9 10 2014

VOL. 63, No. 35

September 4 - 10, 2014

COMMENTARY

www.tsdmemphis.com

75 Cents

Beale Street fee dead Unpopular move gets axed by Downtown Memphis Commission

by Tony Jones Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

USC’s Black Twitter study draws criticism

by Yesha Callahan The Root

Let’s discuss the phenomenon that is Black Twitter. Yes, I’ve capitalized the “b” in black, because it deserves the distinction as a proper noun, especially since there’s currently a study on it being conducted by the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California.

According to the study, here’s what the researchers are doing: Developing a multi-method approach to studying public discourse on Twitter that explores both macro and micro-scale activity simultaneously in order to draw out particularly active, engaged “neighborhoods” within the larger population. Among the many different ways that audiences incorporate Twitter into their media ecologies, “livetweeting” is one of the most promising for researchers. “Livetweeting” refers to an open-ended discussion among casual viewers, producers, critics, fans, and anti-fans alike that unfolds in response to television programming, in connection with real-time viewing. From sports events to awards shows to original content, this sort of real-time activity offers a unique opportunity for researchers to listen in on live commentary from thousands of viewers at once.

It’s no surprise that Black Twitter is a hot commodity when it comes to market research and advertising. According to recent Pew research, 18 percent of Twitter’s U.S. users are black, and it’s this number that has marketers striving to figure out how to make a profit out of it.

Earlier Wednesday, when word got around about the Black Twitter study, most people noticed that the people associated with the study on the site were three white men. That definitely didn’t sit well with those on social media.

Many questioned why three white men were involved in a project solely focused on the interactions of black people on Twitter. Then the criticism, jokes and hashtags started rolling in, because, you know, that’s what Black Twitter does, and rightly so. dream hampton @dreamhampton #BlackTwitterStudy #Drapetomania RT @@MissAngelaDavis reads like a study of the covert communication among slaves. zoe samudzi @BabyWasu *starts reading about the #blacktwitter study* *immediately stops because validation of its impact and reach are irrelevant and insulting* CallMeLisa @Lisa1660 There seems to be a new trend of sleep deprivation. May be drug related. They use the hashtag #staywoke as code #blacktwitterstudyresults Jalapeño Business @and1grad SEE TWITTER ON PAGE 2

MEMPHIS WEEKEND FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H-93o - L-74o H-90o - L-71o H-84o - L-66o PM T-Storms

Scattered T-Storms

REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Friday H-94 L-74 H-89 L-71 H-89 L-71

Cloudy

Saturday H-91 L-71 H-89 L-69 H-93 L-72

Sunday H-86 L-66 H-81 L-63 H-90 L-70

The $10 fee to enter Beale Street starting at midnight has officially been terminated and Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Morris says he is just as relieved as anyone else that the $10 surcharge has been axed.

The highly unpopular measure was officially killed last week in a meeting when Morris met with Mayor AC Wharton Jr. and District 3 City Councilman Harold Collins.

“We felt that if there was a security issue it should be the responsibility of the Memphis Police Department or the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, that a fee was discriminatory toward African American and certain classes (of society) because it would separate those that could afford to get on the street versus those who could not afford to.

Since Beale is a public street that was not legal,” said Collins.

“Third, any decision involving Beale Street should have been brought before the Memphis City Council, and they definitely did not come before the council before this fee was put in place.”

Harold Collins

Paul Morris Rolled out in August, the fee setup met widespread disapproval from the public. Still, Morris said it was “an absolute necessity” following two consecutive violent weekends.

“We’ve only done it twice, but we had to do something. First, we had an incident in early August between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. where the street had become dangerously overcrowded

and that led to several incidents of negative public safety. I hate to talk about it because I don’t want to scare people but we had serious incidents of sexual assault, stampeding and other problems during that time,” said Morris.

“Ninety-percent of the time Beale Street is completely safe, but at that 1 percent time on Sunday (12 a.m. to 3 a.m.) we had a public safety emergency that arose in those hours.”

A disgusting sequel erupted the very next weekend he said.

“We had that viral video released on Youtube showing the violent beating of a man on Beale Street. Both of these incidents occurred right before Elvis week and we have out of town visitors and out-of-town media coming in, so we had to do something.

That video made world news.”

Morris said the commission never liked the fee.

“We understand that the fee is bad for business and that it is unpopular.

It was pretty strong medicine but it worked. We didn’t like it but we had to do it to address very real problems with overcrowding on the street and we did it quickly and successfully.

SEE BEALE ON PAGE 2

It’s a celebration…

The New Tri-State Defender’s third annual Best in Black Awards celebration was a community affair that this year expanded into a three-day happening culminating at the Cook Convention Center. Story and photos on pages 8-9. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow)

Bye George, thanks!

George E. Hardin, the first fulltime photographer for the Tri-State Defender (now The New Tri-State Defender), died at his home in Austin, Texas on Saturday (Aug. 30th). He was 80.

During November 2011, The ‘Defender’ took note of its 60th year, with Mr. Hardin contributing the story that follows.

It ran underneath this overline: “The ‘Defender’ at 60;Then and now – all about the people.” The main headline read: “Newspaper veteran maintains ‘first love’.”

This TSD reprint is a tribute to Mr. Hardin and his legacy of excellence, dignity and courage.

George Hardin in 1953

The year was 1953.

The NAACP Spingarn Medal was awarded to Paul Williams, the Los Angeles-born black architect – whose parents were from Memphis – who designed the original St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It was the year when whites in Chicago began rioting after blacks moved into Trumbull Park, a public housing project. James Baldwin published “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

And it was the year that I joined the Tri-State Defender at age 19, two years after the newspaper’s founding, as its first full-time staff photographer.

It was instructive and inspirational to work under the eminently qualified Lewis O. Swingler, the newspaper’s first editor. The newspaper’s officers were housed in the Randolph House, a rambling Victorian mansion at Beale and Lauderdale.

Born in Crittenden, Ark., Swingler earned a journalism degree at the University of Nebraska, where he helped organize the first Alpha Phi Alpha chapter in 1927. He became editor of the Memphis World in 1931,

and he taught journalism at LeMoyne College. John H. Sengstacke, the Defender’s founding publisher, recruited Swingler as editor when he established the newspaper paper in 1951. L. Alex Wilson, a veteran newspaperman who had worked at the Chicago Defender, was Swingler’s assistant.

I had left Tennessee State University after my freshman year. (I would later reenroll.) Upon joining the staff I set up a darkroom with my own enlarger and other equipment, and used my own camera – one I still have and which works although I no longer use it.

Not having a car, I had to hitch a ride if a reporter was on the George Hardin in 2011 same assignment; if not, I took a city bus (weekly deadlines were not tight). Sometimes, though, especially at night, I was authorized to call a taxi and get a receipt in order to be reimbursed.

Earlier, as a member of the Manassas High School Newsette staff, I had become interested in the Defender since my history teacher, Addie D. Jones, was the newspaper’s first society editor, and often mentioned in class the work she did for her column.

The Defender from its beginning mounted an aggressive campaign for black rights and dignity, promoted education and exposed racism, injustice and police brutality.

I left the Defender after about a year to work in commercial photography but would return later, first as photographer and again, in 1978, as executive editor. My years with the Defender were among my most rewarding, not only for the feeling that I was helping promote justice, but SEE GEORGE ON PAGE 3

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September 4 - 10, 2014

Tri-State Defender

NEWS BEALE CONTINUED FROM FRONT We had zero negative incidents occur on Beale Street after the fee was implemented.

And in the ward around Beale Street crime dropped 50 percent. So we were pleased with that outcome and we believe we have broken the pattern and addressed the public safety issue that we were having.”

The commission met with the Memphis Police Department following the weekend disturbances and the alarming conditions.

“We had to do something quickly and it worked,” Morris recounted. “We will no longer be charging the fee and we are confident that the problem has been addressed for this year. Looking forward, we are intent on coming up with other solutions to protect the public, but we aren’t going to do the fee again.”

Morris said Beale is in good shape overall.

“With Sweetie Pie’s, the Blue Note and Tin Pan Alley coming in we’re fully leased up, revenues are higher this year and we are returning a net income to the city for the first time ever. If you come down on Saturday nights you will see more than 50 regularly assigned police, plus we have more than 30 private security guards. And the command center is still there as well.”

Councilman Collins adds, “I don’t think people would be upset when you see a major police presence on Beale Street. When you go to New York City you see policeman on every block in Times Square. If that’s what we need to have to protect our asset, that’s what we need to have. Beale Street does not belong just to Memphis, it belongs to the world and we have to protect it.”

Increased police presence may not be final answer Morris said.

“We need more civility across the board in society, but that’s not the real issue. Keep this in mind: Beale Street is two blocks. Compare that to Bourbon Street, which stretches for 12 to 15 blocks. They have plenty of places where the crowd can grow and expand naturally, said Morris. “Beale is incredibly popular. By 2 a.m. it is shoulder to shoulder on some nights. When you have that situation and people are drinking, somebody is going to bump into somebody and when that happens people run and it causes a stampede.

“People have been trampled. It’s a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) atmosphere outside, and mind you the clubs are mostly half empty by that time,” Morris added. “We’ve only been in charge of Beale Street this year but this is not a new problem. We didn’t want to be like the people on that Youtube video standing around watching that poor man bleeding. We are looking for other ways to address this if this problem rises again, which we hope it won’t, but we will not tolerate Beale being unsafe at anytime day or night.”

Finally free…

After spending 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old North Carolina girl, Henry Lee McCollum (above) and his half brother, Leon Brown, were freed this week after DNA evidence led to their release and pointed toward another man, who lived near where the victim’s body was found. McCollum, 50, was on death row for 30 years.

Brown, 46, was serving a life sentence. (Screenshots)

TWITTER CONTINUED FROM FRONT #BlackTwitterStudyResults #TheBlacks do not expect their light skin women to respond to texts or calls in an appropriate time frame But that’s when the face of the project changed and Dayna Chatman, a black woman, was added to the project’s page. In a twist of irony, Chatman took to her own Twitter account to set the record straight about the project and to state that she pitched the idea as part of her research assistantship.

Dayna Chatman @FuturePhDdaynaC I want to voice my frustration with how the research is inaccurately represented online. I will say more about my role in the project.

Dayna Chatman @FuturePhDdaynaC I feel it is worthy to archive and understand the voice of Black people. Period. I feel strongly that it's not done enough in Communication.

Dayna Chatman @FuturePhDdaynaC I am currently in the process of writing about our findings and hope that it will be well received within and outside of academia.

Dayna Chatman @FuturePhDdaynaC I pitched this project as part of my dissertation which looks about how Black women are represented on television and how viewers respond.

Chatman’s colleague also tweeted about his reasons for working on the project: Kevin Driscoll @kevindriscoll I work on this project because Black Twitter matters. Many people within my academic field and in the media/tech industries do not agree.

Kevin Driscoll @kevindriscoll I am so sorry that our work was presented in this way. @FuturePhDdaynaC has always been 1st author and this began as her idea.

Here’s the thing about Black Twitter: It’s more than hashtags, retweets and jokes. Sure, all of those run rampant, but in the grand scheme of things, Black Twitter is a microcosm of society as a whole. Black Twitter is being studied not only by USC but also by companies like Nielsen.

On a nightly basis, Nielsen and other marketing companies sit back and learn what Black Twitter users are watching, purchasing and buying. Black Twitter is Money Twitter. Every retweet of a TV show, every mention of a new

product, is building revenue for hundreds of companies. And that’s just the commercial aspect of Black Twitter.

If it wasn’t for Black Twitter, would the deaths of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Ezell Ford and Eric Garner have gained the attention of the nation? Black Twitter consists of activists, educators and those people making a difference in the world.

Black Twitter is not all “Scandal” or “Love & Hip Hop” tweets and Kermit the Frog memes. Black Twitter is filled with comics, foot soldiers, feminists, mothers, fathers and even a handful of white people. Of course people want to study a population of people who have buying power and influence and who may be funny as s--t. But while they’re doing the studying, they’re also making money and even occasionally taking credit for other people’s work and ingenuity.

This USC study is one of several that have happened and will happen. But wouldn’t it be great if Black Twitter actually benefited more from these studies? Black Twitter doesn’t need a study to tell it something it already knows. What Black Twitter needs is to figure out how to leverage its buying power and influence to benefit its members, not only large corporations.

(Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.)

Tri-State Defender

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September 4 - 10, 2014

NEWS GEORGE CONTINUED FROM FRONT also for the friendships with talented coworkers. Included were Moses J. Newson, Burleigh Hines, L. F. Palmer, McCann L. Reid, Charles Tisdale and Robert Sengstacke, all of whom went on to make history in their own way. Newson covered the Emmett Till trial for the Defender and later was one of the original Freedom Riders.

In 1959 Palmer, the newspaper’s editor, and I covered the violence surrounding the reopening of Little Rock Central High School. He and I and several other black journalists were shot at from a passing car while standing on the lawn at the home of L. C. and Daisy Bates, mentors of the Little Rock Nine. The bullets went astray into a nearby house.

Palmer and I also were in a group of black journalists that was chased from the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol by an angry mob when we tried to cover a segregationists’ rally. On the Little Rock assignment, Ernest C. Withers, a lifelong friend, took a photo of me being interviewed by a white Little Rock reporter, apparently because he had never seen a black photojournalist before.

In 1960 Palmer and I were assigned to take a one-week trip throughout the South to cover the sit-ins that were erupting for all the newspapers in the Defender chain, visiting Montgomery, Atlanta, Nashville, Richmond, Norfolk, Durham and Greensboro, where four North Carolina A&T College students initiated the sit-ins. Palmer interviewed and I photographed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders.

Throughout our trip we no trouble with police. However, a few days after we returned the first Memphis lunch counter sitin took place at McLellan’s 5 & 10 Cents Store on Main Street and I was the first photographer on the scene. An odd thing happened: The police let the students go and took me to the station house. Their questions indicated they thought the Defender instigated the sit-in to get an exclusive story.

(The students did not let the daily newspapers and broadcast media know about the sit-in because they didn’t believe their coverage would be fair.)

Subsequently, I was arrested twice, during sit-ins at the Cossitt Branch Library and the Walgreens at Main and Madison.

The expression “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” has been used in various contexts, but it was first applied to newspapers. In my view, that is a commendable goal for the noble profession of journalism, and especially an alternative newspaper.

During my career, I worked for a number of newspapers (as well as magazines), in Memphis and other cities, as a photographer, reporter and copy editor. But the TriState Defender was my first (newspaper) love at age 19, and it remains the same in the autumn of my years.

A musician performs at Club Handy, above Pantaze Drug Store, at Beale and Hernando in the 1950s. On the wall is a picture of W. C. Handy.

(Photo by George E. Hardin)

LEGACY: George Hardin George Hardin, 80, died on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at Seton Hospital in Austin, Texas.

He is survived by his wife Joyce Harris of Austin, TX; daughter, Johanna Wiggins (Duane), and granddaughter Micah Wiggins of Stuttgart, Germany; brother Ezell Cooper of Chicago, IL; and many nieces and nephews. Other family members include Alton Harris, III of Clarksburg, MD, Cheryl Harris of Austin, TX, and David and Erica Harris and grandchildren Olivia and Ezra Harris of San Antonio, TX. George was preceded in death by his late wife Annie Pearl Hardin, son, Michael K. Hardin, and sister, Thelma Walton all of Memphis, TN. George was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Daniel Hardin and Rosie Belle Dodson on May 7, 1934. After graduating from Manassas High School in 1952, he studied English at Tennessee State University in Nashville. George was drafted into the U.S. Army on December 6, 1956 and served in the Signal Corp as a photographer/reporter for public information offices and post newspapers.

After his discharge from military service, George served as a press photographer, writer, and reporter for various newspapers in Tennessee and Virginia. He eventually opened a commercial photography studio.

George had a long career as a reporter, feature writer, and copy editor for many media outlets, including the Memphis daily newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, where, in 2000, he retired as a copy editor.

George has many published photographs, and has images in the per-

manent collection of the Smithsonian Institute.

George was an avid reader of philosophy, history, and geography.

He was an eyewitness to history during the height of the civil rights struggle in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. He was arrested twice while covering sit-ins and other protest events in the course of his work as a photographer and journalist.

After retirement, George brought his writing and photographic talents to his new home in Austin, Texas. He worked many years as a sports reporter and photographer for The Villager. In 2009, George was inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association’s “Media Hall of Fame.” George was a frequent contributor to publications at David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, including The DC Pulse monthly newsletter. He enjoyed teaching Men’s Sunday School class, participating in Senior Adult Ministry activities, and documenting church-life events.

George married Joyce in 2004. They enjoyed travel all over the states, most recently, Portland, Oregon, with special vacations in Alaska, Hawaii, Turkey, the Caribbean, Spain, Italy, and Canada.

The family is celebrating the life and times of George at a memorial service at David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 2211 E. MLK Blvd at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2014. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the George E. Hardin Scholarship Fund that is being established in his honor. The family will provide additional information to those who inquire.

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Tri-State Defender

September 4 - 10, 2014

OPINION The emotional toll of growing up black

John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951 - 1997)

The Mid-South’s Best Alternative Newspaper

• Bernal E. Smith II President / Publisher • Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku Executive Editor

Powered by Best Media

Obama’s African legacy already being debated

by George E. Curry NNPA News Service

WASHINGTON – President Obama showed a deeply personal side of him rarely seen in public as he toasted African leaders at a State Dinner at the White House at the recentlyconcluded U.S.-Africa Summit in Washington.

“Tonight we are making history, and it’s an honor to have all of you here,” he said on Aug. 5. “And I stand before you as the president of the United States and a proud American. I also stand before you as the son of a man from Africa. The blood of Africa runs through our family.

And so for us, the bonds between our countries, our continents, are deeply personal.”

It was precisely because of those special bonds that Africans and African Americans had such high – some say unrealistic – expectations of what Obama would do for Africa when he was first elected president in 2008.

Now those expectations have faded with the passage of time.

Since his election, Obama has made only two trips to Africa, not counting his brief trip to Johannesburg in December 2013 to attend a memorial service following the death of Nelson Mandela. His first trip as president was July 10-11, 2009 to Ghana, where he met with the president, addressed the Ghanaian Parliament and toured Cape Coast Castle, where enslaved Africans were kept before being taken to the West.

He took a three-nation trip June 26-July 2, 2013, visiting Senegal, where he toured Goree Island; South Africa and Tanzania.

Obama visited Kenya, his father’s place of birth, prior to assuming office.

As Obama noted in his toast to African leaders, “Of all the incredible moments of our trips to Africa, one of the most memorable was being able to bring Michelle, and later our little girls, to my father’s hometown in Kenya, where we were embraced by so many relatives.

“We’ve walked the steps of a painful past – in Ghana, at Cape Coast Castle; in Senegal, at Gorée Island – standing with our daughters in those doors of no return through which so many Africans passed in chains. We’ll never forget bringing our daughters to Robben Island, to the cell from which Madiba showed the unconquerable strength and dignity of an African heart. We’ve been inspired by Africans – ordinary Africans doing extraordinary things…”

With slightly more than two years left in his two-term presidency, scholars and activists are already debating what will be the African legacy of the first African American elected president of the United States.

The legacies of Obama’s two immediate predecessors on the continent are clear. Although, by his own admission, Bill Clinton should have done more to end the Rwandan genocide, fight the AIDS epidemic and end famine and war in Somalia, his legacy is the passage and signing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act – AGOA – into law in 2000.

AGOA was designed to help economies in sub-Saharan Africa develop stronger economic ties with the U.S. It does that by providing trade preferences for certain goods to enter the U.S. duty free, including textiles.

The law, renewed once since passage, is up for renewal again in 2015.

It is universally agreed that George W. Bush’s African legacy is what he did to curb HIV/AIDS in Africa.

A White House fact sheet noted, “President Bush has made a historic commitment to the fight against global HIV/AIDS. In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat global HIV/AIDS. Later that year, President Bush signed the initial 5-year, $15 billion authorizing legislation that had been approved with strong bipartisan support. This President views this commitment as a central part of our foreign policy to help alleviate the despair that allows extremism to take hold.

“PEPFAR is the largest international health initiative in history to fight a single disease. This effort has helped bring life-saving treatment to more than 2.1 million people and care for more than 10 million people – including more than four million orphans and vulnerable children –

George E. Curry

around the world.”

What is Obama’s signature contribution to Africa?

Bill Fletcher Jr., former president of TransAfrica, an advocacy group, summed up Obama’s African legacy in two words – “good

speeches.”

He explained, “When he (Obama) was a senator, he introduced legislation in connection with the Great Lakes Region, peacekeeping and economic development. In the six years he has been in office, I’ve seen no evidence of any kind of U.S. effort to engage in peace and reconciliation.

“For example, the U.S. should be trying to resolve Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara. But there are no special envoys working in the Great Lakes Region. The U.S. ignores the corruption of Equatorial Guinea. The response to the Nigerian Boko Haram crisis ends up being basically military and very little else.

So, I don’t feel there’s anything particularly innovative in Obama’s approach toward the continent.”

Mel Foote, president of Constituency for Africa, an Africa support group, disagrees.

“His biggest legacy is going to be these young African leaders initiative,” a reference to a pre-summit gathering here hosted by Obama.

“You can’t stop them. They are the powers to be in their own countries.

“He had young people from Zimbabwe here, he had young people from Cameroon here –countries that have dictators. These are the best and the brightest that have been identified by U.S. embassies, not by the governments of those countries.”

Foote and Fletcher agree that Africa’s problems extend beyond the need for additional U.S. trade.

Africa has the youngest population in the world, with nearly 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. In most African countries, that group makes up more than 20 percent of the total population, according to the African Development Bank. By 2045, the number of young people is expected to double.

With those growing numbers comes the challenge of providing a sufficient number of jobs.

As a Brookings report explained, “Young people find work, but not in places that pay good wages, develop skills or provide a measure of job security. With the exceptions of Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa – all of which have alarmingly high youth unemployment rates – less than one-fifth of Africa’s young workers find wage employment. Over 70 percent of youth in the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda are either self-employed or contributing to family work.”

The Brookings study notes there is also an education crisis.

“In the midst of an increasingly knowledge-based global economy, 30 million primary school-age children in Africa – one in every four – are out of school, along with 20 million adolescents,” the report stated. “…Many of Africa’s children are denied an education because they are working as child laborers.”

The continent has other pressing issues as well, including the need for more energy.

Another Brookings study, titled, “Top Five Reasons Why Africa Should Be a Priority for the United States,” observed: “The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that there are 590 million people in subSaharan Africa, mostly in rural areas, without access to electricity, representing nearly 6 in 10 people in the region. In addition, 700 million people, or 70 percent of the population, rely on traditional, non-commercial sources of energy, such as biomass, for cooking.”

In his speech to African leaders, Obama acknowledged that even with Africa’s challenges, it is a continent on the rise.

He said, “Even as Africa continues to face enormous challenges, even as too many Africans still endure poverty and conflict, hunger and disease, even as we work together to meet those challenges, we cannot lose sight of the new Africa that’s emerging.”

During the recent US-Africa Summit, President Obama said Africa is on the rise. (White House photo.)

CBC: The Clueless Black Caucus On the very day that Michael Brown, the slain teenager from Ferguson, Mo., was buried, the Congressional Black Caucus made a major announcement. They sent a letter complaining to President Obama.

Yep, you heard correctly. They took the bold move of asking the president to investigate issues of racism and discrimination within local law enforcement nationally by setting up a police czar.

Now that you have finished laughing, let’s discuss this a little further.

It took plodding through the CBC’s meandering letter to see that they made a few strong recommendations to the president. They first want Obama to appoint the “Department of Justice (DOJ) to train every police department in the country on the issue of racial bias.” It’s amazing that members of congress need to be reminded that policing is a local issue, not a federal one. The federal government has its hands full trying to eradicate racism from its own ranks. So I have a recommendation for the CBC: Let the states and municipal governments deal with the issue on the local level.

The second recommendation concerned accountability. According to the CBC’s letter, “Police departments should not be solely responsible for investigating themselves.” Oh really? These same members of congress seem to have no problem when it comes to congress investigating itself. If another member of congress or the public files a complaint against a member of congress, Congress refuses to bring in an independent investigator.

The third recommendation deals with the issue of diversity. “Police department personnel should be representative of the communities they serve…DOJ must set, implement, and monitor diversity hiring and retention guidelines for local police departments,” according to the letter. Again, this is a local issue and DOJ has no authority to engage in such an activity. Why won’t Congress agree to be subjected to this same standard? Besides, Congress conveniently exempts itself from some of the law it passes.

The fourth recommendation revolved around engagement. “Too often law enforcement personnel hold stereotypes about black and brown youth and vice versa. Lack of familiarity breeds lack of understanding and increased opportunities for conflict…” These same members of Congress perpetuate stereotypes that Republicans hate blacks; and don’t care about the poor. Democrats rarely engage with Republicans on any issues; and people wonder why no legislation gets passed in D.C. The fifth recommendation: “…The Administration must quickly establish a national commission to review existing police policies and practices and identify the best policies and practices that can prevent more Fergusons and vastly improve policing

Tri-State Defender Platform 1. Racial prejudice worldwide must be destroyed.

2. Racially unrestricted membership in all jobs, public and private.

3. Equal employment opportunities on all jobs, public and private.

4. True representation in all U.S. police forces.

5. Complete cessation of all school segregation.

6. Federal intervention to protect civil rights in all instances where civil rights compliance at the state level breaks down

in communities across the nation.” Is anyone listening? This is a local issue.

The final recommendation called for more b u r e a u c r a c y.

“The Administration must appoint a federal Czar, Raynard housed in the Jackson U.S. Department of Justice, who is specifically tasked with promoting the professionalization of local law enforcement, monitoring egregious law enforcement activities, and adjudicating suspicious actions of local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding.”

In essence, the CBC wants to nationalize all local and municipal police departments. This is yet another example of why no one takes the CBC seriously. They constantly advocate positions that have no chance of passing Congress; and in this case, are not even legal.

Did the CBC really just realize that racial disparities on the Ferguson police force existed? I was born and raised in St. Louis and these disparities have existed for decades in Ferguson and throughout the region. The federal government has absolutely no role in insuring diversity on a local police force. That is the responsibility of the locally elected leadership.

Local police should answer to the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect, not to Eric Holder or the CBC. The CBC conveniently ignore that blacks are 67 percent of the population of Ferguson; but they rarely participate in elections in any meaningful way. Are the blacks in Ferguson just realizing that there were only three blacks out of 53 on the police force?

Maybe blacks are fine with the composition of the police force and the rest of their elected officials. If they were dissatisfied, they could have quickly changed that by voting.

We cannot continue to blame others for our apathetic behaviors; and we can’t continue to run to big government to do for us what we are not willing to do for ourselves. We must be what we are looking for.

The CBC has chosen to put the blame and responsibility for Ferguson on everyone but the citizens of Ferguson. Whose fault is it that blacks don’t vote in Ferguson? They have the power to vote, but they don’t have the will to vote. They hold the key to their own future.

(NNPA columnist Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached via www.raynardjackson.com. Follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.)

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Terrell Strayhorn, a brilliant black Ohio State University professor, recently opened the Educational Testing Service and Children’s Defense Fund co-sponsored symposium on Advanc- Marian Wright ing Success for Edelman Black Men in College by sharing a question his 14-year-old son asked him: Why did he get in trouble for speaking out of turn when he jumped in to answer his teacher’s question?

When his white friend did the same thing, she was praised for being excited about learning.

Strayhorn noted that many parents and grandparents and educators and policy experts are concerned about the same question: “There are lots of black and brown boys who are often penalized for committing the same exact act that non-black and nonbrown, usually white kids, commit in school – and some students are praised for certain behaviors that other kids are penalized for. It sends a very mixed message, because my son is confused: ‘So what should I do? Not be excited about learning?

What if you just can’t wait for the question? How do I signal to the teacher I’m not a rule-breaker?’”

Strayhorn said these questions are something we’ve got to think about.

He highlighted a number of other roadblocks we must all be sensitive to and overcome to get all our children on a path of healthy development, confidence, and success. The disparate treatment of black children in the classroom from the earliest years, especially black boys, often discourages and knocks many off the path to high school graduation and college.

The cumulative and convergent toll of subtle but discouraging adult actions in schools and other child serving systems they come into contact with too often impedes the success of children of color, especially those who are poor, and burdens them with an emotional toll they don’t deserve.

I used to sing loudly with my children and Sesame Street’s Kermit the Frog “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” I can only imagine the number of black children and adults who sing inside daily “It’s Not Easy Being Black.” I’m sure that black youths seeing what happened to Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and others who lost their lives for walking while black and those who are stopped and frisked and arrested and victimized by excessive police force carry these burdens inside every day.

Even the youngest black boys, ages 4 and 5, who are put out of school and even preschool for nonviolent disciplinary charges for which white children would never be.

Strayhorn spelled out another way black children are harmed: through disparate resources in the classroom, including textbooks, that hold black, brown, and poor students back. He described an experience he had while a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville working with a Knoxville high school that was 97 percent black.

“I found that in this high school these students were learning from textbooks that were at least 10 years old…

What exactly are the implications of learning from a textbook that’s 10 years old? Well, I’ll tell you this: that if you don’t catch up too quickly, especially in terms of science, there are certain technological revolutions that have happened at such a fast pace that they’re not even mentioned in the books from which they’ll learn – but will certainly be part of the test that they’ll take to demonstrate competency to go on to college.”

As he covered what does work in building a pathway to success, Strayhorn emphasized the need for positive interventions based on proven designs – because in his program evaluation experience he’s seen far too many well-intentioned efforts that lacked a measurable impact because good ideas weren’t well implemented. He said as an example mentoring programs are especially popular, but many don’t provide adequate training: “If I ask everyone at this table, ‘Will you be a mentor?,’ and you all say yes, and I say, ‘Now, go out and mentor,’ but never tell you what a mentor is supposed to do, I never tell you how important it is to get to know your mentee.”

We need to watch out for the subtle as well as the overt ways in which we treat non-white and white children and those who are poor differently.

And we need much more diversity in children’s literature so that white, black, latino, Native American, Asian American, and all children can be exposed to the rich mosaic of America’s melting pot to help them see themselves and what they can be.

(NNPA columnist Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.)

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September 4 - 10, 2014

NAtioNAl Parents of expelled black students sue Ohio district Lisa Cornwell Associated Press

When it comes to emergency situations, African-American communities tend to be among the most vulnerable and least prepared.

Emergency preparedness plans marginalize African Americans

by Jazelle Hunt NNPA News Service

WASHINGTON – This September marks the 10th anniversary for National Preparedness Month. And when it comes to emergency situations, African-American communities tend to be among the most vulnerable and least prepared.

Henry Louis Taylor Jr., professor of urban and regional planning, and founding director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, believes that emergency preparedness efforts sometimes reflect the marginalization of low-income and communities of color.

“The reality is that a person grappling with decisions like survival, making ends meet…is not going to be thinking about terror attacks or explosions or ice storms and how to prepare for that. They have to prepare for basic things, like, where is my next meal coming from, or how will I get my kids to school. They’re not going to be able to [get prepared] on their own,” Taylor explains.

“When you combine that with [the fact that] the authorities and people involved in disaster preparedness planning do not understand those neglected communities, and have little meaningful relationships with those inside it, it’s clear why they’re not equipped with this information. There isn’t a system in place to work with residents…even the formation of these plans has nothing to do with them.”

This hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2007, the Office of Minority Health convened a National Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity, tasked with creating guidelines to help state and local officials include and accommodate communities of color in their preparedness efforts.

Suzet McKinney, deputy commissioner for Chicago’s Bureau of Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response, echoes many of the panel’s findings.

“You really have to know your community, and know what the populations are that exist in the city,” she says, adding that finding and creating provisions for those who are elderly or disabled, have language barriers, limited means of transportation, or lack access to social services, is a monumental task.

“In areas where communities are socially isolated…we could have issues with trust,” McKinney continued. “We recognize and understand that, so we try to identify the advocates and groups where trust is already established, who can help us in government and other officials to reach those in insolation.”

The 9/11 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax threat placed our nation’s unpreparedness at. center stage. The intervening years have underscored this need, bringing disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the H1N1 pandemic flu, a string of mass shootings, two major blackouts in New York City, a barrage of extreme weather events, and more. In response, the federal government launched resources, Ready.gov for citizens, FEMA preparedness grants for state and local governments, and more recently, the Tribal Climate Resilience Program for Indian country.

“Preparedness is a live process. I am of the belief that a plan is never complete, because when going from one emergency to another, there are always going to be some nuances that require us to alter our plans or responses in some way,” McKinney says.

Ordinary citizens are a large variable in the process as well. In recent years, the work of being prepared has been framed as a civic duty, a call to arms, and a collective effort.

“We’re encouraging [citizens] to be resilient, to be resources for one another, because we’ve realized that government entities cannot be everywhere at the same time,” McKinney says. “We want people checking on their neighbors, making arrangements in case of emergencies…we’re encouraging people to return to those behaviors that we remember when we were growing up.”

The national Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program hinges on this concept. Through this free program, disseminated by FEMA but administered by local groups and governments, ordinary citizens can take a course on basic first responder, rescue, and emergency skills. At the end of the course, participants can opt to join a citizen corps of auxiliary first responders, who can be deployed in their communities in the event of a non-terrorism emergency.

“These trainings are about empowering our residents to stand up and be great in their neighborhoods. People with this knowledge and information can do good for all the people around them,” says Charsaree Clay, Washington, D.C. CERT program officer. She offers three recommendations for people looking to become more disaster-ready.

“Know yourself. What are the names of the medications you take? If you only take [public transportation], how would you get out of the city if you needed to?

If you had to walk out of the city, could you?” Clay prompts. “Network and connect with people; you want to create a web of intermeshed people who help each other out in times of crisis. Lastly, learn – and not just by taking [CERT] training.

Get online. And your community is also a resource, people in your building might know things.”

McKinney offers similar advice for whole communities, sharing that connections – between trusted officials, advocates, and organizations (such as churches) – are key to filling the gaps in government capacity.

Taylor advises people to heed, and quickly respond to all official warnings.

He also recommends knowing simple but vital things, such as all of the routes out of one’s home, even in pitch darkness; the locations of the community’s safest structures; and the items needed to aid vulnerable relatives and neighbors.

“It takes all of us to be able to make this work; we can’t say the responsibility of being resilient lies in just one place,” Clay says.

“It lies in our connectedness, our ability to communicate, our ability to support each other, and our ability to work together toward a common goal of having safe communities, resilient communities. Really being able to contribute…makes this sort of ripple effect. Each person that knows this information adds to our national resiliency.”

“The reality is that a person grappling with decisions like survival, making ends meet…is not going to be thinking about terror attacks or explosions or ice storms and how to prepare for that. They have to prepare for basic things, like, where is my next meal coming from, or how will I get my kids to school. They’re not going to be able to [get prepared] on their own.”

– Henry Louis Taylor Jr.

CINCINNATI – The parents of four black students who allege their children were expelled over rap music videos and targeted because of race sued a suburban school district in federal court on Tuesday (Sept. 2), charging violations of constitutional rights including free speech.

Attorney Robert Newman, representing the parents, said that the students were expelled from Colerain High School in Colerain Township, a 20-minute drive northwest of Cincinnati, for making rap music videos off campus and that black students were unfairly targeted. The parents' lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati against the Northwest Local School District, the Colerain Township Board of Trustees and some police officers.

A school district statement said the lawsuit contains inaccurate information. An attorney representing the township didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.

School officials and police officers interrogated black students about their recent social media postings and affiliations with other black youths and showed them photos collected by school staff and police from social media websites, the lawsuit says. The photos showed the students making various hand signs or participating in rap music videos, it says.

"Based on these images, school administrators accused more than a dozen African-American students of making 'street signs' and belonging to a 'gang,'" the lawsuit states.

Newman said white students involved in similar conduct weren't disciplined.

"This case is about racial stereotyping," he said.

The district's attorney, John Concannon, said 14 students were suspended and recommended for expulsion on April 10 primarily for threats made at school and in social media against students or staff. He said black and white students were disciplined and all were welcomed back to school. Newman said one student transferred to another school.

Concannon said disciplinary actions weren't gang-related or about rap music videos.

"This is about reasonable school rules that were violated in a serious way," he said.

Concannon didn't specify what rules were violated, but the district's statement said the violations "were severely interfering with the school operation and threatened the safety of some students."

The lawsuit wants expulsions expunged from the students' records and unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

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Tri-State Defender

September 4 - 10, 2014

BUSINESS ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

In spite of a bankruptcy filing Harassing phone calls, judgments, garnishments, and pending foreclosures are only a few of the things that push one to file bankruptcy. Often times many believe that the world is over upon filing.

However, for many it is just beginning. Bankruptcy provides much needed relief from the stress and strain that comes with being behind on bills.

One enterprising entrepreneur created a business model within the practice of bankruptcy. Patrice Moses assists attorneys with the processing of the paperwork required to be filed in bankruptcies and shares her business model with us.

Carlee McCullough: Thank you for taking the time to share with our readers your experience and knowledge.

Who is Patrice Moses?

Patrice Moses: I am a native Memphian holding a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution. As a mother of three, I have been in business for nine years.

C.M.: Tell us about Bank-

ruptcy Girls?

P.M.: Bankruptcy Girls is a virtual assistant for attorneys who practice bankruptcy. My firm will process the paper work for attorneys.

C.M.: How long have you been doing this?

P.M.: I have been a bankruptcy case manager since 2005.

C.M.: When processing bankruptcy clients, how do you help them get through the process?

P.M.: I help the clients get through the process of a bankruptcy filing by first calming them down and explaining this is NOT the end. Having to file bankruptcy is simply taking two steps backwards in order to move forward. They appreciate this analogy because it provides hope and direction for the future.

C.M.: What are the necessary elements that go into a successful business?

P.M: There are three essential elements that go into a successful business: Understanding, Empathy, and treat-

ing people the dignity. Bankruptcy is h a r d enough without facing someone t h a t m a k e s them feel Carlee e v e n McCullough w o r s e about the decision to file.

C.M.: What do you do to get inspired?

P.M: I am inspired by seeing clients pick up their pieces to a difficult patch in life and flourishing thereafter.

C.M.: What is the most challenging part of your business?

P.M: The most challenging part of my business is seeing how scared and broken the clients are in the beginning of the process. It is difficult to see people of all walks of like (doctors, business owners, professionals, and normal

every day people) endure a r o u g h time.

Patrice Moses

C.M.: What has been the most rewarding experience in dealing with a

client?

P.M.: The most rewarding experience in dealing with a client is seeing them a few years later and hearing how they have become financially stable again.

C.M.: What emerging trends are in your industry?

P.M.: In my industry unfortunately the emerging trends are loss of jobs, low paying wages, divorce, and lack of financial education.

C.M.: What do you enjoy most about this field?

P.M.: This field brings me joy by being able to help people who are at their lowest

point in life come out on the other side. Frequently, bankruptcy provides a sigh of relief from the stresses of bill collectors, judgments, garnishments, and foreclosures.

C.M.: What skills are most important in your business?

P.M.: The skills that are most important in my business are: preparing schedules, exhibits, bankruptcy petitions, adversarial documents, etc.

There are a wide range of skills that are important to have in this industry. Working closely with the attorney to ensure the documents are accurate and in order for review is the key to a successful filing.

C.M.: As a business owner, have you been open to advice along the way?

P.M.: As a business owner, I have been open to advice along the way. As an example, Trustees, Attorneys, and other people in this field have given me advice along the way and it was well received.

In order to be successful a person has to listen and take in all

the advice given. You are never too old to be a student. I am always learning.

C.M.: At the end of the day, who inspires Patrice Moses?

P.M.: I am inspired by my husband, children, and grandchildren, because family is the most important aspect of life. Legacy is very important, because at the end of the day family is all you have.

C.M.: Any closing remarks?

P.M.: Within the next year or so, I will hope to add mediation to my office. Hopefully, I will be Rule 31 listed by the United States Supreme Court.

My goal is to continue to process bankruptcies as well as mediate civil and family matters.

(For additional information about Bankruptcy Girls call 901.279.4333.)

(Contact Carlee McCullough, Esq., at 5308 Cottonwood Road, Suite 1A, Memphis, TN 38118, or email her at jstce4all@aol.com.)

MONEY MATTERS

Will college pay off? Big bills call for smart choices The average total cost for one year at a four-year public college surpassed $18,000 in the 2013–2014 academic year, and charges rose to nearly $41,000 at private institutions (costs include tuition, fees, room, and board). A four-year undergraduate education can range from $100,000 to $200,000 per student, which means even affluent families might find it difficult to pay for their children’s college expenses without borrowing money and/or putting their own retirements at risk.

As the price of college tuition has increased faster than incomes, students have been borrowing more to fill the gap.

The total amount of U.S. student-loan debt reached $1.2 trillion in 2014, nearly three times the amount in 2004. In fact, about 70 percent of the class of 2014 graduated with student debt averaging $33,000, up from $18,600 in 2004.

College loans are relatively easy for students and parents to obtain, but a growing number of defaults suggests that college debt is often more difficult to repay. A weak job market has resulted in an increasing number of underemployed graduates, a situation that can be especially tough for those who are mired in debt.

With the financial futures of college-bound students and supportive parents at stake, it may be more important than ever for families to make informed decisions.

Bang for the buck Soaring costs and diminish-

ing rew a r d s have left many people wondering whether college is worth the time and expense.

Still, the Charles Sims earnings Jr., CFP gap has continued to widen: Workers with four-year degrees earned nearly twice as much as those without degrees in 2013. According to one study, not going to college could cost someone about $500,000 in lost earnings over a lifetime.

A recent Federal Reserve analysis comparing the costs and benefits of a college degree found that college is a “sound investment.” Graduates earned an average annual return of about 15 percent over the last decade. Results varied by area of study: Engineering majors experienced the greatest rate of return (21 percent); education majors had the lowest (9 percent).

Thus, it is important to take a hard look at earning potential when choosing an academic program. Students who plan to enter lower-paying fields may fare better if they are able to keep costs down and hold borrowing to a minimum.

Shopping for college Financial-aid packages differ from school to school, and many students don’t pay published tuition prices.

This price disparity can make the college research and selection process rather confusing.

The U.S. Department of Education has a website designed to help families compare the affordability and value of U.S. colleges. The College Scorecard (www.collegecost.ed.gov/scorecard) includes information for each school, including the typical student’s net cost (after grants and scholarships), the graduation rate, the loan default rate, and estimates of the typical student’s loan amount and monthly payment.

For a more personalized picture of potential costs,

families can utilize each school’s net price estimator, which takes their financial information (such as income and assets) and the student’s academic performance into account.

Mastering the process Students who hope to receive grants and/or loans to help cover college costs must complete the Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To increase your chances, you may want to file your tax returns, complete the FAFSA, and apply for aid according to the college’s in-

structions as early as possible.

Higher-earning families should also fill out the FAFSA because they may qualify for more need-based aid than they might expect, and some schools may require a completed FAFSA for merit-based scholarships.

Life after debt When making college decisions, students often pore over college rankings and data indicating which schools or programs produce the highestpaid graduates. But they might also consider the surprising results of a recent Gallup poll.

Graduates of the top 100

universities (ranked by U.S. News & World Report) were no more likely to say they were thriving in five aspects of well-being than were graduates of other institutions. Only 4 percent of graduates with $20,000 to $40,000 of college debt said they were “thriving,” compared with 14 percent of those with no debt.

One takeaway is that elite universities may not provide as many economic and career advantages as one might assume. In fact, where a person studies may matter less than having the opportunity to earn a degree without racking up a burdensome amount of student debt.

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September 4 - 10, 2014

RELIGION RELIGION BRIEFS

LIVING THE LIFE I LOVE

True Worship Fellowship elicits a ‘call to prayer’ True Worship Fellowship International is hosting a prayer breakfast entitled “A Call to Prayer for Such as Time as This” on Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. at the Servant’s Circle, 2988 Old Austin Peay Hwy. in the Raleigh community.

Bishop Nehemiah Kennedy, pastor of Cathedral of Hope Community Church and founder/president of Second Chance Ministries, will be the keynote speaker. Charlie Caswell, executive director of Rangeline Neighborhood Community Development Corporation, will be the special guest.

There is a $20 per person charge. For more information, call (901) 650-7413 or email The Tennessee Southwest Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ held kfdobbs@live.com.

Dr. K.F. Dobbs is the host its third annual Holy Convocation recently at Liberty Church of God in Christ, 544 East Raines Rd. Bishop William S. Wright, the jurisdictional prelate, delivered the pastor. message. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley) Three-day confab designed to help those with problems The South Germantown Road Church of Christ, 3825 S. Germantown Rd., will host a three-day conference Sept. 28th-30th entitled “From Old Me to New Me.” The conference is designed to release the participant from the pain, problems and bad practices that could cause problems over and over again.

• On Sunday, Sept 28th, at 10:30 a.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Spirit.”

• On Monday, Sept 29th, at 7 p.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Soul.”

• On Tuesday, Sept 30th, at 7 p.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Behavior.”

Registration will begin Saturday, Sept. 27th, during the “Germantown Taste” event and a reminder gift will be given that evening for those who sign up for the conference.

The conference is free to the public. For more information, call (901) 309-9809 or visit the church website at www.sgrcoc.org. Interested persons also can follow the church on Facebook and register at South Germantown Road.

During a luncheon recently at Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church at 1072 S Wellington St., the Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president of the Memphis Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, discusses the turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri before introducing the speaker, the Rev. A.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahatchie, Fla.

COGIC to host Assemblies of God leader Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Springfield, Mo., will be the guest speaker at the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) C.H. Mason Heritage Symposium & Celebration on next Monday (Sept. 8) at 7 p.m. at Mason Temple.

The Symposium & Celebration will commemorate the 150th birthdate of COGIC founder Bishop Charles Harrison Mason. The celebration will convene Sept. 8-10.

“The Church of God in Christ and the Assemblies of God have a long history together that dates back to the late 1800s. I am personally looking forward to this time of sharing and fellowship,” said COGIC Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. For more information: www.cogic.org.

The first annual Deborah Mason Patterson Legacy Awards was celebrated Aug. 22, at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, 229 S. Danny Thomas Blvd. From left: Bishop Designee Charles H. Mason Patterson Sr., pastor, baby Callie Patterson, Mother Fredda Tucker, and Dr. J.O. Patterson III.

It’s easy to get stuck, but faith will help you let go Dear Lucy, I have been struggling with some new challenges and I feel stuck and like all of my praying is in vain. My mother keeps saying “Let go and Let God.” I don't know how to do that and I just get more stuck!

Help!

Signed: Stuck and can't let go Dear Stuck, I know what you mean! It is pretty easy to say to someone, “Just pray about it and let it go.” It's easier said than done. But consider this: The mind loves having conversations with itself and being at war with itself. This is how we stay in a state of distraction and unable to allow joy to enter in. It often feels like we have put a chair under the doorknob and keep reaching over the chair to turn the knob. Really stupid!

While we are busy being distracted by the constant mind chatter of blame, guilt or shame we forget to simply breathe and notice that when we stop and just pay attention to the sweet life of God, flowing into us with each breath, it is impossible to engage in the chatter.

I find that there are two or three things usually going on when I get stuck.

Fear has set in as Procrastination. I am either afraid to make a move because I want to know the future before making a decision. Ha! Or I am afraid that I will make a wrong decision and keep hoping for more information or that someone else will make the decision for me.

Fear sets in as unworthiness. This is when my desire seems to be more than I think I deserve. So that's when I rehash old memories of failure, guilt or blame over past mistakes ushering in the incessant chatter of distraction.

I forget what St. Paul said

and keep digging up the seed I planted in my prayers.

Paul said, “I planted, Apollus watered and God gave the Lucy increase.”

Shaw I sometimes forget and think that I should pray, gather up all of the channels for my good to flow through AND make it all happen on MY schedule of harvest time.

So how do I let go? At some point I just have to admit my own power of choice and know that my part is finished; I've done all I am supposed to do. I can then choose to continue to suffer or to exercise FAITH. When I am stuck, I am choosing suffering. Sad, but true. To me, FAITH is the letting go part.

This is where I am with God or not. I am in the flow of grace or not. I get to choose; it is my Divine right. I can wallow in the playback of old broken down memories or let them go and let God bless me in His way and on His schedule. I can just BREATHE. Let the grace of the Holy Spirit come in and out my nose, circulate through my entire being and just pay attention to how wonderful and easy that is. I can't see or touch my breath. I just know and expect that it's there.

Trust your right to choose right NOW. I love you and thank you, Lucy (Lucy Shaw is an Author, Speaker and Consultant. You may write to her in care of this newspaper or by email at lucy@heartworks4u.com)

PRAISE CONNECT -A WEEKLY DIRECTORY OF MINISTERS & CHURCHESMETROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH Dr. Reginald L. Porter Sr., Pastor 767 Walker Avenue Memphis, TN 38126

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

ASSOCIATE MINISTERS Rev. Davena Young Porter Rev. Linda A Paige Rev. Luecretia Matthews

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES SUNDAY Sunday School .....................8:30 am Morning Worship Service ....10:00am WEDNESDAY Bible Study .........................10:30 am Mid-Day Prayer Meeting .....12 noon Evening Prayer Meeting........7:00pm FRIDAY Cable Channel 17 ............... 8:00pm

Dr. & Rev. Mrs. Reginald Porter

“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

– Psalm 55:22

Attend the Church of your choice

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

—Phillipians 4:13

A j t w y p H