‪#‎IAmBaltimore‬ : Black, White, Blue… And Gray

freddie grayHello World,

I must admit I’ve grown weary of trying to comprehend the incomprehensible : the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott and more…So when I first heard about the death of Freddie Gray, I simply didn’t want to allow it to penetrate my consciousness….It had/has become too much…

And then Monday, April 27, in Baltimore happened…riots that resulted in a senior center, that Southern Baptist Church had raised money for eight years to build, being destroyed by fire…a CVS was looted…Then, came the emergence of the “hero mom,” President Obama’s speech referring to the rioters as “thugs,” declarations by Rev. Al Sharpton and Pastor Jamal Bryant and finally Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s Friday, May 1 announcement that six Baltimore police officers involved in Freddie Gray’s arrest would be prosecuted for his death…

But beyond all of the news stories and angry commentaries, I wanted a perspective of someone simply living in the city…someone that I knew…that opportunity came when my friend Leslie J. Sherrod, who lives in Baltimore, wanted to tell her own story using the hastag ‪#‎IAmBaltimore‬…I asked her to share her story here on my blog and she thankfully obliged…Below is her story…

My father grew up on a little street named Ruxton Avenue. It’s in West Baltimore, off of North Avenue and behind Mondawmin Mall, the area at the very epicenter where Baltimore exploded in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray. My father has been quiet this week. When I asked him his thoughts about the past few days, sorrow filled his voice as he reflected on what the whole nation witnessed on Monday. “It’s hard to watch your old neighborhood be destroyed,” he said. That’s all he said. He’s turned off the TV and has watched little coverage since then.

Someone I know shared with me a story about her brother. “He was killed by the cops several years ago,” she says, “and nothing was ever done about it.” She and her family members witnessed the entire incident, him dying before their eyes as his throat was crushed. She pulls up the Internet, shows me a short paragraph of the event that made it into the Baltimore Sun back then. The article blames him for his own death. He choked on something, it reads; no mention of authorities involved. This woman, his sister, shrugs as she speaks to me. Her eyes glaze over with tears and then she turns back to her workstation to continue with her day.

A former supervisor tells me that she is surprised by the violent anger. Though a social worker in Baltimore City for many decades, she admits to being unaware of the rage, disillusionment, and angst simmering just under the surface of so many affected by poverty, addictions, limited job opportunities, failing schools and ongoing personal and public trauma. Not of the urban community, but working in it, she just didn’t know and could not imagine the depth – and repercussions – of such desperation, despite her years of experience.

Stories, memories, questions, observations.

Though we do not yet know how the current events in Baltimore will conclude, we will all make personal assessments based on our individual interactions, conversations, and through the lenses which we see our lives and others. The tragedy of Freddie Gray blew off the lid of a Pandora ’s Box of social ills we have as a society tried to ignore. What we have learned this week is that those ills do not just fade away if not addressed. We’ve been forced to air out our thoughts and weigh our opinions on every topic from racism, parental discipline, authority figures, politics, media representation, and more. The media has especially played a large role in shaping the national discourse, repeatedly highlighting the several blocks or so where the most damage was done, yet ignoring the 99% of Baltimore’s citizens who’ve engaged in peaceful protests, assisted with clean-up efforts, prayed together, and begun the work of healing.

I will not pretend to explore the deep social, emotional, institutional, and spiritual factors that contributed to the events of my city this week. I will, however, challenge everyone to consider their own lens.

Before Christ took up his cross, he pulled together those closest to him to have dinner one last time. Everyone at the table had a role, a perspective: the doubter, the denier, the betrayer, the confused. Everyone at Christ’s table had a lens through which they viewed the history they were living, and everyone had a purpose that somehow contributed to the greater goal of redemption.

America, this is a redeeming moment in our history. Whether black or white; whether wearing blue uniforms or orange jumpsuits; whether a resident, an activist, a victim, a rioter, a journalist, or a bystander, we all bring perspective to the table and it is at the table of our communities and cities where we must collectively commune and dine. Like a family dinner gone awry, we often sit across from each other in our respective seats in society and blame and scream and break dishes and storm out.

This week I’ve heard the roars of helicopters, the blares of sirens, and the chants of protesters. However, I’ve also heard about gang members tying their colors together and meeting with church leaders; about reporters being challenged by concerned citizens off camera regarding the often negative spin of news segments; about people pooling their money together to rebuild destroyed homes and businesses; about students and drivers organizing to provide assistance to seniors who depended on a neighborhood pharmacy that was burned down.

We are at a moment right now to hear each other, to sit down and talk. Let’s go beyond Black and White and Blue. Let’s not be afraid to address the difficult Gray areas of justice and redemption.

Everyone’s story deserves to be heard.

Let’s listen and learn.

ljspicture (2)Leslie J. Sherrod is a social worker in Baltimore where she lives with her husband and three children. She is also the author of six novels, most of which are set in her hometown, all of which address social concerns with intrigue and inspiration. Visit her website, LeslieJSherrod.com for more information about her work and her mission.

Any thoughts?

How I Used My Cell Phone to Call Up Jesus…

cellHello World,

Last November, I got my first smart phone! (I know, I’m a very slow adopter of new technology plus I’m very frugal…) Although that was a few months ago, I’m still learning how to use all of its functions…One function that still puzzles me is the voice recognition function…I guess I could read the manual to figure this all out, but for some reason, I don’t particularly care to read manuals unless I need to refer to them to trouble shoot…

So on Thursday as I was on the road trying to get to various locations for my job as a reporter, I was feeling very stressed out…I was running behind schedule and I have to make a daily deadline so time is very important. I was grappling with traffic which can be horrendous in the metro Atlanta area. I mistakenly sent an e-mail to the wrong person, and it was a very important e-mail. I also needed to answer a lot of other important e-mail messages but couldn’t get to them because I was driving…None of this was a life or death matter, but I have found that sometimes the daily accumulation of a lot of little things can have you feeling more anxious than the huge things that can happen…When something really bad happens, it is almost easier to cope with that because there is nothing else to do…But when a whole lot of minor to somewhat important things are vying for our attention, it’s hard to know what to tackle first…

So I decided to confess Scriptures to get my right…I said out loud as I was driving…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But I couldn’t remember exact verse numbers…I knew it was Philippians Chapter 4 but that was all I could remember…So while I was driving I picked up my cell phone and spoke the first few words of the verse into my cell phone…I waited until I got to the next traffic light to look down and see what happened…My cell phone told me the verse numbers of the verses I said…Verses 6-7…I was then able to quote the verses and where they came from and confess that I was going to go through the rest of the day without anxiety…And it worked…And I got everything done in the time frame I had, the e-mail mishap worked out and I returned all of the other e-mail messages that I need to answer as well…

FYI: A cell phone is a also good prop when you’re driving and you want to pray out loud, but you don’t want folk in the other cars to think you’re crazy…Pull that cell phone out and act like you have God on speaker phone…LOL…

Jesus is on the mainline…Call Him up and tell him what you want!!!

Any thoughts?

Seven Scriptures that Emphasize the Easter Message Outside of the Easter Story…

Hello World! Easter word

If you are a Christian, today, Easter Sunday, is the most triumphant and glorious day of the year…The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the bedrock of our faith…It is how we know that we know that we know God.loves.us…

If, by chance, you are a unfamiliar with the story – I pray that those who have never heard of the story somehow find their way to my humble space on the Internet – let me tell it to you in simple terms…

Holy God, creator of this universe, wants to have a personal relationship with us, the sinful human beings that He created…But because of our sin, which is essentially our willfulness or inclination to doing things our own way without God’s guidance, He cannot tolerate what we have done to ourselves and how we have desecrated our beings…However, he allowed his Son, Jesus Christ, a perfect being to die, to sacrifice himself on the cross and bridge the gap between us and our Holy Father…And Jesus Christ was resurrected three days later proving that God conquers death!!! If you would like  to read the official story, please see Luke 24 in the Bible…

While the Easter story is confined to a few chapters, the Easter message is scattered throughout the entire Bible from the beginning to the end…

1. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20…This verse comes from the story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him and his close relationship with their father.  Years later, however, Joseph, who had been given a position in the government in the country where he had been enslaved, was reunited with his brothers…

Despite what had been done to him, Joseph assured his brothers that God used their evil deed to allow Him to be in a position of authority. And that position of authority enabled him to do good for many under him…

Again, what may be negative, God can and will change it to a positive for us and many others if we would give Him the opportunity…This is what happened with Jesus on the cross…

2. “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to His face.”  Job 13:15…Job was a man who had been blessed spiritually and materially, but God allowed all of his materials blessings to be taken away to prove to the devil if Job would still serve God.

This verse was Job’s declaration that in spite of His feelings that God had deserted him, he would still trust Him…Jesus, God’s son, felt that way as well…Although He chose to die for our sins, there was a point that He felt God was not with Him because He was dying…

And yet, He went through it because His ultimate hope was in God…And we can claim the same when we are going through tough situations…In spite of whatever seemingly hopeless situation we find ourselves in, God can turn it around…He did it for Job, Jesus and He can and will do it for us…

3. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,  and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6…Sometimes there are things that happen to us that no matter how long we think about them or who we talk to about them, we cannot make sense of what happened…But we don’t always have to understand because God can straighten it all out…Those who lived with and loved Jesus didn’t understand why Jesus had die although He tried to explain it, but three days later, they understood…and were blessed..

cross

4. “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes  His life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…” Isaiah 53: 10-11  With God, suffering can have a purpose…Jesus’ suffering enables us to have life with the Father…

5. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28…This verse is a testament of how God operates…God can and does take anything and bring good out of it…Death is vile…But Jesus’ death is how we are able to be reconciled to God…That is good…

6. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12-13…As Christians or followers of Christ, we will be tested…But even as we are tested, we can have inexplicable  joy knowing that we are being tested because we do believe in Christ….

7. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-5 The ultimate message of Easter is that death is not the end of the story…And one day death as know it will be done and over with…

I wrote this Easter post because God has a track record of bringing the biggest blessing out of tragedies…I wrote this post for me, but I hope it blesses you…

Happy Easter! Jesus is Risen! Blessed be the name of Jesus!

One of my favorite gospel songs of all times…Wonderful Easter Message…

Any thoughts?