Please read Dawn’s Blog first. What follows is a response…

I posted on this topic already, but would just like to add that I’d like to know where I can go to find some $500 gym shoes (smile)

The Legacy of Civil Rights:

There’s a strong argument that states that the Civil Rights Movement was co-opted by opportunists, grand-standers, and self-serving preachers. The focus seemed to move from establishing an environment of respect and non-interference/persecution to wanting to eat in white establishments, share white privileges, and enculturate ourselves with the social jewels of a mainstream society. We seemed to have gone from loving ourselves to loving others more than ourselves - from wanting our own to wanting what somebody else had. Instead of embracing the opportunity to define self, create for self and nurture self - we bought into that which had excluded us, castigated us, and wanted nothing to do with us.

The Amen Crowd:

It is probably the easiest thing in the world to join in on gossip and criticism about others… until the spotlight is on you. Jesus said, “he who is without guilt, cast the first stone.” Does that mean we cannot reprimand or advise others? Of course we can. As long as it is done with love and not disparagingly. If love is patient and kind, knowing neither envy nor jealousy, is not forward and self-assertive, nor boastful and conceited - in essence, if love is charity - then where is the gift in such denouncement? It reminds me of the fable where a boy is in the river drowning and an older man comes along and sees the boy drowning. While the boy is in the water, the older man lectures the boy on his folly for having ended up in the river. In the course of the lecture, the boy drowns. Amen to that?

Leadership (3 Quotes from John C. Maxwell)

• The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.

• Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them.

• Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

Alligator tears:

I have been to many a funeral where a young person is laying in the casket because of gun violence. It is sad to know that the person who pulled the trigger usually gives the Mother a kiss expressing his condolences…

The Million Man March:

Every brother I know who went with me is doing their part. To say it was a failure spits on the efforts of those who took it to heart (BEFORE and after the date) and re-committed themselves to making a difference. Each one teach one, remember?

Cosby’s plea:

The voice of a collective conscience speaking? Babies raising babies. The babies came from somewhere, out of wedlock sometimes, like… what’s that guy’s name… Bill Cosby? Perhaps his great oration was personally motivated, which is not to say that it doesn’t apply to more. Mr. Cosby didn’t reveal anything new. Modern versions of that conversation can be heard in debates over the use of the word “nigger.” The bottom line? We don’t need to place the world upon our shoulders. Everybody knows change needs to happen, but if I may quote the words of Ghandi, rather than take on the world , “let us be the change we wish to see in the world.” It starts at home. It starts with one person. It starts when each of us decides that we will do the best we can where we are with what we have. If we do that, God will take care of the rest.