Open Letter to the Presiding Bishop-Elect Joseph W. Walker and the "By Invitation Only" Attendees of the Inaugural Meeting of the SHIFT

December 12, 2013

Open Letter to Presiding Bishop-Elect Joseph W. Walker III and the “By Invitation Only” Attendees of the Inaugural Meeting of the SHIFT

Brothers,

How an initiative begins significantly affects how it goes forward.

We read with interest the well-crafted December 9  press release  of the coming “SHIFT,” a new initiative spearheaded by Rev. Joseph W. Walker III, Presiding Bishop-Elect of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. We paid special attention to the quotations and looked at the pictures. What a curious title: “Rebranding in the body of Christ: The Ultimate Leader Shift.”

As we read the letter, we became increasingly more disturbed and troubled. Although our first response was “no women were in the room,” in fact our concerns are deeper. It was just sinful and wrongheaded for a group of men to gather without active, real participation of women. We want to be clear about what disturbs us in this moment. Generally, we ignore lists of “100 most influential,” “10 best preachers,” etc.—how could we know who are the 10 best preachers, given all the powerful preachers who will never have a stage? So we read “chosen ones” and

“greatest movement” with a grain of salt. But if those gathered intended to communicate an inclusive, progressive, dynamic, forward thinking agenda, your images and rhetoric failed you.

The  post-letter from Bishop Walker—apparently written in response to comments made about the  absence of women—said “a number of women who were invited… many were unable to attend” (though there were NONE present). We are hard-pressed to believe that all those busy men could come to the SHIFT meeting, but not one woman was available at the time. Quite frankly, if scheduling the meeting proved to be that problematic for women only, then one would be forced to rethink its planning strategies and organization. In the interest of being in solidarity with your womanist sister clergy, if this initiative really intended to be “new,” “progressive,” and “bold,” we think our Womanist/Black Feminist allies in the photo ought have refused to meet or release anything without a critical mass of sister leaders present, not as tokens, but as full participants. If there were men in that room who were in fact appalled by the lack of female representation because they did not know beforehand who would attend, we would hope that our brother allies would publicly declare their disappointment that a meeting with no women present was not rescheduled.

That’s what solidarity and ally-ship look like.

We’ve been chastened not to call black male church leaders out in public. We’ve been told that we have misunderstood. The rising bishop responded in his follow-up letter in what he called “a teaching moment” that we should “ask questions” rather than assume, presumably to correct his errant critics. We say that the gathered brotherhood of clergy should make their commitments clearer. What exactly do they hope to accomplish on behalf of the church? Does it matter to anyone other than women that women are invisible in a gathering of putatively this import? The Bishop’s letter read like a justification for  male privilege. The usually “invisible cloak” of arrogance and male-only leadership was visible. All the rhetoric sounded like everything we’ve ever heard from male-dominated meetings.

As Womanists-Feminists-preachers-scholars-activists our responses come from several places. We are not making assumptions. Your press release and its attending images speak volumes. You are not interested in iconoclastically breaking from tradition. You’ve made clear that even if women were invited their insight, input, or wisdom was not considered significant enough for the group to wait. Indeed, the notion that women have to be “included” is itself a male privilege power move. Surely, you are aware that most black churches are comprised of as much as 80% female membership. We also know  that women do the majority of the work of the church, without whose labor the organization and mission would fail. To be crystal clear, women’s gifts and capacities in all aspects of church leadership are as critical to the survival, relevance and progression of the church as men’s. Are women not already included in God’s plans?

You’ve communicated—loudly—that  (male) “Generals” would strategize and tell all the foot soldiers what to do. A clear inference one gets from your invitation to meet is that God only calls “Generals” who are notorious and already “celebrity” preachers, i.e., those considered “important” and “special” people. Only those with thousands of members know anything about impact or leadership. We understand. That presumption makes sense in an entrepreneurial understanding of the church, where faithfulness is measured only in dollars and size. It smacks of religious elitism. What could an inner-city pastor with only a few members who’s faced gangs and helped people who are poor and struggling to thrive possibly have to offer? You’ve communicated that the hierarchical, “Fathers-know-best,” male-centric table works for you and you’ll scoot over and cram in a couple more of some you deem “worthy.” It is presumptuous and ill thought-out.

We will take you at your word that you didn’t intend to communicate most of the above, if you’ll take our word that’s how many people who care equally about the future of the church received it.

Intent and impact are two very different things. Be clear. Images matter. Rhetoric matters.

In this climate in which the black church finds itself on the brink of becoming irrelevant in the public’s eyes and where black preachers are portrayed on TV as money-grubbing pimps in the pulpit, it would seem that preachers serious about redeeming the times and restoring the reputation of the black church would be committed to justice that reflects genuine shared leadership with women. More than 27 years ago, Rev. Prathia Hall challenged the black Baptist Church on its rampant patronizing exclusion of women, and we find ourselves having to do the same. Dr. Renita Weems once asked, “What will it mean in the history of the church if record droves of women experience and accept their call and we go on with business as usual?” By your omission, you dishonor the legacy, ministry and lives of the biblical general Deborah and prophet Huldah; the church house leader Chloe; and deacon Phoebe and co-workers in the gospel Euodia and Syntyche. You dishonor the work and ministry of women such as Jarena Lee, Septima Clark, Ella P. Mitchell, Brenda Piper Little, Shirley Prince, and Bishop Barbara Harris, and countless of notable and unnamed others.

The challenge with critiquing SHIFT and movements that exclude more of God’s people than they include is that onlookers immediately think it's personal. Religious male-centered leadership is "normal" and “sacred” and any attempt to question it is deemed perverse or personal. Our call is not for women to have access to patriarchal power, but that we all work together to create new, healthier, more humane—and therefore more godly—systems. We ask you to consider, not only those at the table you’ve spread, but those who are not present. We believe such consideration is central to the ministry of Christ. Women are invisible at the table, but so are many others, including, self-identified same-gender loving Christians. As you consider what or who has their feet on the necks of those you want to liberate, consider whose necks your feet may be holding down. Self-reflection and self-critique are deeply important in justice work.

In response to your invitation for dialogue, here are a few questions to get the dialogue going: How do leaders who claim to fight for justice not know that sexism—excluding women or only including them as afterthoughts—is just as vile and sinful as racism and that it takes intentionality to transform, if in fact you intend to do so? How do self-proclaimed Womanist allies not include women and men who are Womanists and/or Black Feminists in the shaping of vision? Womanist/Black Feminists are not concerned only with the “inclusion” of women in public religious life. That’s about numbers. As people of faith, committed to the cause of radical inclusion, justice and love, we would be remiss in our integrity and derelict in our respective vocations, if we did not speak to injustices and oppressions as evidenced by this introduction of your initiative. We are interested in vision and shared influence and the building of the Commonwealth of God, beloved communities where everyone is valued, heard, protected, and helped to thrive, even if we disagree with them on a number of fronts. Jesus modeled this expansive community best and thus was persecuted for it by self-styled religious movers and shakers of his day.

One last point. You can understand, can’t you, why talk about “core family values” by a fraternity of male preachers raises concern for many of us? We have seen from this last election cycle what happens to women, poor families, and same-gender loving people when right-wing conservatives draft laws and draw up policies in the name of God and family values. Is SHIFT an initiative of black men merely reflecting the same toxic politics and policies? In other words, who is permitted to sit at the table and to fully participate as self-possessed people? Are single people okay as single, or are they people who need to get married? What about single people who’ve adopted children and built families on the village model—a very African approach to family? Is there room for LGBTQ families already among your ranks, or is yours a movement bent on silencing, demonizing, or maligning them? Is there enough emotional, theological, and intellectual bandwidth within the organization to partner for social change with people with whom you don’t agree? I wonder what would happen if you thought Dream Defenders, New Black Man (in Exile), Moral Monday activists or Black Youth Project members, leaders of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, for example, were just as important collaborating partners FROM THE BEGINNING?

Bishop Walker noted that women’s full inclusion is a key priority. If so, one social justice organizer said, “If you say it’s for ‘us,’ don’t do it without us.” A noted activist once said that if you’re comfortable with everyone in the room, you’re not leading a revolution.

Finally, you may ask: “What do you want to happen?”

We want this group to commit that all future SHIFT meetings will include women religious leaders around the table, clergy and lay, pastors and academics—the presence of women whose voices you admit are critical and crucial to participating with male religious leaders in redeeming the times and redeeming the future of the black church.

We want members of the group to publicly acknowledge that, though you may not have intended the slight, this first gathering was sinful and flawed by these exclusions. If this exclusion was not the intended message, take a good faith opportunity to correct that error.

We raise these concerns and questions because it is faithful and just to do so.  As catalyst for this letter, Dr. Valerie Bridgeman, along with any number of the undersigned are willing to be in an open dialogue with Bishop-Elect Walker and any of those in that first meeting.

In the Struggle and in the Spirit,

Rev. Valerie Bridgeman, Ph.D. Biblical and Homiletics Scholar President & CEO of WomanPreach! Inc. Board of Trustees, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Dr. Iva E. Carruthers General Secretary Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Rev. Carolyn Ann Knight The Seminary Without Walls Smyrna, Georgia Bishop Yvette Flunder Presiding Prelate, The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries Pastor, City of Refuge San Francisco, CA Rev. Leslie D. Callahan, Ph.D. Pastor, St. Paul's Baptist Church Philadelphia, PA Jaha Zainabu, Poet Rev. Maisha I. K. Handy, Ph.D. Pastor, Rize Community Church Associate Provost Interdenominational  Theological Center Robert Hoggard Founder & President American Baptist College Affiliate of S.C.L.C Matthew Wesley Williams Lithonia, GA Rev. Donna M. Vanhook Burlington, NC Rev. Marsha Foster Boyd, PhD Englewood OH Rev. Cedrick Von Jackson The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD Chair of the Biblical Area and Associate Professor, Hebrew, Jewish and Christian Scripture The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia Min. Jamie Eaddy Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson Executive Pastor The Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, NY Rev. Andrea Clark Assistant Pastor Antioch Baptist Church Tulsa, OK Rev. Quincy James Rineheart, M.Div., S.T.M. Rev. Dawnn M. Brumfield, Associate Pastor Urban Village Church Chicago, IL Ashon Crawley Pastor Michelle E. Freeman, M.Div., Houston, TX Min. L. Proverbs Briggs, Atlanta, GA Rev. Dollie Howell Pankey, MACM, MTS Pastor, St. James Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Jasper, Alabama Rev. Catharine A. Cummings, M.Div. Pastor, Wesley UMC Church, Springfield, MA Rev. Earle J. Fisher, M.Div. Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church (Memphis) Adjunct Instructor of Contemporary Theology at Rhodes College Rev Dr Mitzi J. Smith, Ph.D Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., Ph.D. Professor, Biblical Interpretation New York Theological Seminary Visiting Scholar of Religion & African American Studies, Columbia University Min. Hazel M. Cherry, Oakland, CA, M.Div. Candidate Howard University School of Divinity Bishop Andre L. Jackson Founding Pastor, New Vision Full Gospel Baptist Church, East Orange, NJ MA in Practical Theology/ M.Ed Candidate Regent University, VA Rev Candace Lewis, United Methodist clergy Rev. JoAnne Marie Terrell, PhD Associate Professor of Ethics, Theology, and the Arts Chicago Theological Seminary Rev. Dianna N. Watkins- Dickerson Chaplain, USAF Larry T. Crudup M.Div. Candidate Perkins School of Theology Rev. Rosalyn R. Nichols, D.Min. Organizing Pastor, Freedom's Chapel Christian Church (DOC) Memphis, TN Min. Guy Sebastian Johnson, Leesburg, VA, M.Div. Candidate Lancaster Theological Seminary EL Kornegay Jr., Ph.D. CEO/Founder The Baldwin~Delaney Institute Chicago, IL Liz S. Alexander, Seminarian Chicago, IL Candice M. Benbow Durham, North Carolina Dr. Irie Lynne Session Senior Pastor The Avenue - Warren Avenue Christian Church | Dallas, Texas MDiv. Black Church Studies Concentration | Brite Divinity School DMin. Transformative Leadership & Prophetic Preaching | Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Rev. Dionne P. Boissiere, M.Div. Consultant, WomanPreach! Inc. & Director, Women’s Center   New York Theological Seminary Rev. Stephanie A. Duzant, MSW Hollis, Queens NYC Min. Louis J. Mitchell South Congregational Church Springfield, MA Minister Rhonda White-Warner, M.Div., D.Min. Candidate, SF Theological Seminary Founder Alabaster Jar Ministries, Oakland, CA Toby D. Sanders, Pastor Beloved Community Rev. Reginald W. Williams, Jr. Pastor, First Baptist Church of University Park University Park, IL Bishop John Selders Pastor Amistad UCC & Bishop Presider Interdenominational  Conference of Liberation Congregations and Ministries Rev. Marilyn E. Thornton, Director/Campus Minister The Wesley Foundation at Fisk University, Nashville, TN Rev. Wm. Jermaine Richardson Dr. Safiyah Fosua Assistant Professor Congregational Worship Wesley Seminary @ IWU

Brittney C. Cooper, Ph.D. Departments of Women's & Gender Studies & Africana Studies Rutgers University Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright Board of Trustees, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Myia Williams-Sanders Rev. Martin L. Espinosa Senior Pastor Ray of Hope Community Church, Nashville, TN Rev. Vivian Nixon, Chief Executive Officer College and Community Fellowship and Founder Education Inside Out Coalition J.T. Thomas, Cleveland, OH Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson Senior Pastor The Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn NY Associate Professor of Homiletics, Drew Theological Seminary Keri Day, PhD Professor of Ethics & Director of Black Church Studies, Brite Divinity School Rev Toni DiPina, Pastor Rockdale Congregational Church Northbridge, MA Rashad D. Grove Rev. Carla A. Jones Jeralyn B. Major Charles Bowie, Ph.D Rev. Carla Patterson Associate Minister Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC Rev. Vanessa M. Brown Karlene Griffiths Sekou, MPH, MTS President Dignidad International Cambridge, MA Rev. Felicia Y. Thomas Rev. Carla Patterson Rev. Alisha Lola Jones, M.Div. CEO & Founder InSight Initiative, Inc. Rev. Margaret Aymer, Ph. D. Associate Professor Interdenominational  Theological Center Min. Brenda Summerville, M.Div. Chicago, IL Roger A. Sneed, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Religion Furman University Rev. Andre E. Johnson, PhD. Pastor, Gifts of Life Ministries, Memphis, TN Dr. James L Netters Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Religion and African American Studies, Memphis Theological Seminary Rev. Althea Bailey Rev. Yvette A. Assem, M.Div. Womanist Missionary Language of the Black Woman's Touch Min. Robin P. Sessoms, M.Div. Rev. Dorothy Harris, J.D., Pastor Unity Fellowship Church of Columbia (Maryland) Carla E. Banks Rev. Toni Dunbar, D.Min. Associate Pastor & Dean City of Refuge United Church of Christ, Oakland, CA Executive Director, YA Flunder Foundation Founder & Director, Refuge Leadership Development Institute Rev. Gwen Thomas, M. Ed. Author, LGBT activist, & Huffington Post blogger The Rev. Canon Terence Alexander Lee, Rector St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, Hollis, NY Rev. W. Jeffrey Campbell, Executive Director Hudson Pride Connections Center, Jersey City, NJ Evan R. Bunch Pastor Genetta Y Hatcher Detroit, Michigan The Rev. Fr. Marcus G. Halley, Associate Priest St. Andrew's Episcopal Church - Kansas City, MO Rev. Dr. MarQuita Carmichael Burton Rev. Don Darius Butler, Pastor Tabernacle Community Baptist Church Milwaukee, WI Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, Ph.D. The Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA Dr. Tony McNeill, DWS, Director of Worship & The Arts Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church - Atlanta, GA Min. Davica Williams-Warren, M.Div., Miami, FL Rev. Frank A. Thomas, Ph.D. Director of the Academy of Preaching and Celebration The Nettie Sweeney and Hugh T. Miller Professor of Homelitics Christian Theological Seminary Rev. William I. Spencer Min. Kymberly McNair Social Justice Coordinator Antioch Baptist Church Bedford Hills, NY Dr. Teresa Fry Brown Director Black Church Studies Program And Professor of Homiletics Emory University, Atlanta, GA Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, Director, Black Church Studies Princeton Theological Seminary Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis Director of the Center for African American Ministries & Black Church Studies and Adjunct Professor McCormick Theological Seminary Chicago, IL UCC Pastor Rev. Kimberly G. Walker, Pastor Village of Hope CME Church Stone Mountain, GA Joshua Crutchfield Nashville, TN Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings New Covenant Christian Church Nashville, TN Rev. Dominique C. Atchison, M.Div. Associate Minister Brown Memorial Baptist Church Sacred Conversations on Race Coordinator Connecticut Conference UCC Rev. Chaka S. Holley, MSW, M.Div. Dr. Lynne S. Darden Assistant Professor New Testament Interdenominational Theological Seminary Atlanta, GA Rev. Cassandry Redmond, M.Div. Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Richmond, CA

Renita J. Weems, Ph.D. Biblical Scholar Nashville, TN Pamela R. Lightsey, PhD Boston University School of Theology Rev. Asa J. Lee Arlington, VA Rev. Carolyn Hutchinson Temple Hills, MD Rev. Rashad D. Grove, Pastor First Baptist Church of Wayne Wayne, PA The Rev. Dr. Violet Lee Tamura A. Lomax, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Virginia Commonwealth University Darnell L. Moore writer and activist Estee Nena Dillard Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie Atlanta, GA Rev. Tawana Davis Executive Minister Shorter Community AME Church Assistant Coordinator, Rocky Mountain District Women in Ministry Rev. Dr. Alice Hunt, Chicago Theological Seminary Chicago, IL, UCC Jamall Andrew Calloway, S.T.M. Associate Minister Mt. Aery Baptist Church, Bridgeport, CT Rev. Benjamin Ledell Reynolds, PhD student Chicago Theological Seminary Fallon Wilson, M.A., ABD University of Chicago Rev. Karyn Carlo PhD Rev. Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes Assistant Pastor of Special Projects Union Baptist Church Cambridge, Massachusetts John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor Colby College, Waterville, Maine Rev. Charisse R. Tucker, Minister of Administration St. Paul's Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA Terry T. Hocker, Sr. Pastor/Founder Bound By Truth And Love Ministries, Cincinnati, OH Rev. Jamie D. Hawley, Chaplain University of Michigan Rev. Kendal Brown Dean of Students Lancaster Theological Seminary Rev. Melva L. Sampson M. Brandon McCormack, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Departments of Pan-African Studies and Humanities (Religious Studies) University of Louisville Charlotte Caldwell Rev. Brian Foulks Lexington, SC Lisa Ann Anderson Rev. Osagyefo Sekou Pastor for Formation and Justice The First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain (Boston, MA) Rev. Dorian Mendez-Vaz, President & Founder Within Her Reach, Inc. Min. Ryan Hawthorne, M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary Rev. Kimberly Henderson Philadelphia, PA Rev. Raedorah C. Stewart, MA Preacher, Poet, Mother of a Son Rev. T. Renée Crutcher, Founder/President Sankofa Ministries & Tellin' Our Story Publishing, Inc. Atlanta, GA Min. Kamilah Hall Sharp, J.D. M. Div. Candidate Memphis Theological Seminary Bishop Dwayne D. Royster, Senior Pastor, Living Water United Church of Christ General Secretary, Higher Ground Christian Fellowship International Dr. Donique McIntosh Associate Pastor Namaste' United Church of Christ Minister Kelli X, M.Div Madison, TN Rev. Sharon L. Bowers UMC Pastor ITC Alumna Rev. James A. Hardaway, M.Div., MACE Pastor, Mount Gilead AME Church, Columbus, GA Rev. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Ph.D. Keith Crawford, Jr.

A Different World: A World Alike 3/3

Nelson Mandela: A World Alike!

Nelson Mandela:  A World Alike!

My earliest memory of Nelson Mandela and Apartheid is riding the 95^th street bus and passing a church on the south side of Chicago, Trinity United Church of Christ and seeing a sign that reads, “Free South Africa.” My first thoughts were what, why and how? But the latter really stood out in my mind. How?

 In August 1988 I went away to college. I was leaving my west side neighborhood and stepping into a world of new insights, experiences, and people.  It was a different world. My love for rap developed and my favorite group Public Enemy took my black consciousness to a new level. The group was very political and gave a voice to issues that were affecting the black community and the world. It was so cool and so very bold to be free enough to speak out against the wrongs of the world. While this was going on in the world of rap, a black television show called, “ A Different World” was making a moral and financial statement as well.

In 1990 A Different World aired an episode entitled, “ A World Alike.” Showing the Hillman students making choices about supporting a company who gives money to the college or standing firm on what is right for the people of South Africa! I was able to see what it meant to divest, sacrifice, to take a stand against the wrongs of the world. This was a fictional TV show about black college students taking stands and giving voice to real life issues! It was no longer about me but about others who were oppressed and suffering in the world.  I learned that if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything! I also learned about the power of money but moreover capitalism! In that very moment I needed to KNOW Nelson Mandela and South Africa! It began to burn in my spirit. It was permanent in my conscience and I could no longer ignore it.   My question of how from riding the 95^th street bus had become my reality.  

I remember Public Enemy’s front man Chuck D singing, “I like Nike but wait a minute, the neighborhoods are poor so put some money in it.” So many of my friends had Jordan’s gym shoes, we were loyal faithful consumers of Nike but what was Nike doing for us? What was Nike doing for the world?   There were so many corporations and universities connected to Apartheid it was crazy! So much changed for me in the late 80’s and the 90’s. My worldview expanded beyond my needs to the needs of others. My worldview expanded from the west side of Chicago to South Africa. Social Justice was forming within me and I didn’t even know what it was!  In the mid 90’s I joined a church in Detroit, MI, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church.  The Rev. Dr. Charles Gilchrist Adams is the pastor and his ministry took my learning on social justice and Jesus to another level! Theology was no longer a big word from seminary but a word that I had to discover, unpack and then release! The word Liberation gave my choices power!

Its amazing how three words, Free South Africa and a man action’s changed the world!  I can remember Nelson Mandela getting release from prison after 27 years.  I can also remember the excitement for his US tour! I remember my anger about his imprisonment and I remember my joy about his release! I remember my ignorance and curiosity of the Free South Africa sign!  

I repost an article from the Grio on my Facebook page that Michael Bloomberg announces the creation of the Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice. I received one comment; “a school were the students will learn to subvert the very system that made Bloomberg rich, neat”.

From the words of Colby the South African student at Hillman College, “The way it is, is not the way it has to be!” Julian the transfer student at Hillman replied:   “Things always work its way back!”   Some prime examples, me seeing the Free South Africa sign in the 80’s and 20 years later I am a member of that very congregation. Nelson Mandela a prisoner to the President!   Yes indeed things work their way back!

My favorite quote from Tata Madiba is, “ a real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger.”

The A Different World episode: A World Alike was just one of the catalyst that woke me up and taught me about the divestment movement. Economic boycotts do work!

Thank you Madiba, for your life, leadership and legacy.  You shaped my belief of the world, belief of humanity and especially my faith in social justice. Because of you I have emerge stronger in the fight for justice!

12 Years a Slave equals 12 Years of Survival

A few weeks ago I was in Alabama visiting my sister and her family.  As my niece and nephew were leaving to go home my sister kissed them goodbye and said, “ don’t take any wooden nickels.”  My nephew immediately turned to me and said, “Aunt Brenda what does that mean?” It was something from our childhood that my sister’s father uses to say when we parted goodbye. Don’t take wooden nickels! As I watched my nephew a 20 something black man walk away a sense of sadness came over me because we still have to tell our children to be careful and safe in this world.  As I sat in the theater watching the film “12 Years a Slave” that same feeling rose up in my spirit as Solomon Northrop kissed his wife and children good bye, because I knew the wooden nickels were coming next!

The film 12 Years a Slave is a Masterpiece! Solomon Northrop (portrayed by Chitewel Ejiofor) was described as exceptional and he was; carpenter, musician, husband and father. But most importantly a free black man! I can’t remember seeing a film that showed slavery as raw and uncensored.  If I have in the past I simply have filed it away deep in my memory as another film on slavery I want to forget! Director Steve McQueen does an awesome job showing us how slavery looks, sounds and feels. It’s also the first hand account by Solomon Northrop himself on what he experience as a slave.

            The film dealt with the manipulation, kidnapping, the auctioning, buying, selling of slaves and plantation life. Solomon through out the film had this sense of dignity about him that was simply amazing. There is a part in the film on the boat headed to Louisiana were Solomon states that he does not want to survive he wants to live! Then there is another scene were Eliza is grieving her children and Solomon tells her to stop crying.  Eliza scolds him for not resisting and giving in but Solomon tells her he is trying to survive! Survival during slavery was the objective! It wasn’t about just doing the work! Solomon once being a free black man lived but once enslaved he had to learn how to survive. For example Solomon offered up his talents, his carpentry skills and musical skills to his masters pleasing.

            What I love about this film is that it shows slaves trying to maintain humanity within the inhumane. Slavery is pure evil! There is nothing good that came from it! The film showed Plantation life and the horrific brutality that it entailed. Master Ford had compassion to try to help Solomon leave his plantation but there were laws in place in the US regarding slavery.  Master Epps was psychotic and had no sense or regard for anyone or anything. Both masters viewed their slaves as pure property, not human just property.  The slave owners gave no regard to human life! But it was amazing how each master read scriptures to the slaves to encourage them to obey! It showed how the bible was used to control slaves who couldn’t even read it! The bible is used as a weapon for the slaves to obey; it is also the saving grace to slaves trying to survive.  

My turning point in the film was to see Pastey gets the flesh beaten off her back for leaving the plantation to get a bar of soap. The dialogue took me to a place of helplessness for my ancestors and to the reality that there are those who still hate black people! But within that evil I saw Pastey’s courage because she told Master Epps, “ I pick over 500lbs of cotton everyday more than any man here and for that I will be clean.” Pastey was beaten to the point of death for a bar of soap. I vomited during the scene! The soap was a mere cover of what was really happening on the plantation. Master Epps could not negotiate his feelings for Pastey so he decides to beats Pastey to death and then maybe the feelings he has towards her will go away. The emotional effects of slavery are so sicken on so many levels. We saw this film through the lens of a black man who was once free and now caught up in a living hell that we call slavery.

            I would argue that Solomon’s turning point was when Uncle Abram died and another slave wanted to say a few words before Solomon buried him. I believe that seeing Abram fall out in the field, burying him and then listening to the song, “roll Jordan roll’ Solomon accepted his fate. Solomon started singing the Negro spirituals for comfort! But Solomon never lost his dignity nor did he ever hate! I believe that is what made him so exceptional. I believe that is what makes are race so exceptional. Our narrative didn’t start with slavery but we as a people endured slavery. Black people have been here since the beginning. Through colonial and antebellum periods and we are still here. We are resilient and survivors!

The effects and consequences of slavery have not been resolved in the United States. So for me there is still anger and hurt. Racial tensions have not diminished in the United States. We are still experiencing racial undertones and violence.  So for me to view this film tore a scab off an old wound. Is there a balm in Gilead for my people? Is there any emotional justice for African Americas? The prophet Jeremiah also heard from God who says, “ for I know the plan I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…and with that All I can do is trust in my God!

Solomon Northrop’s 12 Years a Slave; showed the world the true face of slavery. Steve McQueen’s film will remind the world of the evil and terrorism of slavery! There is a scene where Mistress Shaw (portrayed by Alfre Woodard) tells Patsey and Solomon, “In time the good Lord will manage them all.”(Referring to the slave masters). Dear Lord I am waiting on the day that you manage all those who seek to annihilate my race! I look forward to the day when my race can live and no longer have to survive!

Lee Daniel's The Butler giving new meaning to servitude!

Lee Daniel’s The Butler giving new meaning to servitude!

Recently I was invited to speak some words of inspiration at my family reunion.  I had learned prior to the reunion that my great grandfather Doc Patterson was a butler for a family in Cherokee County, AL.  Because I love to use movies in my sermons I had to incorporate Lee Daniels’s The Butler into my speech!

            After my words of inspiration a family friend approached me about slavery, the Lord and how slavery could not be a good thing for Black people. First off I never said it was a good thing. Slavery is nothing to be glorified! Slavery was an evil event in the history of the U.S. and Black America. I said that my great grandparents Doc and Lula Patterson worked hard to give their children opportunities and they did it as servants.

            Humbling yourself to service in any capacity is discipline.  It’s challenging and should never be taken for granted.  One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Dr. King tells Louis that maids, butlers, nannies and other domestics have defied racist stereotypes by being trustworthy, hardworking and loyal.  They maintain other people’s household and raise other people’s children.  They have gradually broken down hardened and hateful attitudes.  Their apparent subservience is also quietly subversive.  Being a servant you appear to have no voice but in reality your actions speaks volumes to your service!

            Through the film we saw examples of servitude to different things for example, the master’s mother Vanessa Redgrave taught Cecile how to serve her family in the big house and Clarence Williams III taught Cecile how to serve in the world as a free Black Man. Louis trying to serve his people by fighting against his country while is younger brother Charlie was serving and fighting for his country. 

            Like Cecile Gains my great grandfather wanted a better life for his children and he did what he had to do to obtain it and so on and so forth. When you dedicate yourself to service it’s a great sacrifice! You put yourself last to make someone else first!

            Isaiah 53:4-5 speaks of the greatest sacrifice and service to us, "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed." 

            Isaiah 53:7 goes on to say, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."  Cecile saw and heard so much during his service in the White House but he never open his mouth to speak against it! Cecile Gains affected change in the White House by speaking up for the well-deserved raises for the Black staff. 

            Serving and service looks different for people.  Sometimes its quiet and sometimes its loud. Sometimes it’s dangerous and sometimes it’s humbling. But no matter how it is presented it still produces the same outcome…Change! 

Fruitvale Station: A Crash into reality!

Fruitvale Station is just another train stop on the road of racism. Fruitvale Station is the story of the last day of the life of a black man named Oscar Grant, which happens to occur on the last day of the year! For most of us New Year Eve is a time when we say goodbye to the things of past and look forward to what the New Year will bring.


The film shows Oscar’s struggles with trying to keep/find a job and still be legit (not selling weed on the side). The film also shows Oscar being a victim of racial profiling. We see Oscar trying to stay out of trouble, provide for his family and make his mom proud!

As I watched the film I could not help but to think about the film Crash. Crash was a powerful

Film dealing with the racial and social tensions of our time. Oscar Grant constantly crashed into people and I found it very ironic that it was all white people. Let me explain. During his mother’s visit to prison, Oscar gets into an argument with a white inmate/gangbanger. They are beefing about something and this beef/ argument resumes on the Bart on New Year Eve.

Oscar Grant meets Katie a white woman in the grocery store where he previously worked. Katie is trying to figure out which fish to purchase for a fish fry she is having for her boyfriend. Katie does not know where to begin so Oscar jumps in. He calls Grandma Bonnie to the rescue and she provides all the knowledge that Katie needs for a successful fish fry! Katie is all smiles and thanks Oscar for helping her out! Katie is on the Bart that New Years Eve as well. Coincidence I think not.

Lastly Oscar meets a white man who is a web developer. This man shares his rags to riches story with Oscar. He tells Oscar that he too was broke and stole a ring to propose to his now pregnant wife.



Oscar Grant was definitely between a rock and a hard place, Oscar could have sold that big bag of weed and that could have taken care of the money problems for a while but he chose not to. Oscar dumped the weed in the bay! Oscar wanted to make a different and do what was right and legal for his family.



Now this is where the reality of racism crashes into Fruitvale station!

The encounters: The inmate and his beef was the past. Katie is the present. The web developer is the future.

Oscar and Sophina made resolutions and were hopeful for what the New Year would bring for their family. But the train ride home turned evil, a fight occurs and the police arrive. The police assume and pull the black and brown men off the train. While the inmate and Katie rides on home!

Emotions are high and everyone wants to talk and no one wants to go to jail. But a white officer who is assuming reaches for his gun and in that emotional moment all hope is gone for Oscar Grant!

On the last day of Oscar Grant’s life he crashes into some white people who would probably not given him the time of day but they saw Oscar’s as human, not a thug and non treating. They let their guard down and shared positive exchanges with him. (Except the inmate/gangbanger).

There are always some who judge skin color and appearance, they will panic and shoot first and no questions later. Oscar Grant was just trying to get home, as he took his last breath he repeated, “I have a daughter.”



Oscar Grant’s story for me is that of redemption interrupted by racism! Oscar is the prodigal son trying to maintain a life without a job! Racism looms its evil head and loves to disgust itself as fear! Racism makes us panic and all hell breaks loose!

Trayvon Martin was a young black boy with the world waiting for him. Oscar Grant was a young black man who was in the world just trying to survive!

Trayvon was just starting out! Oscar was just starting over!



One thing I know for sure racism will always kill a happy ending!!!