On My Heart

Two different situations are on my heart this morning.

The first is the need to pray for two Christian families who've recently experienced the loss of loved ones in a very tragic, sudden way. Rev. Timothy Wright, Gospel singer and pastor of a COGIC church in Brooklyn, lost both his wife and grandson in a freak automobile accident this weekend. He's in critical condition himself. Someone was driving on the wrong side of the highway and hit them, and that driver died, too. This situation is so sad and really breaks my heart. I cannot imagine the pain this family must feel. It reminds me of a similar situation that occurred about a month or so ago. Steven Curtis Chapman, Christian Gospel singer, lost his five year-old daughter in a freak accident at his home. His teenaged son was backing an automobile out of the driveway and didn't see the precious little one, and struck her with the car and killed her. What's most ironic is that this little girl was one of two daughters that Steven and his wife adopted from China I believe, heeding the Lord's call to add to their birth children.

If these situations don't show that the godly are not exempt from tragedy, nothing will. Let's remember to "weep with those who weep" by joining our hearts with theirs in prayer to our heavenly Father, the God of all comfort, to be with these brothers and sisters in Christ in their time of need and sorrow.

The second situation is yet another example of how I feel like living as a Black person in America is like trying to swim to a shore and someone has put weights on your arms and cut your legs off. I feel like so much of American history as it relates to people of color is either not told, or is told so inaccurately that we don't have a strong sense of our accomplishments, nor do we have a clear idea of the history of injustice that our forefathers endured. Have you ever heard of something called Massive Resistance? Well, apparently, this week some Blacks were honored in VA for standing up and trying to integrate schools after the '54 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. The terrible part is that the state of VA launched an all-out war almost, a full-fledged campaign, to prevent that landmark decision from taking place. What was astonishing was that a lot of schools closed their doors rather than segregate, and the governor (who led this mess) enacted laws preventing schools that integrated from receiving State funds. What is most atrocious is that at one point an entire county (Prince George's, I believe) actually closed every single school in their county rather than integrate. Damn! Like Marvin Gaye said, "Makes me wanna holla, and throw up both my hands!"

Learning this angers me, but it also fills me with pride to see how far my people have come. Then when I hear Ralph Nader chiding Barack Obama for 'sounding white', I almost flip out again...

richard allem