Lack of Respect Isn't Just Rude, It's Deadly

While Ferguson braces for apocalyptic bedlam and the rest of the country grabs their popcorn to watch, a couple other cop-killing incidents were missed.  One of which involved yet another Midwestern city, another black teenager, and another quick trigger white cop; allegedly.  The scene is Cleveland, Ohio...where a 12 year-old boy was killed by a yet to be named Cleveland police officer who was responding to a phone report of a person pointing weapon at someone.  When the Cleveland PD arrived, the preliminary reports state that the boy didn't pull out and point the weapon at the two officers; but when he was told to raise his hands...he [allegedly] reached for the weapon tucked in his pants.  Black boy down.  For the sake of this work, let's assume the police reports are accurate.

What Real Deliverance Looks Like

I once saw a guy get hands laid on him and he fell forward, not backward.  If the people who were standing behind him weren't quick...actually, they weren't.  And dude fell flat on the carpeted floor.  A good sounding thud too...and though I know that people getting knocked out by the power of God is real, there's always a possibility of a production.  But ain't nobody gonna fake falling face first...that you can bet is real.  Everybody in the building must have been thinking the same thing as me, too; because there wasn't any shouting or dancing or any of that.  It was mostly silence...even as Believers who had seen "falling out" before...this one was distinctively different.

Who Ministers to The Carters?

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Emotions Over Proper Intelligence: The Danger of Passion Within Service

Last week, I had one of the best conversations I've had in quite a while...and it all started off as a complete train wreck.  A good friend of mine who's consistently active in the Central Virginia community with youth basketball, mentoring, and a variety of other community service ventures posted some of his usual informative and inspiring quotes on Instagram.  In seeing one that referred to an unjust incarceration, I was so appalled by the incident that I did my research to see if it was true....and it was, with some additional information.  In my haste, I included that information on his post, which was not well-received.  However, because we are men, we had a phone call and smoothed it all out.  And as soon as I hung up the phone the Holy Spirit started dealing with me on some things...some of which I'd like to share with y'all.

Urban America's Latest Contradiction

When "Self-Destruction" came out, I think the general consensus was that finally [east coast] hip-hop had assumed it's share of responsibility and decided to take a musical stance on the wave of gun violence across the U.S.  And I think part of the reason it was well-received was because many of the MCs who participated in that Stop the Violence Movement didn't glorify violence in their records.  However, when the West Coast All-Stars put out "We're All in the Same Game", with the attempt to drive home the same anti-violence message, many were a little skeptical of the project.  Probably because most of those artists were recently-former or current gang-bangers, preached ultra-violence in their respective works, and had fresh murder tracks ready to be pressed, shipped, and sold as soon as they left the studio to talk peace.  One could argue that these movements point to the larger concern of black Baby Boomers not fully grasping hip-hop; because for them, the inconsistency of the messages were so blaring it was hard to take the art or the artist serious.