by UrbanFaith Staff | Aug 22, 2013 | Feature, Headline News |
c. 2013 Religion News Service
(RNS) For weeks leading up to the March on Washington, the Rev. Perry Smith urged his congregation to join the landmark civil rights event happening a few miles away.
“We felt it was something that needed to occur because of the absence of the rights of African Americans in this country,” recalled Smith, 79, who recently retired as pastor of First Baptist Church of North Brentwood in Maryland after more than 50 years. “We wanted to emphasize the need for change, jobs and education.”
Smith, a native of Mound Bayou, Miss., and a former Freedom Rider, knew the sting of segregation firsthand. He and other religious leaders called on churchgoers to show up that August day 50 years ago so they could let the nation know.
“They came from everywhere,” Smith said. “The crowds were larger than many of us expected. It certainly said, if I could use Fannie Lou Hamer’s term, ‘People were tired of being sick and tired.’”
Through passionate pulpit sermons, religious leaders — black and white, from North and South — helped bring busloads to Washington. Fifty years later, organizers are again turning to churches to rally attendance at a week of events marking the anniversary of the march, including a march on Aug. 24.
Activists say recent court rulings could spark a sizable turnout. The Supreme Court recently struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and, in a separate case, raised the standard for race-based admissions policies at colleges and universities.
Many may come to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin, which has focused new attention on race relations.
“They’ve got something to fight about, to stand up to,” said the Rev. C.T. Vivian of Atlanta, who urged ministers to join the 1963 march. “It’s not too much to think it would be a good-size crowd.”
Vivian, the Rev. Martin Luther King’s national director of affiliates for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, traveled throughout the South in the early 1960s asking ministers for both participation and help funding bus trips to Washington.
“The church was the only institution we had that could raise money,” Vivian said.
But some religious leaders didn’t endorse the march and weren’t publicly supportive of the movement. Fear was one reason. “Some of them thought that was the only way to protect their congregation,” Vivian said.
Many ministers involved in the movement were jailed, beaten and even shot. Some churches were bombed. Despite those dangers, many answered the call to march.
“There were buses coming from clear down in Texas and coming up from the Deep South,” Vivian said. “Somebody had to speak out against the way we were treated.”
As sites of strategy sessions and as a means of grooming leaders, the black church’s role in the civil rights movement was critical. Charles Hicks, a longtime activist from Bogalusa, La., said black churches were vital links between communities and activists, especially in small Southern towns. During the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, he said, churches distributed picket signs and provided rides for protesters.
Churches with white congregations also stepped up, activists said.
Jewish congregations, Quakers and Mennonites sent participants to the march, and churches in the American Baptist Churches USA helped raise money for the movement.
The National Council of Churches, which represents more than 100,000 churches nationwide, organized buses, mostly from the Northeast, to carry people to the march.
Glen Stassen, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, recalled feeling anxious that the march would fizzle. “Would people really show up, or would it be a flop?” he said. “Would somebody do something violent which would mess up the message?”
He soon saw evidence that allayed his fears. “As we came in on a curve on one of the expressways into Washington … all kinds of buses came in from the other direction — just pouring in,” he recalled. “It was obviously going to be a success.”
Some of the churches that participated in 1963 plan to return for this year’s march. Organizers also are targeting first-timers.
“It’s more important that they come now than they did in 1963,” said the Rev. Reginald Green, pastor emeritus of the Walker Memorial Baptist Church in Washington and a former Freedom Rider. “We’re talking about remembering the march, but still we don’t have equal rights.”
(Deborah Barfield Berry writes for USA Today.)
Copyright 2013 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
by UrbanFaith Staff | Aug 14, 2013 | Headline News |
c. 2013 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) Eugene Allen served eight presidents as a White House butler, and his legendary career is the inspiration for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” a film starring Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda and a host of A-list Hollywood talent.
But members of The Greater First Baptist Church knew the man who died in 2010 by other titles: usher, trustee, and a humble man of quiet faith.
“The attributes that made him a great butler made him a great usher,” said Denise Johnson, an usher at the predominantly black D.C. church where Allen was a member for six decades.
Those qualities were both external — black suits and white gloves — and internal — a dignified, soft-spoken manner.
On a recent Sunday, parishioners recalled Allen as a peacemaker, someone who never raised his voice.
His devotion to service extended far beyond the public and private rooms of the White House to the doorways and kitchen of his church. In African-American churches, the usher is a special role bestowed on highly regarded members. Allen joined others to open doors to visitors and pass out fans and offering plates. He also would roll up his sleeves and help prepare fish and chicken at church fundraising dinners.
“He was not only a servant there,” the Rev. Robert Hood, an associate minister, said of Allen’s White House work. “But he was also a servant doing the work of the Lord.”
The movie hits theaters on Friday (Aug. 16) with Allen portrayed as the fictional Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), married to Gloria (Winfrey). The movie spans his personal journey from segregation to integration, during which he tended to keep his mouth shut about the goings-on inside the White House as well as the civil rights struggles roiling the nation.
Church members recalled that Allen, like the fictional Cecil Gaines, was fairly reticent.
“He loved that job, was committed to it,” said fellow trustee Dolores Causer of his White House job serving eight presidents. “But he never really would discuss anything other than to say he loved his work and he enjoyed each and every one of them.”
The writer of the four-page obituary in Allen’s funeral program, however, gained some insights into his thoughts about working with U.S. presidents:
- Harry S. Truman was “hands down, the best dressed President.”
- He considered Dwight Eisenhower’s decision to send troops to enforce school desegregation in Little Rock, Ark., “an especially admirable act.”
- He said Lyndon Johnson’s action on civil rights “would be the jewel in his crown.”
- “He was much grieved by (Richard) Nixon’s demise and ultimate resignation.”
- He “failed to see the pratfall … humor in the Saturday Night Live impersonations of (Gerald) Ford, calling him the best athlete in the White House in his time.”
- “In the last year of his life, Eugene admitted that another young couple (the Obamas) had indeed entered the White House who possessed the Kennedy magic.”
Allen acknowledged that he was especially fond of the Reagans, who invited him — in real life and in the movie — to a state dinner before he retired in 1986. “He often talked about how nice they were to him,” recalled church member Marion Washington, who knew Allen when he was promoted to maitre d’.
In the movie, Cecil and Gloria Gaines are portrayed as a Christian couple, with a crucifix over their bed and a devotion to the Bible.
Director Lee Daniels, a Philadelphia native who grew up in the oldest black Episcopal church in the country, said it was important for the movie to include religious elements. He fought to include a scene depicting a church fundraiser for the Freedom Riders in which a choir sings “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed On Freedom.”
“You can’t tell a story about the civil rights movement without the gospel and gospel music,” he said. “You just simply can’t. It’s impossible.”
Wil Haygood, who wrote the 2008 Washington Post story that first brought Allen’s story to light, said it was more than chance that allowed him to bring public attention to Allen’s otherwise private career.
“There was a higher force that led me to Mr. Allen’s front door,” said Haygood, who made dozens of calls before tracking down Allen. “He had a landline. If he would have had a cell phone I would have never found him.”
Now, he said, after Allen worked quietly behind the scenes while presidents from Truman to Reagan were in the limelight, the roles are reversed.
“To me, in a way, it’s almost biblical: The last shall be first,” said Haygood. “He’s not working in the White House theater, serving popcorn. He’s the star on the big screen.”
Copyright 2013 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
by UrbanFaith Staff | Aug 13, 2013 | Feature, Headline News |
Tennessee baby named “Messiah” whose parents are fighting for their right to keep the name despite judge’s ruling. (Photo Credit: AP Photp/Heidi Wigdahl)
c. 2013 USA Today
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) A Tennessee judge should not have barred a couple from naming their child “Messiah,” said the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.
On Thursday (Aug. 8), the parents of the child appeared in Cocke County Chancery Court in Tennessee because they could not agree on a last name.
Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the mother, Jaleesa Martin, to change her son’s name to “Martin DeShawn McCullough.” It includes both parents’ last names but leaves out “Messiah.”
“The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” Ballew told the 7-month-old’s parents.
Hedy Weinberg of the ACLU’s Tennessee office said Ballew is free to hold religious beliefs, but that faith should remain private.
“She does not have the right to impose that faith on others,” said Weinberg. “And that is what she did.”
Martin is appealing the judge’s order. Weinberg said ACLU staff is reaching out to the boy’s mother to offer assistance.
“A parent has the right to choose their child’s name,” she said. “In this case, the judge is creating a culture where she is imposing her religious beliefs on others. And that is unacceptable.”
“Messiah” currently ranks 387th among baby names for boys and girls, according to Nameberry.com, a blog about baby names. “Jesus” is number 101, while “Christopher” — which means “bearer of Christ” — is number 23.
According to the Social Security Administration’s database of popular baby names, the name Messiah has grown in popularity since 2005 when it was ranked 904th. It was 387th in 2012.
Ballew said it was the first time she has ordered a first name change. She said the decision is best for the child, especially while growing up in a county with a large Christian population.
Nick Harrison, co-author of “The Best-Ever Christian Baby Name Book,” said that there aren’t many other names that specifically refer to Jesus Christ.
Harrison said he sympathized with Ballew. Parents have to be careful when they give their children an unusual name, he said, because it can lead to bullying.
“I can sympathize with the judge but I don’t understand the legal precedent,” he said.
Harrison said names can help a child shape their identity. Knowing the meaning of a name gives a child something to aspire to, he said.
“Messiah” might be going too far, Harrison said. “That’s a lot to live up to.”
(Bob Smietana writes for USA Today and The Tennessean. Heidi Wigdahl of WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tenn., contributed to this report.)
Copyright 2013 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
by UrbanFaith Staff | Aug 13, 2013 | Headline News |
Reza Aslan’s story is a compelling one. In the 70s he moved to the United States from Iran and converted to Evangelical Christianity at the age of 15, an experience he describes as very honest and real, though thoroughly American. Aslan wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself. He found God and America. However, as he researched the history of Jesus during college, his faith began to wane. At the encouragement of Jesuit priests at his school, he explored the faith of his forefathers—Islam—and eventually converted. This story resonates with many people in the United States today, and may be one reason why his recent book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” is so popular among such a wide audience.
Released in July, “Zealot” attempts to dig past centuries of theology and religion to get to the historical life of Jesus of Nazareth, the man who is the focal point of the Christian faith. Because of Aslan’s previous books, which address Muslim and Middle East issues, as well as the scholarly nature of his work, the general Christian audience probably wouldn’t have cared about his book, if they even heard about it. However, that all changed after a fateful interview on Fox News. The interview went viral widely due to the incompetence of the interviewer, skyrocketed the book into notoriety and landed it on top of several best-selling lists.
Many book reviews on “Zealot” have come out, some better than others. But too many of those reviews were written without reading the book. The kneejerk reaction to a Muslim writing a book about Jesus is a reflex that many people unfortunately share, both ignoring Jesus’ prominent place in Islam and dismissing the possibility of a Muslim scholar writing an honest book on a historical subject. However, as I near the end of the book, I have some thoughts to share.
First, Aslan is qualified to write the book, so long as it is taken for what it is: a popular synthesis of the research undertaken by numerous other experts. Aslan holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and a master of theology from Harvard Divinity School, and much of his doctoral work focused on religion and religious history. And quite frankly, even if he didn’t have religion degrees from quality schools, people without comparable qualifications have written excellent books on Christianity and its principle subject.
Currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside, Aslan is a vivid writer who crafts scenes and adds flesh to the historical realities of the time that are exquisite. Many Americans have never conceptualized the realities of living as a conquered people in their own land, but that was Jesus’ experience. Aslan paints this picture well and succeeds in making a potentially boring subject, such as history, engaging.
Now, about the book itself…
To anyone who has spent time studying the various “quests” for the historical Jesus, this book doesn’t offer much new information. As a theology student, most of what Aslan is saying I’ve heard before. He draws from a deep well of scholarly tradition when he crafts this argument about who Jesus is. This is probably why a large portion of the scholarly community let out a collective “meh” when the book was released. Many were already entrenched in their respective sides of the issue. While there are scholars on both sides of the argument, the one thing Aslan’s argument isn’t new.
Aslan’s basic thesis is that the most important things about Jesus’ life can be deciphered from his death. Jesus, he claims, was killed for the crime of sedition—an aspiration to overthrow the state—against Roman Empire. The Romans, Aslan argues, would not have crucified Jesus if he were the gentle, meek figure that is discussed in churches and popular culture today. Instead, Aslan casts Jesus as one in a long line of Jewish revolutionaries with messianic hopes, hopes that had nothing to do with going to heaven or salvation from sin and everything to do with throwing the Romans out of their land and putting Israel’s God in charge by any means necessary. He challenges the notion that Jesus was an apolitical figure, detached from the realities of the world around him. To Aslan, the very fact that he entertained messianic aspirations meant that Jesus—and others—saw himself as the one who will organize the Jews and initiate the kingdom of God in their midst. Aslan argues these points vigorously and quite well. It is up to the reader to make his or her own decision about Jesus of Nazareth after reading this book because Aslan’s is crystal clear.
I had some problems with the book. First, I didn’t like how Aslan utilized Josephus as a primary source. Josephus was a first-century Jewish historian, and one of the earliest people to make a non-biblical reference to Jesus’ crucifixion. While Josephus can be useful in some areas, most scholars are wary to place too much weight on his writings as a valid source by itself. To someone who doesn’t know, they might leave Aslan’s work thinking that Josephus was a top-notch historian totally free from bias. I do think that Aslan knows that and is simply using Josephus to move the narrative along, but the average reader probably won’t pick that up.
Aslan’s book might have been helped by a clear distinction between his own thoughts and those of others. The back of the book does include extensive endnotes, so it isn’t as if he isn’t citing his sources, but the point at which his own claims end and those of other scholars begin often remains vague.
But my major critique of the book is this: the book actually is about Christianity. Aslan has said in numerous interviews that the book isn’t an attack on the faith. From listening to his interviews and his personal story, I don’t believe that he holds malice toward Christianity. However, it doesn’t take him long to call particular aspects of Jesus’ life that are detailed in the Gospels into question. Granted, any foray into discussing the historical Jesus will ultimately lead to asking those very questions. Jesus preached, he was a healer and exorcist, and he died via crucifixion. That is what most scholars, liberal or conservative would agree on; however, that doesn’t make for a very compelling book. But including discussions about Jesus’ view of himself or the virgin birth are certainly provocative enough to hold readers’ attention, particular to a popular crowd that usually isn’t privy to these conversations.
The book is separated into three parts. The first third of the book sets the stage for the tumultuous time into which Jesus was born. The second deals with Jesus and offers suggestions as to how he came to be a person that Rome and the priestly Jews would want to eliminate. It’s toward the end of the second part and going into the third when the book begins to discuss what happens after Jesus died. And if Aslan’s opinion about Jesus’ identity weren’t apparent up to the point, it is blatantly obvious once you reach this point. To him, a review of historical evidence demonstrates that the “Christ of Faith” is the result of the historical Jesus of Nazareth being stripped of everything that made him both revolutionary and Jewish. Instead of promoting the ideals of an illiterate, uneducated peasant revolutionary, Hellenized Christian Jews (such as Paul) detached Jesus from earthy concerns and transformed him into a spirit with universal significance. I think it’s misleading to say that “Zealot” is not about Christianity when over a third of the book is given to the author’s take on the historical events that birthed the religion.
With that said, I think there are many gems in this book, and those gems outweigh any problems. Whether you think Jesus was God or just another Jewish rabble-rouser, you’ll learn something from Aslan’s work. If anything, “Zealot” is a great way to introduce the conversation surrounding the historical Jesus to a new generation of readers, thinkers, and believers. The success of this book proves that Jesus is still a very important figure in our public consciousness. If the historical Jesus is a concept that is new to you, or if you’re looking for a readable entrée to the discussion, give the book a try. It’s a good place to start.
by UrbanFaith Staff | Jun 22, 2013 | Headline News |
While pundits speculate and pontificate on the future political career of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state seems not to be concentrating on 2016—at least, not for now. Last week, Clinton announced the “Too Small to Fail” initiative, a venture of the Clinton Foundation (created by her husband, former President Bill Clinton) and Next Generation—a nonpartisan group that promotes scientific research about early childhood development. A well-polished four-minute clip on the project’s site highlights what many of us have known for some time: the most critical years for any child are the early developmental stages, between the ages of 0-5. Colorful images of healthy parents with their healthy young children playing and reading were complemented by experts briefly discussing the importance of everything from nutrition to brain development. Calling on communities, individuals, and businesses to serve as partners, the video seems more like a vision statement than a plan of action.
The focus is commendable, and the support from non-profits and corporations, alike—I am sure—will follow. From a moral standpoint, I feel we can learn a lot about a nation by how it treats its most vulnerable, which is what gives me pause. With all of our social programs, and countless organizations claiming to concentrate on child welfare issues, none have successfully addressed the increasing education, opportunity, and development gaps that exist among children in the United States. So while this organization is in its infancy stage, I have one simple question for Hillary Clinton: how are you any different? We will get a better sense of how to answer that question moving forward, but there are four things that immediately pop in my head and I will be paying close attention to:
- Collaboration with affected communities— Renowned experts and well-intentioned individuals may have led government-sponsored programs like the “War on Drugs” and “No Child Left Behind,” or non-profit initiatives, such as “Teach for America” but such efforts, however, are not new to criticisms about their lack of community inclusion in the creation of programmatic initiatives. This often leads to resistance from communities that feel that their opinions are undervalued or not considered at all; unfulfilled promises and unmet expectations; and the ultimate failure—no change at all. “Too Small to Fail” not only needs to clearly articulate its goals, but also incorporate statements of community partnership and consultation, with a recognition that investment and buy-in from the community will lead to sustainable progress.
- Targeting disparities in day-to-day living—A blanket approach to tackling development in children is not going to work. Studies show that a poor child is likely to hear millions fewer words at home than a child from a professional family. Research highlighted in the book “Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children” (Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley) revealed that children whose families were on welfare heard about 600 words per hour, compared to 1200 words per hour in working class families, and 2100 words per hour in professional families. Now consider the following statistics by the National Center of Children in Poverty:
- 32.4 million children live in low-income families;
- 16.1 million of those children living in poor families;
- 65 percent of black children live in low-income families, compared to 31 percent of white children;
- 86 percent of children with parents who have less than a high school degree live in low- income families.
What does this mean? In short, before a poor child reaches the age of 1, he or she has already fallen behind middle-class children in their ability to talk, understand and learn. This likelihood increases if you are a poor black child. We cannot target children without targeting their caretakers, and it will be interesting to see what solutions (if any) “Too Small to Fail” will introduce to address these disparities.
- Recognizing non-traditional employment opportunities—It is encouraging to hear that ‘Too Small to Fail” will aim to work with the workforce to support practices that support workers—and thus support children. There are so many workers, however, that do odds and ends jobs just to make a living for their families. Furthermore, the demands of the current economic climate are forcing already overworked families to pursue any opportunity for revenue just to meet basic needs. A broader lens is therefore needed to identify the various kinds of employment and be inclusive of “under the table” jobs, which often do not entail a W-2 form.
- Understanding the impact of a child’s demographic—A 2009 study by the Urban Institute focused on the impact a child’s living environment has on development. An organization today cannot afford to shy away from the various forms of trauma that exist for many urban youth, including the more obvious ones—such as gun violence and crime—and even more subtle, less discussed ones—such as the impact of being raised by a teen parent, exposure to paramilitary-like school systems, and the residual impact of incarceration. The desire for each child to reach their full potential is incomplete if there is a failure to explore how one’s address can change how you think and develop.
I am cautiously optimistic about “Too Small to Fail.” Only time will tell if this infant organization will develop into a fully-grown solution.
Ify Ike is a former Capitol Hill advisor and counsel, with experience on a variety of social justice issues. She is an original blogger of the faith-blog “The Bold and Fabulous,” founder of the policy and communications firm, Ike Professionals, LLC, and has assisted numerous ministries in program creation, youth outreach efforts, community service, and natural disaster relief. At least once a day, you can find her in a debate about politics or religion.
