Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech!



I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,
"Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Insightful thoughts about the Zimmerman trial...

I must first say that I did not write this. It was posted by a friend who also did not write it with the following caption. I repost because this needs to be said.

Insightful thoughts about the Zimmerman trial from a very thoughtful leader, theologian and pastor in the Christian social gospel movement for decades. 


Lament from a White Father
By Jim Wallis 

It’s time for white people — especially white parents — to listen, to learn, and to speak out on the terribly painful loss of Trayvon Martin.
If my white 14-year-old son Luke had walked out that same night, in that same neighborhood, just to get a snack he would have come back to his dad unharmed — and would still be with me and Joy today. Everyone, being honest with ourselves, knows that is true. But when black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin went out that night, just to get a snack, he ended up dead — and is no longer with his dad and mom. Try to imagine how that feels, as his parents.

It was a political, legal, and moral mistake to not put race at the center of this trial because it was at the center from the beginning of this terrible case. Many are now saying, “There was a trial; the results must be accepted.” How well the case against George Zimmerman was prosecuted, how fair the tactics of the defense were, the size and selection of the jury, how narrowly their instructions were given — all will be the subject of legal discussions for a very long time.

But while the legal verdicts of this trial must be accepted, the larger social meaning of court cases and verdicts must be dealt with, especially as they impact the moral quality of our society.

This is not just about verdicts but also about values. 

And the impact of race in and on this case, this trial, and the response to it around the country must now all be centrally addressed.

There is no doubt that this whole tragedy began with the racial profiling of Trayvon Martin. In George Zimmerman’s comments, rationales, and actions, the identity of Trayvon as a young black man was absolutely central. Both sides in the courtroom admitted that.

And when the defense put up as a witness a white woman who had been robbed by a black man as central to why Zimmerman picked out Trayvon Martin to follow and stalk — it really said it all. Was she robbed by Trayvon Martin? No. So why should he be suspect because of another black robber? That is racial profiling. Period.

As the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his most famous “I Have a Dream” speech, whose 50th anniversary is coming up this August 24th:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

King’s dream failed on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla., when George Zimmerman decided to follow Trayvon Martin because of the color of his skin. This led to a confrontation in which a child was killed by an adult who got away with it, because of the way Florida laws were written and interpreted.

What exactly happened between Zimmerman and Martin will never be known, because the boy is dead and the adult did not have to testify and be cross examined. How a black boy responded to a strange man who was following him, and what the stranger did with that, is a story we can never really know. But regardless of the verdict that rests on narrow definitions of self-defense and reasonable doubt, it is absolutely clear that racial profiling was present in this whole incident.

And racial profiling is a sin in the eyes of God. It should also be a crime in the eyes of our society, and the laws we enact to protect each other and our common good.

White parents should ask black parents what they were talking about with their children this weekend. It is a long-standing conversation between black dads and moms, especially with their boys, about how to carefully behave in the presence of police officers with guns. Now they must add any stranger who might have a gun and could claim they were fearful of a black man and had to shoot. The spread of legalized carried-and-concealed weapons and the generous self-defense laws that accompany the guns will lead to the death of more black men in particular.

Death is horrible enough. But systematic injustice — one that allows white boys to assume success, yet leads black boys to cower from the very institutions created to protect our own wellbeing — is a travesty. Listen to the stories from Saturday and Sunday nights, of 12-year-old black boys who asked to sleep in bed with their parents because they were afraid. If black youth in America can’t rely on the police, the law, or their own neighborhood for protection — where can they go?

This is one of those painful moments which reveal an utterly segregated society, in reality and perception alike. White people have almost no idea of what black people are thinking and feeling — even the parents of their children’s friends from school or sports teams who are black. Trust me: most white people over this past weekend, whether conservatives or liberals, had almost no idea of what was happening in virtually every black family in America.

Finally, there is a religious message here for all Christians. If there ever was a time that demonstrated why racially and culturally diverse congregations are needed — that time is now. The body of Christ is meant, instructed, and commanded by Christ to be racially inclusive. If white Christians stay in our mostly-white churches and talk mostly to each other we will never understand how our black brothers and sisters are feeling after a terrible weekend like this one. It was the conversation of every black church in America on this Sunday, but very few white Christians heard that discussion or felt that pain.

White Christians cannot and must not leave the sole responsibility of telling the truth about America, how it has failed Trayvon Martin and so many black Americans, solely to their African American brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s time for white Christians to listen to their black brothers and sisters, to learn their stories, and to speak out for racial justice and reconciliation. The country needs multi-racial communities of faith to show us how to live together.

I Am Not Trayvon Martin!

Donate Now!

The Red Cross of Oklahoma has activated its safe and well website for those who are trying to reconnect with loved ones. Red Cross officials and volunteers are also beginning to open shelters. The first is at St. Andrews Church. You can help their efforts by donating to the Red Cross online (http://www.redcross.org/) or by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

The Salvation Army has also jumped into action. It's in multiple locations throughout cities in Oklahoma providing food, hydration and emotional support to first responders and storm survivors. You can contribute to the Salvation Army by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY
(1-800-725-2769), online on their website (http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf), by texting "STORM" to 80888 to make an automatic $10 donation

#PRAYFOROKLAHOMA

Real.Life.Woman.Write: Stop Domestic Violence!

Hey Lady,

I struggled to write this because it forced me to be honest about the fact that sometimes I'm not superwoman. Sometimes I AM vulnerable. And at some point, I did allow myself to be on the ground, looking up, wondering when the punches were going to stop and when would I start to recognize myself again... But I imagine to some degree, every woman has begged this question of herself at some point about some situation-- and that is why I am now bold enough to put it on paper and share it. So... I hope it inspires somebody to DO SOMETHING besides stay where they are today because of yesterday's feelings. For me, that wasn't good enough. And I hope that for even ONE woman who reads this, it's not good enough for her, either. Be blessed!


 

Last lifetime, I was in love… It was the kind of love that filled my heart with more joy than there are stars in the sky. This was the kind of love that even your dreams can’t contain—because it stretches too wide and dives too deep. He was a king. And it wasn’t just me that loved him… See, he loved me back—even made me his queen. And the love we made was so divine. There were few before him. But when he first touched me, he laid to rest every hand that had preceded his. When he entered me, my cup ran over and out poured every imaginable emotion until all of me submitted to all of him.

Last lifetime, I belonged to him and he belonged to me. Our souls were one and no breath could be had unless it was in tune with the other. We were strong and mighty and unstoppable… until we just weren’t. Something happened… I don’t remember what. But together, in love, we were laid to rest.

I’ve met him this lifetime. And though our lives were resurrected, I’m no longer his queen. He is king of another empire, and now I am his slave. We are very much in love, but only I belong to him. Our love is contained in dreams; because that’s the only place we can be seen. I only imagine his kind touch, though he may stand within plain sight. I hear his gentle words and must decide if they are of this lifetime or memories from the last. As I pick myself up off the floor, bloodied, battered, and bruised… I realize this isn’t love. I’m a queen. And there aren’t enough stars from last lifetime to keep me captive here another night. Last lifetime he was my king. But this lifetime, he ain’t shit.

 

Real.Life.Woman.

The Golden Girls on Marriage Equality!

How can you disagree with the Golden Girls?

Control: Guns? Media? Ourselves?

In light of the tragedy Sandy Hook Elementary School, it has brought the gun control debate back to the forefront of everyone including the ladies of Real. Life.Women. Talk. One common theme in our discussions is how the society here in the United States has changed so dramatically in our lifetime. As soon as this tragic event happened the knee jerk reaction was "gun control"! Now please do not get me wrong, I'm all for gun control but I'm a country girl born and raised in the South so, I'm not for banning guns. The fact of the matter is that guns have been around in this country since the freaking musket in the 1700's. These mass shootings have become a problem over the past 20 years. Therefore, in my opinion the question should be, "Why in the last 20 years?" "What has changed in the last 20 years?" The answer is easy: CULTURE AND SOCIETY!!!!

The United States is a country that has created a culture that glorifies violence. I'm not saying we look for it but we have become somewhat desensitized to it. At anytime of the day or night you can find a television program or movie with violence. The video game industry is booming with people going nuts over games like Call of Duty. In addition to glorifying violence, we also have a culture that loves to point the finger at other people for everything that goes wrong in their lives. Yes, that is correct, we have lost "personal accountability" in this great country we live in. When I grew up you were rewarded for what you did and not rewarded if you chose to do nothing. These days you have youth athletics that give everyone a trophy for just showing up regardless of how well they play. Some of these leagues do not even keep score. What exactly is this teaching a whole generation? It is teaching them that just showing up is enough. As adults, we know for a fact that is not true. So why is it alright to teach it to the children? When do we as adults break the bad news to them that you actually have to do more than show up in life to be successful?

My last point may not go over well with many of you but at this point I really don't care. This country has made a point to take God out of schools. There has been more work done to take God out of the schools in this country than there has been to make sure the students are well educated. Yet as soon as a tragedy like this one happens one of the first things people want to know is "How could God let this happen?" Well, I have the answer to that question so please pass it on if you don't mind. First of all, those of us that believe in God know that there is a God (GOOD) and that there is a devil (EVIL). With all the effort that has been put in to taking God out of the school system: no prayers, no pledge of allegiance and no mention of God at all. Why would there be any surprise when the devil shows up using a mentally ill person as his vessel? So to answer the question, how could God do this? I'm sorry but God didn't have anything to do with this.

Helping Thy Neighbor

"You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."

 - Zig Ziglar

That 1 Rule #1131

The Gays and the Chicken

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or don’t have facebook or twitter (same difference, right?) you already know about the recent fire that chic-fil-a has come under for its stance on gay marriage.  Along those same lines I’ve seen several articles about other restaurants and businesses that, as concerned citizens of our world, we should not patronize - Jimmy John’s, White Castle, and Waffle House to name a few.

In America where we have free speech we can all agree that Mr Cathy has the right to say or believe whatever he wants. There are even those who say well he’s only 1 vote and has the right to believe and vote how he wants. While both of these are 100% true, neither of these are the issue. The real issue is that these companies are donating large sums of money to the cause of discriminating against others who believe differently than them.  Folks wake up! This is YOUR money that YOU spent on nuggets and hash browns that is now going to help discriminate against people. It shouldn’t matter if you’re gay or straight or black or white we cannot allow discrimination against anyone.

Let’s think back to past civil rights movements. There was a time when it was widely accepted that blacks were inferior to whites, Women were inferior to men and legally others had the right to discriminate against those groups. This type of thought is ludicrous now, and why? Because those groups (and those in other demographics who felt strongly enough to support them) marched and protested and did what was necessary to fight for their rights … OUR rights.  These people were sprayed with hoses and tear gassed while fighting for their rights, and right now we can’t seem to get it through to some folks that we are all human and it is NOT ok to harm us or deny us basic rights because of who we are even if it’s different than you.

Granted, we as gay people don’t have separate water fountains and we don’t have to stage sit-ins to be allowed access to local establishments, but our rights are not what they should be. One of the main pro-CFA arguments is that chic-fil-a doesn’t discriminate against gay patrons and gay employees. That argument is seriously equivalent to saying to someone “We’re not racist. We have lots of black people as friends” or “we let you in the house when the weather’s bad”. All you’re doing is telling me how you humble yourself to be nice to me on occasion and I should feel lucky to be treated human in that way. In the meantime, you go behind my back and deny me basic rights.   Right now is our time to fight for what we need and deserve. This country was founded on religious freedom and that means freedom from religion if you choose not to participate.  So you want to run your company on Christian values. That’s great! I myself am a Christian, and as such I think that one should respect all people’s right to do what makes them happy as long as no harm comes to others. But when you take your beliefs and donate what ultimately is your customers’ money to a cause it should not be one whose purpose is to discriminate against many of the people who patronized you and brought you success as well as some of the very people you employ (who also helped make you successful). That’s a moral issue not a legal one.

No one is arguing that he has the right to do it, but suppose it was for a more obviously (and widely accepted as such) wrong and discriminatory group.  Let’s say for instance that McDonalds gave a huge donation to the KKK.  If you were seen with a big mac you would likely be chastised by any and everyone you came across. Why? Because what was acceptable 50 years ago as people standing up for what they believe in is now known to be just a bunch of bigots discriminating on people because of the color of their skin.

The message here for my straight Christian friends who believe that this is a free speech issue. It’s not. You have been duped by your churches, the media, and any other influence who gathered you all in masses for the cause of defending Dan Cathy’s freedom of speech. (and making record amounts of money for Dan Cathy and a hellish day at work for the chic-fil-a employees). Most people at some point in our country’s history (or present in many cases) fall into a demographic which are, have been, or will be in the future discriminated against based on some part of you that you wouldn’t change even if you could. Women, we couldn’t vote or own property. Think about that as you go to the polls in Nov and make that mortgage payment every month. Black people, shoooot, we couldn’t use their toilets, drink their water, marry EACH OTHER and don’t even THINK of marrying a white person! I believe that in their hearts they really believe they are doing what’s right. I pray that through the love of God they will see that they have been fear mongered into these beliefs and reconsider their position on this to one of love and inclusion.

I think the message here, gay people and supporters, is that we have to step up our game. As it stands, they are well within their rights to donate money however they want. So if we want to celebrate companies who give to our cause we have to accept that companies are going to go against us too. We need to organize, and work harder to seek out companies who do support us. Don’t bitch about your enemies because negative publicity is the best way to send people running there in droves to support them. Note the crowds at every chic-fil-a all day yesterday. Our organizations that work hard to fight for our rights need our financial help. We can’t just NOT give our money to those who don’t support us. We have to give our $ or our time or whatever we can afford to give in the fight for our own rights.  And we need to make moves that make sense and are not just based out of the "that'll really piss 'em off" principle. Obviously, we must stand up for ourselves but there is also a lot of room for some bridge building. 

Here’s something to consider. Tomorrow Aug 3 is lesbian kiss day where we’re supposed to go kiss in a chic-fil-a.  I have seen postings for some Christian organizations who are actually wanting to be there to show us love in counter protest. If they are successful and that goes well it could be a wonderful day for the two communities and their relations. If we as a community go there with our hearts, ears, and mouth ready to open dialogue rather than with our fists ready to fight, imagine the common ground we could reach across the country!

Weighing in on the Gay Marriage Debate

With all the controversy around North Carolina’s vote last week to ban gay marriage, President Obama coming out for it and the church leaders in Memphis speaking out against it  I felt I needed to weigh in.  First off, I must reach out to all those who oppose gay marriage. I haven’t heard a good argument for it yet, and I would like to know if someone can come up with one. I doubt it, but I would love to hear the attempts. So if you have one please share it with me and the world.  First, read on so that you can see that the most common arguments could easily be refuted by a 3 year old. 

1.        It destroys the sanctity of marriage –  plenty of straight people do that anyway with trips to vegas to get married at elvis themed chapels on drunken whims. Some of the same people preaching this are probably running around on their husbands and wives right now.

2.        Religious reasons (ie the Bible told me so)  - That’s all fine and good but that is your own belief. Not everyone is Christian or even religious and even some of us who are Christians do not believe in denying other humans basic rights. After all this country was founded on the principle of freedom of religion which means freedom FROM religion if you choose not to participate. Oh and what about that whole separation of church and state? What this means for those slow folks opposing this is that we don’t make laws based off your beliefs alone because that would infringe upon the rights of those who believe differently. 

3.        Children – This is two arguments actually 1. That the purpose of marriage is to reproduce and because we can’t do that we shouldn’t be able to get married. 2. The other is that any children in the marriage will suffer because of not having a traditional mother and father in the home and/or because of the “flawed” lifestyle of the parents.

My rebuttal to this is simple. Plenty of straight couples can’t or choose not to have kids but they are still allowed to marry. There are plenty of gay couples raising wonderful children and plenty of straight couples with what we’ll call “less than perfect kids”

4.        Impact on society – that if we allow gay marriage that society will go down the drain – really? For this I have no words. If you’re ignorant enough to think that this the biggest threat to society I implore you to pick up a newspaper and read about what is going on in the world.

Generally, the people who are supporting this are conservatives. Mind you, these are generally the same people shouting less government when it comes to most issues. How hypocritical of them to want MORE government when it comes to imposing their beliefs on others. I think Mayor Corey Booker (Newark, NJ) said it best when he stated that putting the civil rights of others to a popular vote is wrong. In this case they weren’t even voting on whether to legalize it or not. They were voting that they wanted to make it that much harder for it to ever become legal there. It’s all based out of fear and ignorance. To me, that’s like if you’ve never been robbed but you’re so afraid that you’re going to get robbed that you board up all the windows and doors in your house so you can’t leave and they can’t get in. Your neighbors and friends would think you insane especially if there was no traumatic event to trigger the behavior.

The citizens of North Carolina in my opinion should pick up a history book. Look back to the days when interracial marriage was in the same place gay marriage is now. Right now the idea of saying no you can’t marry another consenting adult just because they are a different race sounds ludicrous and so will the idea of fighting gay marriage in a few decades. It’s sad that so many people who wouldn’t be affected by this in the least bit oppose it so strongly. Perhaps they should be more concerned with their own marriages and relationships.

Speaking to the church leaders who have spoken out against President Obama’s support of it I would say that while it is your right to oppose it for your personal purposes and in your private church organizations, it is not your place to speak out regarding laws that do not affect you in the least bit.  You may feel it is wrong but in this day and age the church no longer “owns” marriage. It is a legal institution that many heterosexuals enter into outside of churches and without traditional clergy performing the ceremony.  Since Marriage is a legal issue and we, as a country, have separation of church and state then churches should not be weighing in on the issue. If it becomes legal then there would still be no law forcing churches to allow it within their walls. Besides if this is your wedding day wouldn’t you want it to happen in a place that is special to you and/or your spouse or at least accepting and supporting of the union.

This is what anyone who opposes this should consider. We just want the same rights and benefits you have with your spouse. We want the right to see our loved ones in the hospital and be considered next of kin without having expensive legal documents drawn up. (A Note to those who don’t know, these type rights are a given in a legal marriage.)  We want to express our love and commitment to each other in the same way that you get to and take for granted. Ask yourselves if your gay neighbors and friends are allowed to get married how will this affect your own marriage? Will you and your spouse love each other any less? Will the world implode from all the evil we have allowed?! No the only thing that will result from allowing us this right is that gay people will get married to each other. None of us have any desire to force your church that doesn’t agree with it to marry us. Like you, if we marry in a church it would need to be one that has meaning to us. Know that we would not take it for granted or cheapen it because we have fought so hard to achieve the right. 

The "Hoodie Experiment' - Try It Out And See How It Works For You...

The 'Hoodie Experiment' by Deric Muhammand
(Note: This Was Written Prior To The Murder of Trayvon Martin)

If Jesus came back to save the world how would he be received if he chose to show up in a "hoodie?" If the "cover of darkness" that he decided to come under were a Black fleece hooded sweatshirt and he arbitrarily walked in and sat on the back row of the church, synagogue or the mosque, how would we respond? These are questions that swim around in my head every winter when I pull my hoodies out and decide that I don’t want my bald head to freeze over. There is something about a young, Black male in a hoodie that makes everyone want to double check to make sure their doors are locked when in reality some of us are just trying to keep our ears warm.

As a member of the Nation of Islam, I was trained to wear a suit practically every day. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad dressed his followers in business attire, because he wanted to prepare us to meet with the business people of the entire world. He also taught us that "opposites attract"; that we should not go among our people offering what we have been taught looking exactly as they do. These are profound lessons that every Black man in America can benefit from.
When I am "dressed up" in a custom suit, I am usually treated with some form of distinction. White people can’t help but at some point ask "excuse me, sir, you look so sharp and well-spoken, what do you do?" That’s their way of saying with political correctness, "you don’t look like the rest of the nigg**s." If I am recognized for my activist role in the community, I am sometimes treated with some form of honor. However, when I am "dressed down" in my jeans, sneakers and my "hoodie," I get the opportunity to see how young Black males are treated for real. People double-lock their doors, clutch their pocketbooks, decide to wait for "the next elevator" and can be generally rude. It’s a more profound experience when you change from your three-piece suit to your hoodie on the same day. It’s as if the world becomes a different place. And while I recognize the power of presentation and how wearing a suit and tie can afford you some visible advantages, I also recognize that not every brother has a suit or tie and I am more concerned about the way my people are treated "dressed down" than the way I am treated "dressed up."
I know what some of you are thinking. Some of you are thinking this treatment is justified, because "these youngsters just need to pull up their pants." I agree, in part. Walking around with your boxer stains on display is not the way to earn respect. But, the truth is we feel this way because the Black male image has been hijacked, repackaged and villainized by the mass media. When we see a Black male wearing a hoodie, we automatically think of "O-Dog" from the movie "Menace to Society" shooting the owner of a convenience store because he said something about his mother.
We don’t look at the man in the hoodie and think "Wow, I wonder if that’s Brother Deric under there." The reality is, it just might be. And a more important reality is that the biggest thieves, murderers and robbers in the country wear suits, not hoodies. You should be even more afraid when you see them coming.

As a young student of revolution, I studied the life of

There are various ways for leadership to do this. Pastors and ministers should go to great lengths to find out how common people are treated when they enter the doors of their churches. A church, mosque or synagogue who treats the least member the same way the pastor or minister is treated is one that God would be pleased with. Leaders should call anonymously to their own organizations and get a feel for how common, everyday people are treated. News reporters should just go and anonymously stand in a line to recieve "food stamp" assistance and see how mothers who may have hit a tough time in life are treated. What a story that would make! We live in a society that doesn’t give a damn how common people are treated, because people in leadership are too busy worried about how they, themselves, are treated. It is the culture of a society that was built on slave labor; only I am not simply speaking of the way Whites treat Black people, I am speaking of the way we treat one another. If you have lost your compassion for the way everyday people are treated, then your leadership will be short-lived. God is turning the page as we speak.

Jesus set the standard for nearness to him by saying that the mistreatment of "the least of these, my brethren" represented the mistreatment and neglect of Jesus himself, (Matthew 25:40). Go and read it for yourself. Leadership is only as good as the treatment afforded to the least of those that they are supposed to be serving. If every Black male in a hoodie were unintelligent then Jay-Z wouldn’t be a multi-millionaire. If every man in a suit were to be trusted then Bernie Madoff wouldn’t have become a multi-billionaire scheming hard-working families out of millions of dollars. More crimes are commited in Brooks Brothers suits than in Roc-a-wear hoodies. I’m simply saying, be careful not to base your opinions of others on the images you see on TV. Jesus might just decide to make his return wearing a hoodie just to see how we treat "the least of these our brethren." I encourage all professionals, preachers, parents, politicians, leaders and others to take the "Hoodie Experiment." Just put on a hoodie one day and get a glimpse of how our young people are treated. If you choose not to do that, just find a way to put yourself directly in the shoes of the people you are supposed to serve. When you see how they are treated it may give you some insight into why they act the way they act. Most of you think you know their experience, but you really don’t. Truth is, no individual can rise above the condition of his or her people. So even, if you wear a suit most days like me, or President Obama (ahem!), at some point, society will remind you of this. Our president is a well-dressed world leader, but
Learn to look beneath the hoodie and beyond the cuff links. For, if we are unwilling to look beyond the surface we will never be able to find the substance. And we need the substance in order to survive.
(Deric Muhammad is a Houston-based Activist/Organizer in the Ministry of Justice. Visit his website at the late-great Libyan leader Col. Maummar Ghadafi. An unforgettable story is told about his early days as the leader of the country when he was about 28 or 29 years of age. He used to slip away from his security, dress up in disguise and disappear into the streets among the homeless, destitute, poor and hopeless people of Libya. He, the president and leader of a nation, used to live on the streets for weeks at time. He was trying to better connect himself to their experience so that he could make effective decisions for them. This afforded him the opportunity to see firsthand what their needs were. It better equipped him to be able to serve them which, despite what is written about him negatively, he did. Ghadafi was willing to put himself in the shoes of the least, the last and the lost in order to see what his people were suffering at the moment. I found this to be a very powerful tool.considering the way he is treated by a certain demographic in America, he may as well wear a hoodie every day.www.dericmuhammad.com.)

Click here for the original article posted on The Final Call:
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/article_8680.shtml#.T2pswwXVlF4.facebook

　

Please Don't Shoot Me

Because I Am A Girl...

Diane Nash: A Real Life SHEro!

For those of you ladies that may not have heard of Diane Nash before, please be prepared to be inspired by her story. She is described as soft spoken but a force to be reckoned with at the same time. Diane was a leader of the Nashville Student Movement in 1961. On her 23rd birthday, Diane Nash agreed to coordinate a second wave of Freedom Rides in order to keep the movement alive. This was after several days of bloodshed, the original group of Freedom Riders were stranded in Alabama. No bus drivers were willing to take them any further, and they were surrounded by a hostile, racist mob—the Freedom Rides were thought to be over and unsuccessful. In the middle of final exams, 21 students from various Nashville colleges left school to join the fight for equality. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy heard that more students were continuing the Freedom Rides, he called his assistant, John Seigenthaler and opened the phone call with, 'Who the hell is Diane Nash? Call her and let her know what is waiting for the Freedom Riders.'" Seigenthaler called Diane to try to stop the Freedom Riders from Nashville. He told her that they would be killed. Diane responded to him by letting him know that the students knew of the danger that lay ahead. The night before they left Nashville, Diane told him they all signed their last wills and testaments. Diane chose to lead the Nashville Freedom Rides because she'd had enough.

"If you went downtown in Nashville during the lunch hour, blacks would be sitting on the curb eating their lunch that they had brought from home or had bought from a restaurant on a take-out basis. It was humiliating, and I hated it." - Diane Nash

Stay Healthy Tip: Suicidal Ideations

Sometimes life is overwelming. A few days ago, I learned of a doctor that committed suicide. Unfortunately, it's not the first time. SUICIDAL IDEATIONS do not respect the person, degree, or socioeconomic status. If someone tells you or shows signs of depression/suicidal ideations...BELIEVE THEM AND INTERVENE!! Have A Healthy Day!

Read This & Vote!!! Then Vote Again and Again....

I received the following email over this past weekend from a former high school classmate. Of course I have edited some parts out but at any rate it would mean a hell of a lot for the Real. Life. Woman. Talk. readers to vote for him to show our support for his cause! Remember if you don't stand for something then you will fall for anything. Please read this and just like we used to do as kids ---> PASS IT ON!!!!

Dear friends,

I am happy to announce that I have been nominated as one of three finalists in the Sports Illustrated's Greatness in Sports contest. I am asking for your support by way of your vote in the contest. Many of you I know and some I only know through Facebook or by some other means. I was wounded while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq in July of 2005. I later was introduced to the sport of handcycling and have found great joy in competition and teaching the sport to newly injured veterans. As a believer in paying it forward, I have agreed to donate half of my winnings to the Achilles Freedom Team. The Achilles Freedom Team is a chapter of Achilles International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that is composed entirely of wounded veterans. Achilles pays all costs for these wounded warriors to participate and travel to major marathons across the country. I had to write a short essay on what sports means to me.

ESSAY

I was always active growing up as a kid. I played baseball, soccer, even practiced martial arts. The opportunity to become an athlete didn’t happen until I was injured fighting in Iraq in 2005 and lost both of my legs in an explosion. During my recovery at Walter Reed, I was introduced to the sport of handcycling by Achilles International out of NYC. My first race was their annual 5 mile ride in Central Park in 2008. After being confined to a wheelchair for over three years and not being able to enjoy many of the activities I use to when I was able bodied, the feelings I got after that first ride on my handcycle were indescribable. The feelings of competition and the rush of speed were what I needed to get back into sports. I started training and a few months later did my first marathon, a little race called the 2008 New York City Marathon!  It took me almost 3 hours to finish, but when it was over, the sense of accomplishment I felt was overwhelming. I proved to myself that my disability does not limit me from being competitive; but that it was my own fears and thoughts of failure that were disabling me. I have now competed in over 12 marathons with my best time being this year’s Boston Marathon in 1:34. I now work on mentoring newly injured veterans and continue to race in marathons with the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.

Please take 5 minutes of your time to vote and help me give back to the sport that has meant so much to me during my recovery. The more votes I receive= the more money I can donate to this worthy charity. 

  

P.S. You can vote once a day if you feel so inclined :). Contest ends November 14th. Please post the contest link on your Facebook page or Twitter feeds, and feel free to forward this email to your friends to help generate as many votes as possible. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much for your time and support.

  

Contest page: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/greatness/

Achilles International: http://www.achillesinternational.org/programs/freedom-team/overview

Yours in sport,

Joe Beimfohr

The Power In Giving...

This weekend I had the honor and privilege to be a part of the Inaugural Women Build 2011 with the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity.  This was my first Habitat for Humanity build and I can say today without a doubt that I know that it will not be my last. What I learned from this experience is something that I have known but didn't fully understand until yesterday. That lesson is that giving is better than receiving. Yes, the lesson that you were taught as a child but do not really understand until you are older and somewhat wiser. I finally got it!

When I was told that the volunteers had to be on site at 6:30, the not a morning person side of my brain screamed "6:30 A.M. In The Morning!!!", they could not be serious. I don't have to be at work for my day job that pays me at 6:30 in the morning. Then they said we would be there until around 3:30 that afternoon. At this point, I am thinking no freaking way. I didn't know I would be there all day. I thought I would show up for a couple of hours or so and paint then go enjoy my Saturday. The group meeting on the Thursday prior to the scheduled on site build we were given notice that we will possibly doing more than painting. I begin to feel a little better because painting is not a strength of mine. As an added bonus, we also got our PINK tool belts, hard hats and official Women Build T-Shirts!

The morning of the build was a typical of late October and simply put, it was cold. However, when I showed up on site there was breakfast and my beloved coffee. Things immediately began looking up. This site had a totally of six houses that were being built for families, with one being a all women build house. We were briefed as a group in our morning meeting and given our assigned S.O.S. (Supervisor On Site) then followed by a prayer before we started work. The all women build site had two S.O.S's with one being a woman. The funny thing about this is that Steve, the male S.O.S. was less than thrilled about being assigned the women build home, in the beginning, but since then has changed his mind. He told us that women are better at a majority of the work because they pay more attention to details. He was easy to work with because in his direction he would often remind the team that hey, remember it can't be difficult if men do it, right? With that being said, thanks to Steve I know how to install interior doors. The door team, which I was part of, installed a total of four bedroom doors, three closet doors and two bathroom doors all in one day. The other team Steve worked with installed base boards throughout  home. The third team lead by Debbie was responsible for painting. That was the team that I made sure I was not on and we are all happy about that.

The great thing about Habitat for Humanity is that all of this work was done right beside the future homeowner. She is a single mother of two and was there on site working just as hard if not harder than the rest of the volunteers. As a volunteer it was awesome to see the person we were building this home for on site. Many times we are so far removed from who we are trying to help through charitable donations and organizations that we become so out of touch with their reality. I am thankful that Habitat for Humanity makes sure this disconnect does not take place.  I left the build site with my feet and back hurting and did not care one bit. This is because I felt how good it was to help someone without caring if they would ever know my name or ever try to return the favor. That is what I call the real power of giving!