History

A Legacy of Activism

A short, but interesting, slideshow about Black religious activism in the U.S. and their effects on U.S. history, a lot of which is so recent that a lot of us can remember it...

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Such a tragedy

Man who shot black Florida teen fears for safety, supporters say

As much as there is the knee-jerk reaction of racism by those who respond this way usually and as they would would like to paint it, it is getting harder to find your defined group to pin the charge on. A Hispanic shooting a Black is racism? Possibly, but where's the stereotypical white guy racist? It's a much more confused thing to claim when both groups often claim racism. I suppose that anyone can be racist, but the Hispanics could get just as upset.

No, this was a terrible case of someone with a firearm, with the ability to carry it and use it, using it in a situation where bravado, courage and machismo failed. He never should have been there, never should have followed the young man and should have just let the police do their job. In this case it's the firearms laws, I think...

It's still a horrible tragedy for both parties, the family of the person killed, and the person who killed him, who I really believe is going through a terrible time right now. They both need our prayers, and we need to keep a sane thought in our heads about what happened...

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Who knows?

He may have been completely innocent of everything...except being black.

In the Devil House: People always told Frank Jones that he was special.


But he could see things that others couldn't see...

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A term

used to describe part of the U.S.'s shameful history regarding race:

Sundown town

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Another reason

to pity the rich.

On this day in 1863, the

New York Draft Riots

began.

The riots started because the rich folks (poor people that they are) had to spend $300 for the ability to be excluded from the Civil War draft. Poor folk had the privilege of fighting and, in a lot of cases, dying horribly, for the North. For some reason the poor folk objected to this. As usual, the people who suffered were not just the poor folk, but the people affected most by one of the reasons for the Civil War. Black people were 'murdered in the streets'.

Things aren't much different today, really...

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Interesting results


Religion and Party ID Strongly Linked Among Whites, Not Blacks

I don't find it so hard to believe that black people, even very religious black people, are more ardent supporters of the Democrats. After all, a lot of the Republican membership probably still feel that everything started going downhill with emancipation. 'If only slavery still existed in the U.S.', they say...

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A Jesuit teaching

about liturgy and culture.

‘I Got a Crown’: The Soul and Genius of Black Worship

You can download the article in .pdf format to read offline if you like.

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A saintly priest

Wisdom from an Archdiocese of Chicago website about the cause for the canonization of Fr. Augustus Tolton:

"Some people could easily judge that his life was not a success, but God calls His servants to be faithful, not successful."

Faithful, not successful. Success is God's business, faithfulness is ours.

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Just a reminder

that in Canada and the U.S., February is

Black History Month

It is important to be aware of the contributions of the black people to the history of the West, and to remember that our treatment of these people has been, for a long time, terrible, and is still often less than stellar. If nothing else, take some time to read something on the African-American people's fight for rights in the U.S....

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A professor

whose children won't believe in Santa because "a person shouldn't pander to a white man", and because she wants the credit for "income generation, shopping, and gift-wrapping" and not crediting it to "the magical work of a benevolent white man".

SANTA VS. GOD

But, thank goodness, the Easter Bunny is OK...

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R.I.P. - Dr. Nico Smith

Reformed Christians Mourn Death of Nico Smith

A courageous man, making decisions that were difficult and risky and life-changing, for the love of God's people...

Rest in God's Peace, Dr. Smith.

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Further unsettling news

from the political correctness crowd...

White & guilty: ‘Whiteness’ workshop helps expose your inner racist

You're racist simply by being white, and to deny that you're racist is evidence that you are. Black is white. White is black. Yes is no. No is yes. Big Brother was right. Get ready to take a workshop...

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The times

they are a-changin'...

America's first black rabbi

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Not unlike

forbidding Catholic clerics from becoming Masons...

BNP vicars banned: Church says far-right party and Christianity 'are not compatible'

Racism is real, and it isn't Christian...

It was a day

that offered new hope and a bright future to a struggling country. It was a day I never thought I'd see - an historic day.

Millions brave cold, crowds to see first black US president sworn in

He seems to be what our neighbour to the South, and the world, have been waiting for. I hope that their hopes aren't destroyed by those who would impede his progress and derail his presidency for their own ends. He's not, and could never be, the world's saviour, but he really is a ray of sunshine to an increasingly dark and gloomy world.

(I'm not using my usual Political Clown graphic for this post. U.S. President Obama deserves better in discussing his inauguration. The graphic hasn't been sent to storage, though. It's just taking a moment to spruce up it's costume a bit, launder it, fix a few rips and tears - there's that pesky seam that keeps letting go - and getting ready for a new year of being lead commentator on all things political.)

On this day in 1969

Fred Hampton was murdered.

Fred Hampton

It's things like this that make me wonder how people can't understand why other people don't trust 'the authorities'. Power corrupts...

Rest in Peace, Mr. Hampton.

A Good Thing...

Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies

"We failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves."

Good for them...

On this date, in 1957,

U.S. history began to change.

Little Rock Nine

The change still hasn't been fully realized...

This story begins

with almost a sense of hopelessness...

Why many Americans prefer their Sundays segregated

but it ends with a feeling of hope.

Bill Cosby: comedian, actor... activist?

The audacity of Bill Cosby’s black conservatism: ‘This Is How We Lost to the White Man’

He's arguing for a strengthening of the black people by a moral renewal of those same people. It's something overdue, not just for the blacks, but also for the white people - for Western society in general. As I'm not black, I don't claim to have an opinion on the internal dynamics of his conservative position...