Magazine
5-15
Homelessness & Hunger: 2 Ministries at Work
16-19
35-40
Tribute to Dr. Aaron Shirley Concern for people drove him to do great things
Racism
41-45
Where are we really?
Facing the Death of a Child A Professional Counselor shares her family’s story
24 Time is Elusive: A Poem
46-47 Spiritual Dress:
25-34
What’s your size?
After His January Inauguration, Now What? This feature includes an interview with his “better half”
48-50 “Judge Penny”
Dr. Jerry Young
HUSH | 3 | 2015 January • February
comes to town. Message: Stop & Help
HUSH Magazine focuses on faith, marriages, families, & communities to:
Magazine
✔✔promote unity among all people ––
believers in Christ in particular –– blurring the cultural and racial lines that tend to oppose us; ✔✔offer real-life stories of people making a positive difference as encouragement to others to do the same; ✔✔spotlight success stories of care and concern for the development of youth –– the source of the nation’s next generation of leaders. In a nutshell, HUSH Magazine is about people reaching out to people and impacting them in positive, powerful ways. HUSH is published three times each year: January / February; May / June; and September / October. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all content. However, we do not guarantee that every article, column or story is free of error. No responsibility can be or is assumed. All Rights Reserved. © 2014 by Rapha Communications, LLC, P. O. Box 12635, Jackson, MS 39236; 601.506.1847.
Photographers in this issue
Errol J. Dillon Jackson, MS Jay D. Johnson Jackson, MS Contributing Editor / Writer Contributing Writers
Leona Bishop Ridgeland, MS
China Lee Jackson, MS Nikki Marzette-Turner Oxford, MS
Columnist
Alfredia Dampier Miller Jackson, MS
Scripture Consultant
Jacqueline Mack Director of Christian Education, New Hope Baptist Church Jackson, MS
Proofing Consultant
Wallie Ballard Clinton, MS
Herein is Love,
1 John 4:10
Eleanor Davenport Reynolds Mobile, AL
Charlotte Graham Laurel, MS
Subscribe online at www.hushzine.com for periodic updates about the next magazine issue, as well as other information.
not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son...
Victor Calhoun Mobile, AL
Editor / Publisher
HUSH | 4 | 2015 January • February
Linda Buford-Burks Jackson, MS
H
by Eleanor Davenport Reynolds Contributing Editor / Writer ave you ever caught a glimpse of a homeless person? Maybe it was someone at a stoplight holding a sign that simply says “Will work for food.” or “Homeless. Please help me. God Bless You.” How about some guy in flip-flops, hair uncombed, wearing crumpled, dirty clothes and a worn jacket in the dead of winter seeming to be looking for a cement seat and a wall to cuddle next to out of the elements for the night? According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1.75 million people are homeless in the United States. Millions are hungry. Folks are hungry in their homes, hungry and homeless on the streets, and hungry living under tarps in wooded areas near our homes and shopping malls. Not everyone hungry is in that condition due to laziness or mental illness. Lost jobs, high unexpected medical bills, and the home loan fiasco are some of the factors that lead to homelessness and hunger in America. A recent study by Feeding America, a nationwide network of 200 member food banks, reveals that one in seven Americans — 46 million people — rely on food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families. Nationwide, 25% of military families or 620,000 households need help putting food on the table. It is a state of life called “Food Insecurity,” which basically means not having enough food for an active healthy life. Seven states have statistically higher food insecurity rates than the US national average of (14.7%): Mississippi (19.2%), Texas (18.5%), Arkansas (19.2%), Alabama (17.4%), Georgia (17.4%), Florida (16.2%), and, North Carolina (17.1%). Feeding America Chief Executive Officer Bob Aiken is quoted as stating, “Hunger exists in literally every county in America. It’s an urban problem, it’s a suburban problem, and it’s a rural problem.” HUSH | 5 | 2015 January • February
Ministries in 2 States Making a Difference
HUSH | 6 | 2015 January • February
Grace Place / Jackson, MS
Focused on Christ-Centered Transformation
T
by China Lee, Contributing Writer
he winter months provide many of us with a special time to share with family, cozy up to a warm fire, and a spirit of general happiness. For many it also provides harsh cold nights, and a search for warmth is tough when your bed is concrete. Homelessness is an unfriendly foe to millions of men and women in America. In Mississippi our homeless population is ever present. With a poverty rate of 24% and extreme poverty rate of 10.7%, according to the United States Census Bureau, Mississippi’s homeless are a part of a statistic that seems to be unyielding. Nevertheless, they are not alone. Many Mississippi lawmakers, philanthropists, and churches have provided help for those in need. Galloway United Methodist Church has created a ministry to assist the homeless in downtown Jackson. Their ministry is called Grace Place, a fitting name, as it provides grace for those who have not had much from society. For eight years, Grace Place has been a sanctuary for Jackson’s homeless. It started as a type of “controlled chaos,” says Leslie Bingham, the director of Missions and Outreach at Grace Place. Years before Grace Place opened as an official ministry, the homeless located in downtown Jackson would come to Galloway’s doors asking for help: food, clothing, or just simply to use the bathroom. For nearly a decade, Grace Place has been opening its doors in response to their cries. A snack bag out of the back door soon became a fully operating ministry that provides downtown Jackson’s homeless population with a much needed place to go every Sunday and every weekday, except Tuesdays. Grace Place provides a multitude of services for 75 to 100 people. Their guests are mostly men, but they refuse help to no one. Their doors are open from 8:30 a.m. until 11 HUSH | 7 | 2015 January • February
Volunteers Mark Wall and Jane McCraney help with sign-in, while Billy Underwood collects meal tickets from those being served. Monday and Wednesday-Friday. On Sundays, they open at 8:00 a.m. As the men and women come in, Bingham has them sign their names. She says not only does this help to know the identity of the person entering; it also helps give their guests value. She says calling individuals by their names helps to instill their identities. They are not just a number or a face at Grace Place. “They are people with worth... and have been made for a reason,” says Bingham.
Volunteer Ron Martin
Volunteers Jim Leonard and Shirley Key
Volunteer Susan Risher
The services at Grace Place include a hot meal, provided every morning they are open. On Thursdays, the clothes closet opens up to hand out fresh clothes for their guests. This is especially important in the winter months, when layering is important. Services do not stop here. Spiritual help is available, with a goal to “meet them where they are,” says Bingham. They are not pressured to join the worship services held on Wednesdays, but they are encouraged to do so. For those who want help looking for work, Grace Place offers assistance to help them get back into the job market. Volunteers help fill applications, create email addresses, and similar services –– as much as volunteer manpower will allow. For those stymied by legal infractions, an attorney volunteers to assist in clearing hurdles where possible. All of these services are dependent on volunteers who come ready to work everyday. The volunteers include members of the Galloway church family and those from other Methodist churches with which they partner. Grace Place is always looking for volunteers. Bingham says that the ministry needs people to help in all capacities including prayer, mentors, food prep, receptionists, servers, and assistants for big events like birthdays and holiday celebrations. No experience is needed: just a heart for helping. As it stands, on a daily basis, the ministry needs about nine volunteers, but sometimes make it work with a mere two. Bingham is not deterred when everything does not fall into place perfectly. She invites the homeless to volunteer to help themselves and their peers. They help cook, serve food, and clean the Foundery where the ministry is housed. Bingham says that the people who volunteer and want to be involved in the ministry are the ones who make the most progress. Christcentered transformation is one of the goals of the ministry. No one is forced or pushed into something they do not want. They s imply are provided with the steps to get there. Where is “there”? Bingham says that is for them to decide. HUSH | 8 | 2015 January • February
Galloway member Sally Hodges, above, volunteers as the Clothing Closet manager at Grace Place. Kathy Wall (right), also a Galloway member, spends time helping too. Some homeless people have been coming to Grace Place since the ministry began. Many come, eat, and leave, repeating the pattern day after day. Some take the opportunity for a new life, with a few of them taking full advantage of the services available. They have gained access to a life that is again acceptable to society. Although helping these people get off the streets is a major goal, Bingham and others who help run the ministry (like newly hired Rev. Eddie Spencer, Pastor to Church and Society) rejoice at any progress. Bingham has been told that some of the homeless feel less tense and at peace at Grace Place. Some of them have “softened hearts,” as she describes them.
The Reverend Eddie Spencer works part-time helping with the Grace Place ministry.
Grace Place is providing a service for those who society has shunned, people who are not given the same treatment as others because their placement on the social hierarchy happens to reign at the very bottom. Galloway United Methodist Church has given them true love, just as Jesus would.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.” Matthew 25:37-40 HUSH | 9 | 2015 January • February
Ransom Cafe Ministry in Mobile, AL goes beyond the ordinary, running a mobile shower and laundering service for the homeless. Richard Matthews (right) drops his laundry off to Matt Ambruster, executive director of the ministry. This photo and others with this story, were taken by Photographer Victor Calhoun of Mobile, AL. HUSH | 10 | 2015 January • February
Jill Gentry (center), manager of the cafe, leads a group in prayer before a meal.
Ransom Cafe / Mobile, AL
From Hunger & Homelessness w HOPE by Eleanor Davenport Reynolds Contributing Editor / Writer “The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 ne man moved by God to do something about the problem of hunger and helping the homeless is Matt Armbruster. The former restaurateur started his ministry work in Mobile, Alabama. “I was searching for a way to use the gifts God gave me for His glory. I had turned away from God. But, the Bible says if you will seek Him you will find Him. I had a vision for a restaurant. ...no prices...order your food...pay what you can.” Matt calls his restaurant Ransom Cafe, a name Matt says God gave to his wife Tara, two weeks before he had even shared with her the vision for the restaurant. Matt said God gave her that name through the Bible verse Matthew 20:28. “The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as ransom for many.” Tara said she did not know what that verse meant at the time, but when she shared it with Matt, it all clicked. “Serve in the Hebrew and Greek literally means to wait on tables. Ransom means to liberate many from misery. That’s what Jesus did. We started that restaurant in 2010,” said Matt. Most soup kitchens allow people to eat food for free. But Matt says what sets Ransom Cafe apart from other ministry food feeding centers happens once people order their food. At Ransom, Matt and his volunteers
O
HUSH | 11 | 2015 January • February
Tara Armbruster (left) and volunteer Dustin Smith (far right, standing in door), at the Clean Machine. take food orders, along with each person’s name. When the food is ready, each person is called by name for the food, for which folks pay what they can. Then, Matt and cafe volunteers sit, eat, and chat with their diners. Through breaking bread together, the goal is to establish a relationship and learn what is keeping the individuals from getting their lives back on track. “I did not want a soup kitchen. They are too impersonal. We serve the people, sit and eat with the people, and we call them by their name. Here, we get to know people and know them like family. Jesus sat and ate with people he wasn’t suppose to sit with, but he did. Eating together here is not just about putting food in people’s bellies, but to meet them, get to know them and their needs. It opens the door to accountability. I have the right to tell them right and wrong. They want someone to care about them. As the relationship spills over into the spiritual, it shows them there is someone who cares more about them. That someone is Jesus and God almighty.” And Matt is not kidding. When you walk through the door of Ransom Cafe, you see volunteers greeting the diners with a smile. People order off the menu, with volunteers taking diners’ food orders by their name, and calling each one by name as the orders are ready. The guests are served their meal, and then volunteers have lunch with them and genuinely talk with the diners. Through the conversations, volunteers get to know Ransom Cafe’s diners — what’s going on in their lives, and any hindrances they have in getting back into the workforce. Guests obviously feel welcomed and cared for as they linger for awhile before leaving for home, wherever that may be. Matt is quick to point out his ministry is not a homeless program. “We are not a homeless Ministry. We are a people ministry. We all have needs to be loved and cared about. Your address or lack of address does not dictate your needs or lack of need. Food is a way to get to know people. Every person has a need one way or another.” No program is without issues. In the case of Ransom Cafe, it takes a lot of effort and a major commitment to peel away layers of hurt and pain from people who often do not love themselves or know how to recognize what real love is. “Our biggest struggle is getting people to understand what we do. We have to get through HUSH | 12 | 2015 January • February
many layers of life with people before we can share the gospel. Some folks may be rude. But I have to tell our team of volunteers, don’t take that offensively. You don’t know what they may have gone through. Love on them. Be patient. It’s up to God’s spirit to move on them to receive Him. You don’t have to.” Matt says once the layers of pain are peeled away, folks start to change. “Love is a common denominator... you don’t have to know a person’s language. They know love.” After getting to know people for who they are and how they entered a downward life spiral, Matt was compelled to “go homeless.” He wanted to see, feel, and know what life was really like for his new friends. “I had never been homeless, I wanted to know what they felt. My wife didn’t want me to go homeless, but she knew I was supposed to do it. It was God ordained... God moved me to do three days, two nights. All I had was a backpack, ten dollars, a tent, and one change of clothes.” After those three days and two nights on the streets of Mobile, Matt walked away with a shocking discovery. “During that time, I realized food was important. But, clean clothes and a shower were even more important,” said Matt. “Hundreds of people needed that service.” Above, Volunteer Justin Smith loads a washing machine inside the Clean Machine.
Matt found a concession company, told them what he wanted: a mobile machine with bathrooms and laundries. Matt said they knew how to make one, but never had a request like that until he came through the doors. The company told him they could build the machine for $41,000. “God raised the money in three months.” said Matt. And build it, they did, creating the one and only of its kind: The Clean Machine, a portable shower and laundry trailer, constructed a year after Matt’s homeless experience and delivered in June 2013. “It was amazing to see the difference in people cleaned on the outside.” Matt said people freshly showered with clean clothes on realize they don’t have to live the life they have been living. “They are cleaned to be able to live differently. Cleaned on the outside, they know they don’t have to live like that anymore. They check themselves into rehab.”
hush @ hush-be-still.com 601.506.1847 HUSH | 13 | 2015 January • February
Jeannie Adcock talks with First Baptist Church of Theodore’s pastor David Gill during lunch at Ransom Cafe. Pete is one of those who got into rehab. Matt recalls the events leading to Pete’s turnaround: “Pete is a big 6’6” tall black dude. He came to the cafe to eat. He was high or drunk. I used to do his laundry. I told him one day, ‘Pete, I can’t do this for you anymore because if you can do drugs, you can do your own laundry.’ Pete got mad, told me I wasn’t a Christian, and left. Three months later, Pete came back, said he was tired and ready to change his life. I got him into rehab. This saved his life. It took building a relationship through that situation, serving and eating food, talking, getting to know people for who they are, providing a way for folks to clean their bodies and clothes that led to accountability. It took standing up to Pete to get him to change. Trust was there, which allowed me to hold him accountable. Accountability helped him. Pete is still at rehab. He’s in his fourth month. He has hope. He even said, ‘This is the first time I can give back to somebody instead of taking.’ You see, addiction is about yourself. That’s all Pete was doing. But, serving is outside of self. It is about taking care of others.” Obeying a nudge by the Lord to live like the people God sent him to serve gave Matt a different view of life. Matt’s experience sounds similar to the example Jesus left for us: He left the riches of heaven to live on Ghetto earth, so He could understand and serve man from man’s point of view. “I never would have known what it was like to be homeless,” says Matt. “What I learned is that I never should judge someone without first knowing what is really going on in one’s life. We are there for them. When God knows you are available to Him to do what He calls you to do, God does amazing things wherever you are.” Amazing is right. Today Ransom Cafe is in six locations in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. The Clean Machine continues to be a welcomed sight to a growing number of folks in the area. Dreams of helping others do the
HUSH | 14 | 2015 January • February
Matt’s wife Tara (left) is assistant executive director of the Ransom Cafe ministry. Here, she cleans a bathroom in the Clean Machine. In the photo at right, Dwight King sets up the shower area for use. same is in Matt’s future.” We eventually want to have a mobile cafe. We would like to put them across the country, show other churches how to do it. Rural areas need it too. Eventually we would like to have a central location, room enough to also teach the people skills, like how to make jewelry, other different ideas for skills or trades so the people can be independent. We are waiting on God’s timing.”
Delores Willingham, center, shares her testimony with James Stiles, left, and Bruce Stiles.
For more information about Ransom Cafe, visit www.ransomcafe.com or write them at Ransom Ministries Inc., P.O. Box 851854, Mobile, AL 36685. You can contact them also at 251.751.0044 or email infor@ransomcafe.com.
HUSH | 15 | 2015 January • February
G A L L U P
P O L L S:
January 2014
January 2015
55%
30%
satisfied
satisfied
THE WOUNDS RUN DEEP: RACISM AND INJUSTICE MUST END AND LET GRACE AND LOVE BEGIN December 15, 2014 Blog by Dr. Ronnie Floyd, President, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) reprinted with permission
U
nder deep conviction by the Holy Spirit that I must do something as a Christian, a pastor, and as the current President of the Southern Baptist Convention, this past Wednesday, I conducted a conference call with four of our SBC African American pastors and two Anglo pastors. We talked openly and honestly about the growing racial tension in our nation. The conversation we had on this conference call led to this article. When I shared with these men my desire to write on this subject, they immediately joined in and said, “Let us help, sign our names, and enlist a few others to come alongside of speaking to the issues of racism and injustice.” Various representatives of ethnicities, who have signed below, are joining us in releasing this article to the pastors, churches, leaders, and laypeople of our Southern Baptist Convention.
We Cry Out Against Racism and Injustice
We are grieved that racism and injustice still abounds in our nation in 2014. All human beings are created by God and in His image. The dignity of each individual needs to be recognized and appreciated by each of us and by all of the 50,000 churches and congregations that comprise the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists have always been a prophetic voice crying out against matters such as the evil of abortion, the persecution of Christians around the world, the tragedy of human trafficking, or the sexual sins from adultery to homosexuality. The time is now for us to rise up together and cry out against the racism that still exists in our nation and our churches, and the subsequent injustices. All racism and injustice is sin. All ethnicities are capable of committing the sin of racism. Pastors, churches, leaders, and laypeople of the Southern Baptist Convention, the time is now for us to repent personally and collectively of all racism and injustice. Silence is not the answer and passivity is not our prescription for healing.
The Wounds Run Deep
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:26, “So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” With heavy hearts, we recognize the deep pain and hurt that has come to many of our African American brothers and sisters. The recent events in America have reawakened many of their greatest fears. Their wounds from the past run deep. Without relationships and conversations, we will never understand one another. Because you hurt, we hurt with you today. We are a part of the same body of Christ, His church, which is to be a picture of the multi-faceted wisdom of God. Because we believe the Bible, there is only one race – the human race. As Bible-believing Christians, we affirm that 1) All people are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), 2) Jesus died for all people (1 John 2:2), and 3) God loves all people (John 3:16). We are not black Christians. We are not white Christians. We are not Latino Christians. We are not Asian Christians. We are not Native American Christians. We are Christians! We are followers of Jesus Christ. HUSH | 16 | 2015 January • February
The Church Must Rise
In this desperate hour in our nation when the racial tension is building rapidly, the church of Jesus Christ must rise. We are not black churches. We are not white churches. We are not Latino churches. We are not Asian churches. We are not Native American churches. We are the church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the same body. The Bible says in Ephesians 3:10, “This is so God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.” Just as a jewel can be multi-colored, exhibiting beauty beyond words, the church is one powerful body when all races and ethnicities fellowship and worship together.
With Grace
Racism and injustice must end, letting grace begin to unite us together in the bond of peace. Schisms and divisions will end when the gospel of grace begins to rule in our hearts again. We read these words in Ephesians 2:14-15, “For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.” Since the gospel of grace can tear down the wall of enmity and hate between Jews and Gentiles, this same gospel of grace can still tear down the walls of racism and injustice today. Since the gospel of grace removes the wall between all ethnicities and races, His death on the cross has made us one in Jesus Christ. It is time for the walls of racism and injustice to come down! Let our Southern Baptist churches rise up as one, filled with the beauty of multiple races and ethnicities, shining forth the grace of God to a world that needs the testimony and hope of the church today.
With Love
The church must rise with both grace and love. We need to repent of our racism and injustice and return to the first commandment of loving our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Matthew 22:37-38, “He said to him, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment.” The church must fall in love with Jesus again. When we love Jesus, we will love all people. We will see all people the way Jesus sees all people. We need to stop talking about “my people” and start loving all people. When we return to the first commandment, we will experience a revival living out the second commandment as recorded in Matthew 22:39, “The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” The church will love all people from all walks of life and even various colors of skin when we fall in love with Jesus again. When grace is experienced personally and collectively, love will be demonstrated loudly and consistently.
We Are a Jesus Convention and a Kingdom People
In our Baptist Faith and Message 2000, we find in Article XV what we believe about The Christian and Social Order. In this article, we are reminded that, “In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism.” Today we restate we oppose all racism and injustice in America and around the world. We replace these evils with the beauty of grace and love as His people and His church. Yes, one body of Christ. We are not a black convention. We are not a white convention. We are not a Latino Convention. We are not an Asian convention. We are not a Native American convention. We are a Jesus convention. Jesus is the Lord of our churches. We are a Kingdom people. Therefore, before our broken and hopeless world, may the walls of racism and injustice fall, and our churches rise with grace, love, and hope. Praying John 17:21, “May they all be one as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.”
HUSH | 17 | 2015 January • February
Pastors, Community Leaders respond to SBC Column on Racism by Charlotte Graham, Contributing Writer Like most Americans who watched the events unfold following the shooting deaths of black males at the hands of law enforcement officers in various cities in the United States, Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd was both disturbed and concerned. The racial tension that ensued from what many in the African American community deemed “unlawful killings” and “murder” was unlike anything he had seen in recent years. In fact, the images seen on national telecasts reminded him of an unpleasant time in the nation’s history where people of color and supporters took to the streets to rally for equal justice for all. During the Civil Rights era, people from all walks of life died for taking a stand against injustice. Floyd didn’t want history to repeat itself. So he searched the Scriptures and prayed to God for a solution to the country’s woes. “Under deep conviction by the Holy Spirit, I knew I had to do something,” explained the leader of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), headquartered in Nashville, has more than 15.7 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. Floyd waited until he thought the time was right before he spoke about the existing racial tension. He wanted to be correct in his approach, and he wanted to involve other people in determining what would be the best way to handle the situation. “I pulled together a few pastors for a conference call,” said Floyd. “We had four African American pastors and two Anglo pastors and we talked openly and honestly about the subject that has been on our hearts.” While he wanted to let it be made known that he was against racial injustice, Floyd said he wanted to do it in a way that “would not be an offense to anyone.” Floyd took notes during the conference call and explained to participants he wanted to use them in his weekly message to convention members that is posted on the official website each Monday. The pastors encouraged him to write the article and said, “Let us do it with you.” Floyd wrote the article and sent copies to the pastors for their review. They all talked through it, tweaked it where needed, and then the approved copy was posted on the SBC website and on Floyd’s personal blog. “We have had really good response,” said Floyd. “Pastors speak to pastors and the church listens to pastors. That’s why it was important for us to say something.” The Rev. Jay Richardson, pastor of Highland Colony Baptist Church in Ridgeland, MS said “I am thrilled to see the president of the Southern Baptist Convention take such a public and open stand.” Richardson, whose congregation is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, said he agrees wholeheartedly that there is no African American church, no White church, no Latino church, etc. “There is only one church –– God’s church,” said Richardson. The minister said the “one church” is the message Mission Mississippi has been delivering to the Christian community for more than 20 years. Established in November 1992, Mission Mississippi is a movement that seeks to unite Christians across racial and denominational lines so that communities throughout Mississippi can see practical evidence of the Gospel message. HUSH | 18 | 2015 January • February
“I started working with Mission Mississippi about 15 years ago when I was working in Greenville,” said Richardson. “Much of what Ronnie Floyd emphasized in his article are things we have been doing for years. We have to learn to fellowship across racial lines. We have to trust each other and learn to talk and walk together as sisters and brothers in Christ. It does not please God when his people are splintered and scattered.” Mission Mississippi President Neddie Winters also commends Floyd for his stand against racial injustice. “He has the right thought and ideas when he talks about dealing with the pain of the African American people,” said Winters. “He’s basically talking about what we in Mission Mississippi have defined as gracisim.” Winters explained that gracism is when a person extends the grace that was extended to them by Jesus Christ to others. “It’s all about working through our differences and moving forward,” he said. “We promote racial reconciliation by knowing and living out the idea that grace is greater than race.” Winters pointed out that when it comes to dealing with racism and the nation’s history of oppressing African Americans, many people argue we should forget the past and move forward. He added that Floyd was on point when he said no matter how people try to forget the past, the problem is the pain of it all remains. “The pain and suffering as a result of racism are issues that have not been dealt with properly,” Winters said. “I appreciate that (Floyd) saw the need to sit down and talk. However, I think we need to talk face-to-face. There is no way of getting around that face-to-face conversation. That’s the best way for a connection to take place. The best relationships have an element of risk, of stepping beyond insecurities and inviting another to a shared undertaking.” Dr. Dolphus Weary, co-founder of Rural Education and Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Christian Foundation in Richland, MS said Winters and Mission Mississippi have a strategy to work with the Southern Baptist churches in Mississippi if they are serious about taking a step in dealing with racial reconciliation. A longtime advocate of racial reconciliation, Weary said Winters can help Mississippi Southern Baptist develop a long-term plan for racial reconciliation. Winters pointed out that several Southern Baptist churches are already actively involved with Mission Mississippi, but there is always room for more. He added that other denominations are also invited to join the reconciliation movement. “The church deals with issues like racism differently than other people,” said Winters. “Because of the grace we have experienced from God through our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are different from society. We have to do things differently. When we look at the race problem, it is like any other sin. The question is how do we move forward? We begin by listening to one another, learning from one another, and move cooperatively together.” Floyd agreed. “We need to understand each other. We need to talk to each other. Obviously, there are things in our history that should have never happened. There are all kinds of racism and there are people with different hurts.” These are some of the reasons Floyd chose to title his article “The Wounds Run Deep: Racism and Injustice Must End and Let Grace and Love Begin.” “The church must rise with grace and love,” said Floyd. “Our beloved nation and world need the next great move of God to come upon us more than anything. Our churches in America need a mighty spiritual revival. Disunity needs to cease and unity in Christ’s community must begin to prevail.” HUSH | 19 | 2015 January • February
James Meredith’s 1963 Graduation from Ole Miss From Meek School Collection at the University of Mississippi. Used by permission.
HUSH | 20 | 2015 January • February
Both at Ole Miss in 1962,
Meredith, Meek talk about Race today by Nikki Marzette-Turner, Contributing Writer James Meredith enrolled at Ole Miss in 1962 with plans to be part of what he perceived as Mississippi’s best college. “It was the best school in the state, I thought I was the best person ever been born in God’s world, and I deserved to be where the best was.” His acceptance by classmates, faculty and the overall Oxford / statewide community, as history records, was much less than welcoming. Riots requiring National Guard intervention were part of his college experience. “You live in a different world than what I lived in,” Meredith told this writer, as he reflected on the “then” and “now.” “I remember kicking white folks’ butts physically and academically, fighting to prove that I belonged just as much as they did. Up until that time, they had done most of the kicking.” The 81 year-old Meredith says that his days of taunting and harassment “came with the territory back then.” In those days, he says, most whites actually believed it was right to keep blacks from evolving academically and prospering in life. “The South was harsh back then, and it seems as if we are still trying to fight” some of the same perceptions. As recently as the convening of the Mississippi Legislature in January, Meredith sent letters to state lawmakers urging them to properly fund public education, an area that he sees as a recurring battleground for progress in the African American community. Lifeway Research, a Christian Company, interviewed 1,000 Americans by phone September 19-28, 2014. Survey results show that seventy-four percent (74%) of Americans agree that “We have come so far on racial relations.” Ironically, eighty-one percent (81%) of Americans in the same survey also concluded that “We’ve got so far to go on racial relations.” Meredith believes that race relations, “when it comes to people waking up and being able to live the life they want to live,” needs much improvement. With racial incidents happening in the north and the south, the Ole Miss Alumnus says that it is remarkable to have made as much progress as has been made. He believes much more progress is needed, dismissing the “hype” suggesting that the country has come a long way in race relations. “The incidents of Trayvon Martin and racial intimidation keep us in the past, instead of moving us to the future,” he says. “Unfortunately, it is hard to prove that the south has come a long way when racial incidents keep giving us a flash from the past. True enough, we have a black president, but that by itself does not prove that racial relations in the South, let alone on the Ole Miss campus, have come far enough,” says Meredith. In fact, after President Obama’s reelection in 2012, some white students on the Ole Miss Campus rioted in protest of the results, burning Obama campaign signs and making derogatory remarks to black students. However, other students, both black and white, stood up against the incident, maintaining that it did not represent the sentiments of the majority on the campus. As recently as last February, a statue of Meredith on the Ole Miss campus was defaced by three white students, who hung a noose around the neck and draped it with an outdated Georgia state flag that contained the confederate battle emblem. The three students from Georgia were expelled from the university and their national fraternity closed the Ole Miss chapter due to the incident and other unrelated situations. “By and large, Ole Miss has really made a difference,” says Dr. Edward Meek, former Vice Chancellor for HUSH | 21 | 2015 January • February
Public Relations at the university. “We’re attracting students, and our student population is about 22 percent African American,” a ratio that he says is higher than most majority white college campuses. The Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss is named in honor of Dr. Meek, an unwavering supporter of his Alma Mater. He has invested time and money where his heart is, giving well over a million dollars to help the university educate students from all walks of life. “Even today, students say that they want to go to Ole Miss,” says Meek, “because they want to be part of the university that produces the best leaders. They’re here for the reason of getting a strong education –– the same as James Meredith did.” He believes the defacing of James Meredith’s statue by students from Georgia, while serious, probably would never have happened if the students were not away from home. “Even when you know better, you are more likely to act up when you are away from home.” He noted that other students, both black and white, were quick to denounce the action and to stand up for the progress made at Ole Miss. “I see an increasing protectiveness of Ole Miss by all of the students,” says Meek. The namesake of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media says the biggest area for improvement in race relations throughout Mississippi is one of a social nature. “Until we all have time to interact more on a personal level, there will always be difficulties.” Meek maintains. “To say that we have not made tremendous progress in race relations is bizarre.” He can look back, even as James Meredith, to compare the times. On the University of Mississippi campus at the time that Meredith arrived, Meek was already working on his master’s degree. He skipped lining up with his classmates to receive his master’s degree so that he could “be able to take pictures of James walking and receiving his degree.” Meek remembers the day that Meredith came to the campus and those that followed. “Everyone wanted to come to Ole Miss. Even Meredith stated it was the best school to attend to receive a piece of the American pie. Ole Miss had the best leaders and it was a strong education school, and James wanted to be a part of it. “ “When I came to Ole Miss, I was a racist. We all were,” Meek acknowledged. “It was just the way we were brought up. The lifestyles back then were different.” “When I want to get my batteries charged, it thrills me to go the the Lyceum, to look in the Student Union and see so many African Americans and white students interacting on a personal level.” Meek says he never dreamed that a day would come in his lifetime when blacks and whites would do much more than co-exist. “I didn’t believe that biracial relationships would become a normal part of American life.” “James Meredith, for every football game, is sitting in the lobby at the Ole Miss Inn. He is the biggest Ole Miss fan and has the greatest commitment. Both of us understand there is more to be done. But 81 percent (survey result saying this percentage believes “We have so far to go in race relations”) — I don’t believe that. I believe that we have definitely come a long way in the South compared to northern states. The more we interact with one another gives us more room to understand one another.” Meek offers the example of his own changed attitude, reflecting on decades ago when he moved in with an African American by the name of Jim Dillard as a college roommate. “This was a great experience for us. He wanted to know as much about this honky as I wanted to know about a black man. We shared an apartment, HUSH | 22 | 2015 January • February
and it ended up being a great experience to learn about each other. We as people have to interact on a personal level to better understand the issues we might not understand.” Meek is impressed with the progress Mississippi has made. He believes that the boundaries have dropped, particularly among young people. He sees dramatic changes even in his hometown of Charleston, MS, where an all-white male jury acquitted the murderers of 14-year old black Chicago teen Emmett Till in 1955. In fact, Meek was at the trial, wearing shorts as he recalls. Today, he sees blacks and whites in Charleston working side by side on common concerns, and he is actively involved with them in trying to move the town forward. “There are still people all over the state in my age group who have ‘not crossed the bridge yet’ in terms of race relations. They’re basically good people who have not gotten to know African Americans on a personal level. He says it’s a different story with young people, including his 16-year-old grandson, who “has as many black friends as white ones” and gets “furious” when he hears a racist remark. Meredith and Meek agree that communication is the key to people of every race moving forward. In Meredith’s case, today’s education statistics compared to 1951 when he graduated from high school are alarming, to say the least. “In 1951, every black person that had a diploma was able to get into a college somewhere in America. Today less than 1 out of 10, and way over half (of blacks) don’t get a high school diploma,” says Meredith. He points out that too many blacks who graduate from high school have difficulty getting into college due to low test scores on the ACT and other measures. “There are about 4 out of 5 blacks that are 23-years old in Mississippi who are in prison and not in college,” said Meredith. “Now to me, that is a thousand times worse” than when he went to college. “Until we start educating ourselves and making a difference in this way, how can we expect to improve with society today and move on in the future?”
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Time is elusive, and never stilled, canceling promises made but never filled. It twists and turns but never comes back to reclaim special moments that fell off track. Seize the moment and stake it out, run through rain, dance and shout. The present is past soon enough: wrestle it down, hold it tough. Fling the laptop, the iPad, and cell, Tear out the headphones, and simply dwell. Sip in the moment and inhale its grace, Hold a loved one close, stand in place. Halt distractions; bring them to an end. Put away your calendar; take in a friend. Then and then only, you will see: life has time enough; you can be free. copyright 2005 • Linda Buford-Burks
Got a poem you want to share with our readers? Email us! If yours is chosen, it will appear in this magazine and/or on the HUSH Magazine website, www.hushzine.com. Email hush@hush-be-still.com.
HUSH | 24 | 2015 January • February
Dr. Jerry Young is the 18th president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
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Dr. Jerry Young speaks to participants at the Mid-Winter Board Meeting of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. in Jackson, MS following his official inauguration on Tuesday, January 13. (PHOTO COURTESY:
Photographer Jay D. Johnson)
Dr. Young and wife Helen pose with young members of New Hope Baptist Church, at a church-sponsored reception last fall to celebrate his election as president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. HUSH | 26 | 2015 January • February
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18th President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, INC. An Organization of more than 33,000 Churches
tanding before his local congregation recently, Dr. Jerry Young gave a sermon he has found himself giving at least once a year. He challenged his congregation at New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi to do what many other pastors across the nation have also urged: Serve. “Everybody is called to ministry, whether you are eight or 80. God has never saved anybody to warm the pews,” Dr. Young cautioned. As Pastor Young embarks full fledged into responsibilities of his national post, he continues an emphasis that he started with his campaign. That emphasis is on “servant leadership.” It’s no wonder that his “servant leadership” focus — modeled by Jesus Christ Himself — would motivate Dr. Young to encourage his own local congregation to be more service-minded. “God has never given a gift for your personal use or your private glory,” Pastor Young chided his congregation. “There is no rhyme or reason for any church not to have enough people to work in any area. If you are a Christian, if Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, there is a calling on your life.” Referring to a well known icon in black history as a reference, Young said that George Washington Carver — born a slave and raised by his slave owners after his mother was traded away — persevered, overcoming tremendous odds and managing to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. He was diligent in his work at Tuskegee Institute, said Young, becoming “one of the world’s greatest Christian scientists...such a brilliant scientist...brilliant scholar.” Pastor Young pointed out that Carver worked for a modest wage at Tuskegee Institute and was so committed to what he believed was God’s calling on his life that he turned down job offers amounting to over $1 million in today’s economy. “God had given him an assignment at Tuskegee that he had not completed,” Young said of Carver’s explanation for turning down job offers from Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. HUSH | 27 | 2015 January • February
Maintaining that God has given each Christian “at least one gift,” Pastor Young said that the gift must be used properly. “You’ve got to avoid the peril of pride, where you think that you are the only one that can get the job done,” Dr. Young noted. Prideful attitudes can cause friction and other conflicts in the church, he noted. Equally important, Young said, are the notions of some that they have nothing to offer or that they need to wait to be asked to serve. “It’s not about you,” the pastor said. “God gives what is needed. If you depend on you, you are always going to be in trouble. It takes a load off your shoulders to know that the results depend on Him.” In his traditional three-point message, Pastor Young said that some members become overly concerned about their “position in the body.” “The Bible says that God gave the gift, and positioned it in the way that He wants. God gave us gifts as a part of a team. Learn to appreciate your position and give it all you’ve got.” Dr. Young also told his congregation that while members have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it is “to be lived out in the context of the community. Even on a football team, you can’t have quarterbacks without the players on the team.” Christian team players have to be willing to participate in doing identified work with the gifts that God has given to them. “It’s about what God chooses to do through you,” Dr. Young concluded. “God can take a mule and make a mule talk.” Scripture confirms this fact.
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NBC to impact Churches, Local Communities Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, MS since 1980, Dr. Young begins work as the leader of the national organization with what he describes as “tremendous work” ahead. He has identified five focus areas: ✔✔Christ-Centered Evangelism ✔✔Comprehensive Christian Education, bringing continuity to the curricula used by churches throughout all levels of the organization. through the use of a comprehensive approach ✔✔Church and Community Empowerment, helping local churches impact their communities more powerfully ✔✔Convention Cultivated Economic Development to impact the poor and reduce violence in communities ✔✔Civic, Social, and Political Responsibilities in Community Development In elaborating on the focus areas, Young talked about the national organization being more responsive to the needs of local churches and communities. “We want to make sure that we become a resource to help local churches to literally impact their communities positively for the glory of God and for the good of the gospel.,” he said. “That’s going to be essential.” With many communities suffering, Dr. Young said that a major goal of the Church and Community Empowerment focus is to “utilize the strength of the Convention to help do economic development in communities “where people are poor, live in poverty, where they have been deprived of many of the essentials, where there is violence and death. The idea is that the Convention with all of its strength would go into a place like that and say, let’s create here an environment that is much more conducive.”
Photos on this page and the next were taken last fall at a reception honoring Young’s election as NBC, USA, Inc. president.
“We also will be talking about civic, social and political responsibilities as related to development in our communities,” he said. “Social justice is a real issue. We are going to be arguing that the God of justification is the same God who is a God about justice. These are some of the things we will be doing as we try to move our Convention forward in the 21st Century.”
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Father’s influence powerful in ministry, leadership
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r. Jerry Young has been affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. for most of his life. His father, the late Reverend E. L. Young, actively participated in events of the organization at the local, state, and national levels. The elder Young often took his son along, even before Pastor Young became a “preacher.” By the time he was called to the ministry, Jerry Young was comfortable attending the meetings and listening to the wisdom of the older pastors introduced to him mostly by his father. “I learned so much from my Dad,” Young said. “Most of my life was shaped by him, and much of what I learned, I learned from him. I learned either by watching him or by him sitting me down and saying ‘Jerry, this is what I need you to do.’”
While teachers, principals and others shaped his life early on, Pastor Young said it was his father’s continual influence that paved the way for his leadership in the national organization today. He describes his father as a very calm, wise man focused on God. When he became discouraged about his involvement in the Convention as a young preacher living in Greenville, Mississippi, Pastor Young said that it was his father who set him straight. “It was my father who came to me and said, ‘Listen son, you can’t change things from the outside. If you’re going to change it, you’ve got to change it from within.’ My Dad was one of the wisest men I’ve ever known. He had very little formal education, but he was extraordinarily wise. In fact, much of what he taught me, I use even today. He blessed my life in so many ways.” Asked about some of the other wisdom imparted by his father, Pastor Young said: “When I was a very young preacher, and there was an imposing preacher, my Dad would say, ‘Jerry, preaching belongs to God. It does not belong to us.’ On so many occasions, my Dad would say to me, ‘Jerry here’s what you’ve got to do if you’re going to be a pastor. You’ve got to love the people.’ As I grew older, my Dad would say, ‘Look son, what I need you to do is to save a dry stick for a wet day.” (Meaning: Save money). Next to his father, Pastor Young credits a number of people as having influenced him greatly in his leadership style and abilities, people who impacted his journey to the national stage. The first two that he mentioned are Dr. William Shaw and the late Dr. Manuel Scott, Sr. Describing Dr. Shaw as “such a princely guy, highly intellectual, and big on integrity like my Dad,” Young said, “I’ve watched him operate with tremendous integrity.” As for Dr. Manuel Scott, Sr., Pastor Young said, “Dr. Scott was the first preacher to invite me to speak at the national convention and actually took me under his wings, invited me to his church and sold me on the idea of evangelism. Such an awesome preacher, such an awesome mind. I’ve always been an avid reader. Dr. Scott heightened that for me. He really did.” HUSH | 30 | 2015 January • February
Mrs. Helen Young is wife of Dr. Jerry Young, the newly inaugurated president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. The organization has more than 33,000 member churches across the nation and abroad. HUSH | 31 | 2015 January • February
hen Pastor Jerry Young’s wife Helen met him on the campus of Rust College in Holly Springs, he was already a “preacher.” The students that were preachers stood out, dressed in suits as they went to class. Most of the students on the Holly Springs, MS campus didn’t rush to make friends with them, including Helen. As the two of them had class together, they became friends and dated during their junior and senior years at the college. During their senior year, they got engaged. Jerry and Helen became engaged by their senior year, graduating together and starting a new life as a married couple. At the time they got married, Pastor Young preached at three churches in Greenville, MS, making it a habit to surround himself with the wisdom of older ministers. When the couple’s first child, Jerlen, was born, they were living in the Mississippi Delta. Mrs. Young had a “wonderful experience” living in the area with a young child. Church members were always reaching out to help, including sewing dresses for their daughter and making Raggedy Ann Dolls. The dolls are still treasured keepsakes. “Being in the church, you experience the love and warmth of people,” Mrs. Young said. The couple’s second child, Kelli, was born in Jackson, MS, where Pastor Young was hired by New Hope Baptist Church in 1980. Being a pastor’s wife has always meant making some adjustments to keep life as normal as possible, and Mrs. Young learned early that planning is essential to supporting her husband in ministry. “Pastor Young’s leadership caused me to be more focused on home life,” she said, “making sure various things got done. I had to adjust my attitude to best support him.” She has always planned her activities for each day. Even as director of the Preschool Division of New Hope Christian School, she is mindful to do as much as HUSH | 32 | 2015 January • February
Mrs. Young and preschoolers at New Hope Christian School possible to take some of the load off of her husband, who also is the headmaster of New Hope Christian School. “Jerry has always been in ministry,” said Mrs. Young. “Even before this Convention (NBC, USA, Inc.), he was doing revivals, seminars and other events that kept his schedule full.” Asked about the qualities she admires most in her husband, Mrs. Young is quick to say that he has a gift for leadership, passionate about bringing “everybody up to what he believes they should be.” She adds that he has a “deep commitment to ministry” and wants all people to move “from mediocre to great.” “It’s who he is.” As a result of Pastor Young’s commitments, Mrs. Young has become “more of a support system” to facilitate his busy schedule. “I’m his helper.” Mrs. Young, a business administration major in college, handles the financial business of their household. “I make sure it’s done. I’m very structured and do things on a schedule.” Her day starts early. After getting “five to six hours of sleep,” she starts her day at 6 a.m. Household tasks such as washing, ironing and cooking the meals for the HUSH | 33 | 2015 January • February
day are done before going to work as director of the church’s preschool program. These tasks are done in the morning, she says, because she never knows what time she will be able to get home in the evenings. She often accompanies Pastor Young to various events and activities in the evenings and, “I don’t want to have to do those things when I come home.” Mrs. Young was asked about her husband’s top three priorities. “His relationship with God, his family and the local ministry” were answers she gave without hesitation. His Concerns? She said her husband is very concerned about the “young men in our communities, about coming up with something that will change the mindset of the boys.” His concern for young men in some ways has ignited his passion also about how to start early in “challenging these young ones,” as early as preschool, to address behavior issues and equip them with the proper life view. “I think that we’re going to be talking with a lot of other churches all over the country that have daycare,” she says. “We have a structure in place at our school, where we don’t allow kids to do certain things.” Will her life change much from her current schedule? Mrs. Young does not think so, due to their experience with the national organization for decades. “The Convention (NBC, USA, Inc.) is not new to us,” said Mrs. Young. She recalls that even before Pastor Young got “really involved” nationally, she and her husband would often accompany his father to the meetings. Pastor Young even served as an instructor in the Youth Department of the national body in his younger years. “The convention has always been a part of our lives,” she said. “I don’t see life changing that much more. He’s served 10 years as second vice president of the Convention and five years as vice president at large. I’m going to ‘watch, listen and learn’ to see where I fit in.”
Following a reception last fall in celebration of Dr. Young’s election to the NBC, USA, Inc. presidency, Mrs. Young took photos with receiving line guests, including these New Hope Baptist Church members. HUSH | 34 | 2015 January • February
His Accomplishments:
• First African American medical residency (pediatrics) student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center • A pioneer in rural healthcare, taking healthcare delivery to a higher level by traveling the state of Mississippi to care for sick infants and addressing living conditions that contributed to ill health. His work in rural areas included installing wells for clean drinking water and establish advocacy organizations such as Mississippi Action for Progress, the Mississippi Association of Community Health Care for the Poor, the Medgar Evers Community Health Center, the Tufts Delta Health Center, and the G.A. Carmichael Community Heath Center • Helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, serving as the organization’s chairman for Warren County for several years • Established the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, serving as its executive director for about 25 years, serving indigent and low-income patients through Mississippi. The center is a national model for federally funded community health centers • Initiated a comprehensive in-school healthcare and counseling program at his alma mater, Lanier High School, in an effort to curb teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and address other healthrelated issues faced by teens (the effort received national attention, being featured on CBS 60 Minutes) • Transformed a failing shopping center into the Jackson Medical Mall - a national model for community healthcare, with Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, and UMMC as partners • Featured in the July 2012 issue of New York Times Magazine • Received the 2013 Herbert W. Nickens Award, presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges • MacArthur Fellowship (also known as the “Genius Award”) for outstanding service in public health and medicine
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r. Ollye Shirley and her husband of 61 years, Dr. Aaron Shirley, were a duo who worked fervently to help make a difference in their community. Dr. Aaron’s passion was equity in healthcare, while hers was (and still is) public education. Over the years, they found ways to work together for both causes. In an interview with Dr. Ollye Shirley a couple of weeks following her husband’s funeral last December, tears flowed frequently, mixed with laughter as she recalled their “walk” together. They got married in 1953 after she accepted Aaron’s proposal that “they walk together” for life. He was 81 years old at the time of his death on November 26, 2014.
A graduate of Lanier High School in Jackson and nearby Tougaloo College, Dr. Aaron Shirley and his wife moved to Nashville in 1955 so that he could attend Meharry Medical College. After finishing medical school, the couple settled down in Vicksburg, where he started a private medical practice and she taught in the Vicksburg Schools. Their home became a meeting place for strategies to resolve the civil rights issues of black people, as the couple took a stand against racial inequities and discrimination practices of the day. Dr. Aaron Shirley was even a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City in 1964, representing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, an integrated group that challenged the legitimacy of the all-white Mississippi Democratic Party. After Dr. Aaron Shirley was accepted as the first black medical resident at the University of Mississippi HUSH | 36 | 2015 January • February
Medical Center in 1965, the family moved to Jackson. They had two sons, Kevin and Terrence, and daughter Christal by the time they returned to Jackson, where their fourth child, Erin, was born. Dr. Aaron Shirley went into the medical field to become a doctor because his mother told him to do it. His oldest sister Eddie Mae studied to be a nurse for the same reason. “She went off to college in West VA and she didn’t come home until she finished because they couldn’t afford to bring her home.” Nevertheless, Dr. Ollye Shirley believes that the ill health (sickle cell anemia) of one of her husband’s sisters and a heart condition (she’s not sure that is really what it was) suffered by his brother Arlington sealed his commitment to become a medical doctor. Arlington died before completing high school, and his sister with sickle cell anemia suffered constantly. “He watched her in horrible pain,” said Dr. Ollye. “People didn’t know how to ease the pain back then. Growing up, they say she really suffered a lot. That was difficult for Aaron to watch. He wanted to see what he could do to make life better for her as well.” One of eight children, Aaron Shirley’s father died while he was a young boy. “Aaron hardly remembered HUSH | 37 | 2015 January • February
his father,” who was a supervisor at a brickyard. Although his mother was left with eight children to raise on her own, she was adamant about each one being productive. As a result, all of them, except Arlington (who died as a child) and his sister with sickle cell anemia became professionals. Dr. Aaron and Dr. Ollye Shirley’s life together was remarkable, despite bomb threats, harassment, and other opposition throughout the years. Their many good times outweighed the bad. Being “first” in a number of areas was common for the Shirleys, and so were threats of violence. Because of the possibility of threats being carried out, Dr. Aaron Shirley purchased guns and taught his sons Kevin and Terrence how to use them. “We have had to live with a whole bunch of mess,” Dr. Ollye Shirley said, her expression softening as she mentioned the good family times at cookouts, fishing outings, and mini-vacations while away at professional medical, education, and civic events. While serving on the Jackson Public School District Board of Trustees, Dr. Ollye Shirley recalls that her request to have a confederate flag removed from the Forest Hill High School campus drew outrage from whites who did not understand why she had problems with the flag. She said she tried at first to explain her perspective to callers, but soon discovered it was a waste of time to do so. “People called day and night, she said, “threatening to do all kinds of things, including drive four-wheelers all across our lawn. We told them to come on, that we lived in a circle and had plenty of fire power.” They did have “fire power.” Dr. Aaron Shirley bought guns –– including high powered ones –– and taught his sons to use them, and placed the weapons upstairs for easy access in case of intruders. The upstairs windows overlooking their driveway was a perfect place for being on the defensive. “He would take those boys out and show them how to use the guns, teaching them the safety features.” Dr. Aaron also bought fire escape chains to hang from the upstairs windows in case of fire. “On my first day at Mississippi College,” Dr. Ollye recalls, “there were three of us who integrated the graduate program. Two men chased me from Mississippi College in Clinton to home. I started blowing my horn when I got to my street,” she said. “All the neighbors started coming out of their homes. Those two men chasing us turned around when they came to the circle and saw how things were.” While the “fire power” and fire escape chains for the upstairs windows provided a bit of assurance for the Shirley family, the parents did not realize until much later years that the fire escape chains also were a great way for the children to break the house curfew rules as they became teens. She recalls that a daughter who had college friends over for the weekend managed to use the fire escape to leave one snowy night and returned before the Shirleys knew that they were gone. The young ladies had gone down the fire escape, pushed their vehicle into the street before starting it up, and made their getaway. “I told them not to go out in the first place,” Dr. Shirley said. This was not the only time that the teens managed to get around the family HUSH | 38 | 2015 January • February
rules. “We found out in later years that they did all kinds of stuff that we had no idea they would do.” Asked about Dr. Aaron Shirley’s top priorities, his wife said that family was always first and healthcare equity was a very close second. She said he spent hours fishing with their children, and they managed to be creative in finding time to spend together, despite their busy schedules. “We did a lot of things together,” says Dr. Ollye, even when she or her husband had to go out of town on business or to fulfill a commitment to an organization. “If it was a medical convention, we all went. We’ve taken the children to most of the things that we were involved in. We traveled a lot of days, and drove a lot of miles.” She said her involvement in the LINKS organization as a national officer was among the commitments that she and her husband managed to squeeze in family time. “He never stopped calling them “damn Links,” she says, but he accompanied her to the numerous events where she had to conduct workshops at major meetings. “The national president called one day, and she heard him say, ‘Ollye, one of those damn links is on the phone for you.’” She said the LINKS members became so used to her husband making the statement that even they started referring to themselves as “one of those damn links” when they called for her. When LINKS presentations had to be made, Dr. Aaron Shirley was supportive, taking photos and carrying her equipment and handouts, and setting up for the workshops. Dr. Ollye Shirley remembers her husband best as a man with a heart for poor people, with the energy and commitment to change their circumstances to make their lives better. “He was extremely creative,” she said. “He was willing to try ideas that no one else would try.” Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, which was “started in an old motor home” and the Jackson Medical Mall were his creations, born in response to unmet needs that no one else stepped up to fill. As a result, poor and lowincome people in Mississippi and across the nation have benefited. At Dr. Aaron Shirley’s funeral last December, those on program expressed awe at the life that he lived. Dr. Beverly Hogan, president of Tougaloo College, said Dr. Shirley’s impact on the world is remarkable. “The State of Mississippi, the nation and the world are better, because Dr. Aaron Shirley walked among us.” Jackson City Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr. described Dr. Shirley as a man who “changed the course of this HUSH | 39 | 2015 January • February
state and the nation…who loved people and was big and brave in his work.” Priester worked with Dr. Shirley right out of law school, and marveled at a man whose commitment to health equity was so strong that he would drive to the Mississippi Delta several times a week to examine “the feet of diabetics to make sure their feet had feeling in them, to help prevent amputations.” This was at a time that he also had a flourishing private practice. “He had a constant flow of ideas,” said Dr. James Keeton, vice chancellor for Health Affairs, and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “Rural health was always on his mind… he was a man well ahead of his time in many areas.” In a UMMC press release following Shirley’s death, Dr. Keeton described him as “a very wise and caring man who could have gone anywhere and done anything with his talents. But he chose to stay in Mississippi and work to improve the health of its people, and his life of service was a testament to that.” Dr. Shirley worked as a clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at UMMC for more than 40 years. Robert Pugh, executive director of the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association, said Dr. Shirley’s “love for humanity” led him to develop a vision that became the reality of the Jackson Medical Mall. “It is the first of its kind, and serves as a national model.” “He was a pioneer, a visionary committed to the improvement of healthcare…he was ‘all in’ for the health, education and prosperity of his community,” said Dr. Shirley’s friend and supporter, Judge Reuben Anderson, former Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. In delivering the eulogy, Rev. Horace Buckley said, “Where there was sickness, so comforting was his touch. For a little while, we heard his empowering words and walked with a giant. We are thankful God loaned him to us. Well done.”
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Leah Bishop (right) was 10 years old when her 16-year-old brother, Roger, died. Her mom, Leona (pictured with her) is a family counselor. Turn the page to find out more.
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Facing the Death of a Child “It’s Just a Test...You’re Getting Stronger by Leona Bishop, Ed.S., NCSC, LPC-S Owner, Count It All Joy Counseling Services, LLC
Roger, I love you. But God loves you so much more than we ever could. I know I told you that no one would recognize you in heaven. I only told you that because I didn’t want you to be in a hurry to get there. We’ve been praying for your healing, but just in case God chooses to do it a different way, I want you to know there will be plenty of people to welcome you into Heaven. Jesus will be standing there to receive you and Madea (my mom) will be there with open arms to greet you.
I
spoke these words to our 16-year-old son, Roger, the morning before he passed away to be with the Lord. The most amazing thing happened just as I closed my mouth and embraced his head in my bosom. My laptop that had sat closed on the floor miraculously lit up and began to play the melody from Israel Houghton’s song, “Just Wanna Say!” If you haven’t heard it, listen to it. It ministers. Even in the end, the Lord miraculously corrected one of my doubts. I struggled with the thought that we had been abandoned. As if we were not high enough on God’s radar for him to be all powerful and heal. I did not want Roger to die thinking that God did not care enough to answer our prayer. So, I fasted and prayed for him to reveal his glory. In the wee hours of the morning of his death, my child asked me to help him to go to the restroom. I gladly began to assist him when he stopped me and said, “No, just let me rest.” I suggested that he rest on the edge of the couch. He shook his head and yieldingly repeated, “No, no, just let me rest!” That’s when I had to listen with a part of me that was most spiritual; not by nature. Likewise, not physically knowing quite where the words above had come, I allowed them to flow from my spirit to our ears – hence the message above. By the tender age of 16, Roger touched and inspired the lives of more people than most people do in 96 years. His high school dedicated the next school year in his memory. As a result, the band and baseball team that he proudly participated in during his sophomore year both won the MHSAA 5A Championships. But most importantly, just like I believed, many teens gave their lives to Christ and, some chose to pursue theology in college to share the Christian Faith. Nearly five years later, his spirit yet ministers to and through those of us left behind. On a personal note, my faith grew exponentially; I came to know God in the most intimate way. He was preparing me to minister to others just as Kathryn Kuhlman said a Willing Vessel would (see the explanation later in this article). Just six months after Roger transitioned, I received a phone call shortly after 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It was a friend calling from Blair Batson Children’s Hospital to tell me that her daughter had just succumbed to complications from Sickle Cell Anemia a few minutes earlier. I must admit my first thought was, “…and you’re calling, ME???” Offering her the most immediate words of encouragement, I told her my husband and I would be on the way. It is a blessing that my family accepts the charge to encourage others facing life’s challenges. Within a year, another friend lost her daughter unexpectedly. I was reminded of a poem that says that God does not call the qualified; he qualifies the called. Time and time again, my family answers our call.
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There was a time that I thought losing a child was RARE. Now I am acutely aware that “Rare, Ain’t Never!” The reality is that anything is possible. Life happens to all us. We just can’t let it get the best of us. Believe it or not, the most profound reality check came from my daughter Leah, who was just 10 years old at the time of Roger’s death. She was undoubtedly sad and confused on the night of his transition. However, the next morning as I shared the events of the past 28 hours with a church member over the phone, she looked at me and asked, “Why are you crying?” It was apparently a rhetorical question, because without pause, she candidly announced, “It’s not going to change anything!” Astonished, I wanted to give her a long explanation about built up emotions and releasing the negative energies. But, I didn’t! She was right! Throughout Roger’s illness, we tried to keep Leah’s life as normal as possible. After school, she would spend her evening with us at the hospital and return on the weekend for sleepovers. When possible she traveled to Houston with us, and we tried to keep her entertained with family outings and games whenever Roger was well. She knew something “bad” was going on and she could see the changes in Roger’s physical appearance. In her playtime, she would put on blue hospital gloves and work tirelessly with her dolls. As a play therapist, it seems as though she might have already enacted our destiny and resolved that Roger needed to rest long before any of us ever accepted it. We could not change our situation. We could not bring him back. The only thing we could do was CHOOSE how we would carry on.
Looking Back…
In July 2008, my husband and I were told that our son had a RARE bone cancer called osteosarcoma. We tried to make sense of the situation. The word “rare” resounded in my ears, with me rejecting it as insufficient reason to believe that the diagnosis was okay because of it. Would it calm any of our fears? Why did we have to be so special that RARE chose us to reward? No, not reward: Punish! Why him? Why now? Why,…God??? We had lingering questions, disappointments, and anger. Yes, anger. Let’s not be afraid to admit it. Even those of us with the most devout Christian beliefs can be left broken and wondering where was God? We can question why He didn’t change the situation, since we’ve been told that he can, so…Why didn’t he? This kind of thinking can spin around in a parent’s mind like a broken record or scratched CD. Realizing that some parents have been raised to never question God or ask God, “Why,” I just want to remind you of a portion of Jeremiah 1:5 that says, “Before you were ever formed in the womb, God knew you and called you to be.” There is not a thought, occurrence, or emotion that you feel that He hasn’t already experienced for you. Moreover, I am personally reminded of His promise that “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).” I have had to resolve that even losing my precious, firstborn son Roger was an act that worked out for the good. Skeptically, you may ask, “How”? Let me impart a bit of what God shared with me during our trial and tribulation. HUSH | 43 | 2015 January • February
The Good that Came
My parents were obedient to the word that said “Train up a child.” With the church about five houses down the street, I attended service regularly, got baptized young, and was well fed with milk. But my “walk” with the Lord did not truly begin until my senior year of college. That’s when I actually invited Him into my life. Occasionally, I was given a bit of “bread” of life that helped me to continue to grow in my faith. It wasn’t until my son was being attacked by cancer that I learned how to put on the whole armor of the Lord and entered into Spiritual Warfare. Glory Be to God, that is when I hungered for the meat of His Word and felt a real thirst for the living water. True to His Word, Jesus sent The Comforter who rested in me, guided me, taught me and revealed Himself to me. He surrounded me with spiritual counsel to help me to grow in Him. Let me tell you just one of my many experiences with the Holy Spirit – the Comforter! One morning in August 2009, I was awakened before daybreak. The Spirit said, “Go, turn on the TV.” So, I got up. By this time, it was easy for me to obey the Spirit because I had experienced His existence and manifestations on many occasions. When I began browsing the channels, I landed on a news story about the investigation of Michael Jackson’s death. I snickered, “Lord, I know you did not get me up for this!” I was right. He told me to keep searching. Finally, I landed on a show filmed around 1969. It was Kathryn Kulhman, “I Believe in Miracles.” In this episode, Kulhman talked about how the Lord used the death of her father to make her more compassionate to others who would experience loss. When she said, “God is not looking for silver vessels, he’s not looking for golden vessels - He is looking for WILLING vessels!” I silently affirmed, “Oh, I’m willing! Sign me up! We are going through this trial just to tell others how they can overcome.” I truly believed that Roger would be healed and we would help others grow in their faith. I praised God on credit for the numerous peers he would bring to Christ. I had it figured out…or so, I thought. A few Fridays later, I was once again urged to get up and watch another episode of Evangelist Kuhlman. This time, it was the testimony of a mother who lost all five of her children in some type of flood as they returned from a church retreat. I remember laughing in my spirit and dismissing this moment saying, “Lord, I don’t know WHY you got me up to watch this! This is all wrong! I’m going back to bed!” Several months later, I had to put these experiences together with a multitude of others and testify that all things DO work together for good! Because of our experiences with Roger, many miracles were revealed. To be perfectly frank, cancer looks and sounds just awful. It can be a death sentence - an attack on one’s physical, emotional, financial, and most importantly, SPIRITUAL being. Hallelujah, but God… is full of mercy and compassion. I regard Roger’s walk through that dreadful disease nothing short of a miracle. His peers coined the phrase, “Smile and Fight” because of how they saw him always smiling and fighting, with God on his side. It was nothing but the strength of the Lord in him, for he truly lived the scripture, “I can do all things through Christ.” HUSH | 44 | 2015 January • February
Leona’s 4 P’s for Peace Preparation – (I Corinthian 16:13)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Just like FEMA tells us to stock up and prepare for storms before they come, we need to have the promises of the Lord stored up in our heart so that when difficult times come, we are not left bewildered, feeling defeated. There is nothing wrong with adding more supplies during the storm or meditating on the written word during your battle. However, it is best to have a solid foundation to start. Walking in the shoes of peace and using the sword of His word to fight takes training and practice. If you are not in a storm, then you probably just came out of one. If you have not just come out of one, take heart, you are probably on your way in. Spend some time with the Lord daily to build up your arsenal. Stock up on his promises so when the struggle comes, know that your confidence is in Lord.
Perspective – (Isaiah 55:8)
My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways.” God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We know that the will of God is for us to have life and have it more abundantly, but do we know His wisdom? We may not know why God chooses to give life in one situation or allow it to be taken in another. Notice I said allow. God is the giver of life. From his word, we know that to die in Christ is gain. We have to reframe our situation and try to see it through the eyes of the Lord. Scripture says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” This does not mean that God’s plan has to be is a mystery to us. It means that when we seek wisdom through the Holy Spirit, we begin to see with the love that Christ has for us. We begin to take the focus off of self and began to focus on HIS PURPOSE.
Purpose – (Jeremiah 29:11)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you , plans to give you a hope and a future. We have to grow in faith and trust that God has a purpose for everything. Ultimately, it is for His glory and the building of His kingdom. From the challenges of our loved one, we learn to persevere knowing that our own race is not yet, finished. Diligently, we seek God’s direction to remind us of the purpose that he has for us. What work shall we do to honor Him?
Passion – (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Whatever you do in word or deed, do it to the glory of God. This work becomes our passion. It is how we honor God. It is how we might choose to memorialize our child. What is the passionate work that you are called to do? My sister-in-law decided to lobby with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America after her son was senselessly murdered at a convenience store last December. Adam’s Angels Ministries was started by a couple we met at M.D. Anderson in Texas. Recognizing the strain, terminal illness places on a family, the Cullivers answered the call to provide care and comfort to families who face childhood cancer. The McCleanFletcher Grief Counseling Center, which was beneficial to us, was opened in memory of its namesake to address the emotional needs of children who have lost a loved one. Perhaps your passion and purpose is to make an annual donation to an organization or serve snacks at the local community center. Whatever it is, do it with love. Here you will find the will to go on because perfect love casts out fear. Through your newfound passion, you will find some “Merry” to join your “Happy” and prayerfully be released from the burdensome sorrow.
Being prepared gives us the courage to face our circumstance with boldness and the keen insight and wisdom to see LIFE from His perspective. Understanding God’s purpose and acknowledging that he is Sovereign, holding the power of life and death in his merciful hands help us find our passion to pursue our lives to the finish. With prayer and meditation on His promises, God will give us the four P’s of His PEACE and an abundance of reasons to look at our test and “Count It All Joy!” Finally brethren, we can joyfully anticipate reuniting with our true treasures stored up for us in heaven! HUSH | 45 | 2015 January • February
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by Alfredia Dampier Miller, Columnist enerally, women are judged by their outward actions, appearance, and attitudes. Yet, we know from the Bible that inner beauty is what really counts. The good intentions of the “heart” of a woman who knows Christ project an outer beauty that shows up in her actions, appearance, and attitudes. Why? Because such a woman is focused on pleasing God rather than the world. The result is an outward beauty emanating from a powerful “inside” source. I call it a Personal ‘HOOK- UP.’ According to Genesis 24: 15 – 16, inner beauty is an attitude of service. The person who possesses it goes beyond the expected, having the right heart of patience, kindness, joy and faith. This woman’s beauty goes against the grain of Webster’s definition of beauty, which comes from the Latin word bellus, meaning a combination of qualities that delight the aesthetic senses; an excellent example; an attractive feature or advantage; a pleasing appearance; and an outside appeal. The Source of all we are and were made to be is God the Father. He is the Creator of every living thing: past, present and future. For all who accept Jesus as their personal Savior, God is the center and source of your new life as a re-born Christian. He supplies his power through the Holy Spirit for daily living. We did not control our physical birth nor spiritual re-birth. Our gift of rebirth through the Holy Spirit was a gift of God’s grace, giving us the awesome opportunity to become his adopted children who will share his glory forever. He gave us the ‘Hook-Up’ with everything we needed when we were physically born - beauty, talent, spiritual gifts, intelligence, emotions, and senses. However, God gave us even greater gifts as spiritually reborn children with a new name, new family, family privileges, the greatest family inheritance of all times, grace upon grace, new mercy, and immediate access to Him through Jesus and the Holy Spirit! The Bible says, “Since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.” Galatians 4:7. Since we are blessed with these many gifts and privileges, we are obligated to let the light of our new identity and relationship with Christ shine in the world. By submitting to Him daily, we are used as a testimony in our changed actions, appearance and attitudes. Romans 12: 1-2 points out our need to daily present ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by renewing your mind, and prove what is good, acceptable and the perfect will of God.” Juanita Bynum’s Book, Matters of the Heart, describes the “conforming” as having been given a heart transplant that pumps cleansing blood to our brain and throughout the body as it renews our minds “to think straight.” This is another ‘Hook up’! Our faith is evidence of who we are and what we believe. The blueprint for our faith is light, love, and life through Jesus our Lord. Faith results in a changed life, with good works that follow. In James 2: 14-26, we find that good works result from our faith in God. As we submit to Christ -- the Author and Finisher of our faith -- loving works of service naturally follow. We are to be examples to those who don’t read the bible, go to church, or know Christ. We do this by living the Word in our appearance, actions, and attitudes. In Matthew 5:13,16, we are admonished to HUSH | 46 | 2015 January • February
be the salt of the earth, setting the example of what is good and right from God’s perspective. As “His,” we stand by his principles and precepts, understanding that the world’s standards are inadequate. Our relationship with Christ should be a true demonstration of knowing, obeying, serving, loving, honoring, and thus, glorifying God. Women of God belong to Him and are in His Kingdom family, submitting to His directions through his Word and his Holy Spirit. As we bear the name of Christ, we are His testimony to others. Our responsibility is to live in such a way that others will see Jesus in and through us. The way we dress, act and speak affect the credibility of our testimony. God’s words to Samuel provides a glimpse into God’s priorities regarding outward appearance: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 KJV. Our Spiritual dress requires us to daily practice stewardship in managing, appreciating, and caring for God’s gifts (time, talents, treasures, relationships, ministries, mission, etc). Paul refers to a meek and quiet spirit as appropriate adornment for women who delight God. We should exude stability and good judgment to the world in our appearance and actions as we present ourselves daily for God’s service. To say that it’s nobody’s business how we look and act is to overlook our commitment to the One who saved us. Take note: research verifies that we communicate 5% verbally and 95% visually. Our appearance does impact the effectiveness of our testimony for Christ! Although we often say that actions speak louder than words, some might reply that they can’t hear us because of what they see us wearing or doing. Truly, it is important for everything about us to line up with our new nature in Christ. To have everything in our lives line up with Christ requires self-discipline. Like the people described in Judges 17: 2, 6, we most often want to follow our own desires. “Everybody did what was right in their own eyes,” the scripture concludes. God has given standards and principles that remain the same. To know what is right and then, to have the strength and power to do it, depend on the level of our relationship with Christ. When we are immature, we spend too much time, money and effort preparing our physical body to impress the world. A woman who is mature (does not refer to age) in Christ looks to THE SOURCE FOR A PERSONAL HOOK UP. She effortlessly uses the arsenal supplied by Christ, His Word and His Holy Spirit to do His will and serve His purpose. In essence, she has come to realize that she can “do all things through Christ.” God’s character in her shows up in the most powerful non-verbal forms of communication – actions, outward appearance, and attitude. In each of these areas, she brings glory and honor to God! Alfredia Dampier Miller is an education consultant to elementary and secondary school principals in the area of school improvement. She also is owner of Creative Expressions, an interior design company.
For Students with good grades... February 27 is the deadline to apply for the Buick Achievers Scholarship Program. Up to $25,000 per year is being offered for 50 first-time freshmen or existing college students, renewable for up to four years and one additional year for those entering a qualified five-year engineering program. Students can apply online at http://www.buickachievers.com. Get additional information about college and funding resources on the HUSH Magazine website, www.hushzine.com. Click on “resources” under the “Families” tab. HUSH | 47 | 2015 January • February
Now is the Time…
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ith a forceful voice and equally expressive demeanor, Judge Penny Brown Reynolds pushed the theme of her speech, The Time is Now, to a riveting call to service. The noted real life judge who also is TV’s Judge Penny, came to speak in Jackson, MS during the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. / Rho Lambda Omega Chapter Founders’ Day Observance on January 10 at a local church. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated — the first African American Greek-letter sorority — was founded in 1908 by nine college women at Howard University. Today, it has more than 280,000 college-educated members worldwide. In keeping with the organization’s tradition of recognizing commendable community service, 12 pastors’ wives were honored at the event. “So many people keep trying to reduce Dr. King to a dreamer,” she told the audience of mostly sorority women. “The call is service. Dr. King said everybody can be great because everybody can serve. Service does not require a degree, nor does it require good grammar — just a willingness to help.” The media are bent on portraying black women as people who are angry, speaking vulgarities and wearing “ghetto fabulous attire.” She dismissed what she sees as a “psychological bag of tricks to undermine who we are.” On the contrary, black professionals who meet the highest standards are plentiful. She said that “we must tell our own stories.” Judge Penny has excellent credentials herself, including attorney, former prosecutor, state assistant attorney general, the first African American Chief of Staff and legal counsel to Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor, licensed mediator, book author co-author, named among the Atlanta Business League’s Most Influential Women for the past 10 years, associate pastor, the main character and host of the syndicated daytime TV court series Family Court with Judge Penny, president/CEO of Divine Destiny Enterprises, LLC, and founder of a 501(c) (3) nonprofit committed to strengthening families, women, youth and children. These are just a few of her accomplishments. Sprinkled throughout her remarks at the AKA Founders’ Day event, the judge talked about attacks on the legacy of the African American community — including its leadership, traditional organizations, and the ordinary people who have answered the call to help make black communities better. She voiced concern about a generation of black young people in particular who are clueless to their history and even more so to the need to dream big. Judge Penny told her audience that the failure of grand juries to return indictments in well-known racially-related cases of the past year or so show that “we’re almost irrelevant in the justice system.”
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She sounded the call for service, the only plausible solution for the persistent ills that keep African American communities from moving forward as they should. “You’ve got to serve,” she said. “Service has to become a part of your DNA. We serve a God who says we must do it. You are the ones able to change the world.” “I know you think that we have reached the Promised Land,” Judge Penny continued. “You think that we reached it in 2008 when President Obama came into office. We cried and we were overjoyed. But when some representative that was his colleague stood up in that chamber and yelled out, ‘you lied,’ I knew then that all hell was about to break loose.” “For the past six years, they have done everything they can do to discredit his (President Obama) name, his wife and his children,” she retorted. Painting a mental journey weaving scenarios of the present day, the civil rights era and the old and new testaments of the Bible, Judge Brown Reynolds made a case that boiled down to submitting to service. “We must be awakened to what is going on outside our houses and our churches,” she challenged. “We’ve got to stop believing that everything on reality TV is real.” She maintained that while slavery is dead, the African American community is held hostage by drug dealers in neighborhoods where they rob communities for selfish gain, and men who father children and refuse to take care of them. At a time when opportunities for African Americans are unlimited, Judge Brown Reynolds noted that “we can vote, attend the school of our choice, have high paying jobs, have our own TV show…the opportunities in front of us are unlimited. Yet, ‘black dollars, our economic power’ are not being spent for the good of black communities,” she said. Black churches, sororities / fraternities and businesses all have felt the backlash of a generation that puts self first, in a time when even the poorest black person would be considered well off compared to the condition of the majority of the world’s peoples. “Are you willing to pay the price to reach the Promised Land?” Judge Brown Reynolds asked her audience. “Getting to the Promised Land means you’ve got to wake up in the morning wanting to help somebody else.” “Even in my mother’s womb, God had a place for me,” she said of her mother’s decision to keep her after being raped on her way home from work. Judge Brown Reynolds said her mother struggled to raise her as a single parent, making the necessary sacrifices. She noted that Dr. Martin Luther King’s Mountaintop Dream of the Promised Land was “simply restating Moses’ vision” in Deuteronomy, when he realized that he would not cross over to the Promised Land because he had been disobedient. “God allowed him (Moses) to climb up a mountain to see the big picture of what God had in mind for the people, and it was wonderful.” She said King’s Mountaintop vision was about how people would live. Like Dr. King, though, Judge Brown Reynolds said that people in the African American community need to dream big dreams. “My dream allows me to look 50 years ahead and see my grandchildren and their children.” She said too many people climb mountains that do not allow them to see beyond the next day. “I’m burdened,” she said, “by the number of young black boys and black girls who come into my courtroom in chains, whose HUSH | 49 | 2015 January • February
mountains were too small and their lives have been cut short.” In another instance, Judge Brown Reynolds used the parable that Jesus told a man who came to Him for a “philosophical conversation about who is my neighbor” to drive home the imperative of service. Instead of the priest and Levite who failed to stop to help the man “beaten down and bloodied” by thieves on the 16-mile curved road from Jerusalem to Jericho, Judge Brown Reynolds’ characters were two sorority sisters — an AKA and a Delta –– who both strolled past the “sister left beat down and bloody” on the road. “Some say the first one was on the way to a ceremony, and didn’t want to get her clothes messed up,” speculated Judge Brown Reynolds. “Some say the other was afraid of being late.” “Along came the Good Samaritan. She wasn’t college-educated. She got her GED and went to community college. She was from the wrong side of the tracks,” the said said in storyteller fashion. Judge Brown Reynolds said her characters who passed by the “sister” in distress were concerned about themselves more than the condition of the person on the road. Her Good Samaritan had compassion and considered, “What’s going to happen to her if I don’t stop to help?” The question today is the same, Judge Brown Reynolds pointed out. “What is going to happen to the little girl down the street if I don’t stop to help…the least,…the lost,…the last? Stand up for what is right. Stand up for what is just.” She urged the group to surrender “individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity, to give to the least of these.” “The rest and favor of God will be upon you when you answer the call. Your soul will not rest until you stop to help.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Rho Lambda Omega Chapter Founders’ Day Honorees 12 Pastors’ Wives Edna Canada, Pilgrim Rest Church Marion Evans, Zion Chapel A.M.E Zion Church Edna Holmes, Sandhill M.B. Church Jimmie Ann Jones, Pilgrim Rest Church Wautisha Wells McBounds, Mt. Elam M. B. Church Gwendolyn McNeal, Black’s Chapel Church Catherine Moore, Stronger Hope Baptist Church Phelisa Pittman, Hanging Moss Church of Christ LaToya Redd Thompson, United Baptist Church Rosalind Yarber, Relevant Empowerment Church / First Lady, City of Jackson Felice Dowd Wicks, Mt. Nebo Baptist Church Helen Young, New Hope Baptist Church
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