be perfect for each other. But as it turned out, the timing just wasn’t right for them as both were going through difficult times, so there was absolutely no spark.” See more at nytimes.com. 

7. Tuskegee Names Lily D. McNair as its 8th President by Michael Tullier

Excerpt:  Dr. Lily D. McNair will become Tuskegee University’s eighth president after being unanimously selected by its Board of Trustees. She will serve as the first female president of the institution in its 136-year history. McNair currently is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wagner College in New York City…Since Tuskegee University’s founding in 1881, it has been under the leadership of seven presidents — the first of which was Booker T. Washington, who led the institution from 1881 to 91915. See more at: tuskegee.edu. 

8. “White Woman Who Called Cops on Black BBQ in Oakland is Now a Meme” by Jessica Lipsky 

Excerpt: A woman in Oakland, California, who called the police on two black men barbecuing along Lake Merritt and became the subject of a now-viral video is now proliferating social media as a meme.  The woman hurled several racial epithets at the group and told them they’d soon be going to prison for their Sunday afternoon cookout, Newsweek earlier reported. In the video, the woman said her call had “nothing to do with their race.” The woman spoke with police, who arrived on scene to find both parties complaining of harassment. The officers wrote a report but issued no citations, made no arrests and allowed the barbecue to continue. In response, Oakland residents held a huge cookout on the same site on May 10. See more at: newsweek.com. 

9. “‘I Love Hate Speech’: Sarah Braasch, the White Woman Who Called Police on Black Yale Grad Student for Napping in Dorm, Defends Slavery and Supports Burqa Ban in Writings” by The Grio

Excerpt: “I was placed on the pro-slavery side of the argument. I remember spending many an hour in the local public library poring over Time Life books… And then I had a eureka moment. Some—not many, but some—of the slaves didn’t want to stop being slaves. A small number wanted to remain with their owners or return even after being freed. I knew I had just won the debate. And indeed, I did. I led our team to victory. The pro-slavery contingent defeated the abolitionists because, in a democracy, in the land of the free, who are we to tell people that they can’t be slaves if they want to be? Who are we to tell someone that she has to be free? Who are we to tell someone that she has to be regarded as fully human?” See more at: thegrio.com. 

10. “Black Ministry Students At Duke Say They Face Unequal Treatment And Racism” by Nick Chiles

Excerpt: “One of my classmates was sitting in a class, and she texted me and asked me to come to her class because a student was in her class saying, ‘N****** like you come here and think that you can just change everything. Why don’t you just learn what Jesus is really about?’ ” said Amber Burgin, president of the Black Seminarians Union, who is in her third year at Duke Divinity. “We are in classes trying to pull each other out of class to hear people making inappropriate slurs, like a white student calling someone a jigaboo and then claiming they didn’t know what that means. Or a white classmate calling a black classmate ‘ghetto.’ … I’ve had classmates who have had to take leave; I’ve had classmates who have left the program because they were tired of being treated in such a way.” See more at: npr.org.

If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blogs and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces  🙂.

Any thoughts?