Friday, May 19, 2023
I attended the funeral of Jordan Neely. He was the young man who was choked to death on the subway. The funeral was held at Mt. Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem,NY. The Pastor is Reverend Donnie Green. I did the opening prayer, Rev. Sharpton was the eulogist. He laid heavy emphasis on justice for Neely. With reference to Neely’s death, he pointed out that, “the choker, Penny, was allowed to go home after being in the precinct. Another important point - what about the two persons that held Neely down, why weren’t they arrested?” asked Rev. Al Sharpton. The audience gave him repeated ovations and occasionally broke out with a slogan, “No Justice, No Peace! No Justice, No Peace!”. I recall that the subway of Neely reminded me of Bernard Getts many years ago. He shot four young men on the subway instead of doing time, he became a hero to millions of people. Likewise, Penny has become a hero to millions.
At the point of the funeral 2.8 million dollars had been raised for his support.
Sarah and I worked on the article for the photo bio. It was the Black Panther organization as well as the major organization across the Afro-centric and Pan-Africanist movement. After searching we located a photo that had been taken with four of the Black Panthers at Sekiwya’s wedding.
I posted: In the Black Power/ Afrocentric/ Pan-Africanist movement one of the key organizations was the Black Panther Party. Significantly the Black Panther Party was used in Lowndes County, Alabama. After the Selma march, Kwame stepped up his organizing in Lowndes County where there was an overwhelming black population but no political power. After successfully organizing there he was invited to the west coast to relate the experience they had in Lowndes County. It was there that the seeds of a Black Panther Party were planted.
At Sekyiwa, the daughter of Afeni Shakur’s, wedding in 1996 there was a Black Panther reunion with some of the members who had attended the wedding. It was a grand and glorious occasion, because of the wedding and because of the reunion. It was like old times.
The wedding was held at the home of Afeni which Tupac had purchased for her. It was a beautiful spacious home with lush green grass and shrubbery and trees, all added to the joy of the moment. I don’t think anyone at the wedding didn’t have Tupac on his/her mind. He would have loved to have been present and maybe he was in spirit. We hope to see members of the party when we Remember Kwame Ture and the movement and organizations and persons who had such a significant impact on America and abroad. I hope you, dear reader, will be present on July 29-30, 2023. Please register now at hdgministries.org/events and help us to spread the word. It’s going to be at our church, the House of the Lord Church, where Afeni, Tupac, and Sekyiwa were members.
In the photo left to right: Jomal Joseph, Watoni Tyhemba, myself, Geronimo Jisaqq, Ali Bey
Malcolm X’s Birthday
In the evening, I went up to the Audubon Ballroom for the annual celebration of Malcolm X’s birthday. As I drove up, I remembered where I received news that Malcolm had been shot and was dead. I was in the church on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Bishop Wilbur McKinley was the pastor. I was debating with myself whether to go to the program in the Audubon or to stay with the church program. I decided to stay with the church program.
I actually didn’t make it to the Audubon, the traffic was atrocious. Just as I didn’t make it to the Audubon where Malcolm was killed. Maybe, it's a good thing for me not being there. Who knows where I would have been sitting or how I would react to this.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Saturday Morning, I made my usual visit to the National Action Network. Reverend Sharpton mentioned the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and how he is organizing the widest gathering of leaders of the various organizations dealing with bias violence.
Asians, LGBTQ, Jews, Women and of course people of African Ancestry. He seemed to be modeling his organizing of the 50th anniversary after the Poor People’s Campaign. He is pulling together the leaders of America concerned about poverty and the three-headed troika: militarism, policeism, poverty. There will be buses going from different sites. In addition to the anniversary he hammered away at Neely’s case. He said that he intends to stay with the case until justice prevails.
Afterwards, my wife and I had our usual Saturday morning breakfast. Our conversation focused on the Rev. Al Sharpton and my association with him across the years. It seems that any issue of importance we’ve been involved in. So now we were just together in Buffalo where the massacre killing 10 people occurred a year ago. Then we were at the funeral of Jordan Neely. I mentioned that he along with Jesse Jackson timing was almost perfect regarding enjoining issues. They both were quick thinkers. As we used to say, “they could think on their feet.”
Back to Brooklyn
My wife and I after returning home in Jersey headed to Brooklyn, NY. We had a meeting with the Mayor at 5pm. When the meeting was completed, we stayed in Brooklyn in preparation for our moving.
Sunday, May 21, 2023
We had our usual basketball and prayer. Later on I preached on "The individual and collective Spirit of the Good Samaritan" at Pastor Dawn’s church in Englewood NJ. I think most people know about the story of the Good Samaritan, I’m not sure everyone knows the details and the interpretation. Briefly, Jesus responds to a young man who questioned Him as to who is my neighbor. Jesus had told this young man that the great law “love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man persisted with his questioning, “who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the story of the Good Samaritan. A man was beaten and robbed and was laying in the ditch on the Jericho road. A priest came by and saw the man and kept walking, another Holy person came from the temple, saw the man and he too kept walking. Then came a Samaritan, the Samaritans were hated by the Jews and he cared for the man’s wounds and took the man to a hotel and told the hotel keeper take care of this man, room and board and here is some money and if it costs more I will pay you when I come through this way again. Then Jesus turned to the young man and said ,who do you think was a neighbor to the wounded, robbed man? Significantly the young questioner wouldn’t even say the Samaritan. He said, “I suppose the one who treated him were neighbors.” Well that’s one expression of being a Good Samaritan- helping an individual in need.
There is another way in which the spirit of Samaritans is exercised in tending to collective needs. The spirit of the Samaritan was exercised by Jesus in the Temple when he overturned the money changers and started pushing people around.
These were the respectable licensed business people here, the spirit of the Samaritan came to play in that Jesus was angry because of the exploitation even though it was done with the blessings of the religious organizations. The money changers were those who demanded money be changed to worship God. So $100 in regular societal money when it was changed the person only received like $75. Then if the person wanted to buy a gift to offer in worshiping.
Let me point out a lesson here, when we come to worship we should always come to give something. If it’s only a penny, only God knows how much we’re giving. Jesus commended the widow woman who only gave a penny, and Jesus said she had given more than all the rest. This teaches us that what we want we should give.
Mother Nature teaches us that if you want fruit or vegetables you plant the seeds before you revive the item you seek. So to purchase something for worship, say the poor people can only purchase a pigeon. Well, you could buy a pigeon for $2 in the marketplace but a Holy pigeon in the Temple might cost you $10 or $25. The point is it was a cruel exploitation of poor people who had saved all year long to come to worship God in Jerusalem. And then when they get there with the family they are subject to this exploitation all in the Temple or around the Temple. The action of Jesus manifested the Spirit of Samaritan. So what we see of the Samaritan, When we express sympathy and action for one person, but the Spirit of the Samaritan is also manifested in our concern and action on behalf of the group of people or a race or even a nation.
I know that to most people that is a strange interpretation of the Samaritan spirit. Religious people, churches by and large think individually. True prophets and Jesus Christ were concerned with the individual and individuals who suffered because of a violent act by a person or by a system instituted by a nation which brings hardship to its citizens or a segment of its citizens.
Monday, May 22, 2023
DAILY PRAYER FOR MEDITATION 142
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, Hosea 14:4
I thank Thee, O Lord, for the promise to heal the backslider and then love them freely. For honesty compels me to confess, I hold membership in the backsliders club. More time than I like to remember, I have backslided, I have failed. I have come up short. And if Thou didn't heal my backsliding, I would have been left to die from the disease of sin. But thank you 10,000 times, O Lord, for healing, forgiving, loving me. Help me, O Lord, to be ever grateful for Thy forgiveness and love. Let me never hesitate or cease to declare Thy love to the world. Amen.
Come join Rev. Herbert Daughtry and others on our morning Lifeline Prayer and Inspiration Circle 7am - 8am Mon. - Fri. and our nightly Timbuktu Learning Center. Where the social and spiritual are merged & the teachings on how to achieve an abundant life. 7pm - 8:30 pm Mon. - Wed. The phone number for both is 716-427-1168 Access Code 604309#.
Feeling deeply about Mayor Adams and this towering challenge brought on by the Asylum seekers. Some years ago I offered my solution to the problem of course it was not implemented. It came across in the newspaper, The Jersey Journal, that Mayor Fulop declared Jersey City a sanctuary city in bold headlines. I sent the paper to Mayor Adams. And so far as cities and counties were rejecting his attempt to send the asylum seekers to other locations.
We did our usual office work and updates for the week followed by the Timbuktu Learning Center in the evening.
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Morning Lifeline Affirmation and Prayer
I spent most of the day planning for Arthur Miller and Kwame Ture’s programs, which entails developing the nature of the programs, mailing list, who are the speakers, etc. and what will be posted, etc. followed by the Timbuktu Learning Center
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Dictated the Road to Armageddon with Sharman Blake.
With the gun violence raging and the controversy intensifying. I remember an experience from my early childhood, maybe around 8-10 years old. My brother, Bob, was 4 years older when I got into a heated argument. I don’t even remember what it was all about, but I do remember I was furious and I ran in the house and found a bottle and I came back out and threw it at him and hit him in the back. Thinking back, I wonder what would’ve happened if we had guns in the house. I was so furious, indeed mad that I wanted to hurt him or remove him with hurt.
One of the saddest chapters in my life happened in Brooklyn when I was in my early teens. We were doing the usual playing with each other when two brothers got into an argument and one brother ran somewhere and got a shotgun and blew his brother away, killing him instantly. They were only teenagers and I pondered if we would’ve had guns in our house would I have done the same thing. I said it was one of the saddest days. We mourned and cried for a long time. The brother who did this horrible thing was in prison. When he was released he came by my church and we reconnected, then some days later he came back to the church and he brought a female with him and my attempt to be cordial as we do inquire about the family. And I asked him how John was doing and I could feel the pain coming out of my mouth, but I couldn’t stop and I said it. And a heavy pall came over where we were standing in the church and he paused for what seemed a lifetime and said finally, “John is dead man.” I tried to apologize and somehow say I’m sorry, but I knew it didn’t penetrate. He turned with his I assumed his fiance, and never returned again. I hope that story in some small way contributes to the possession of gun debate.
Timbuktu Health Night with Sister Leslie.
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Passing of A Giant of the Human Spirit Senator William Perkins Sunrise April 18, 1949 - Sunset May 16, 2023
I attended the funeral of the Honorable Senator William” Bill” Perkins on Thursday May 25, 2023, held at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem where the Rev. Michael A. Waldron Jr. is the Senior Pastor. The Eulogist was Rev Henry A. Bedin III, Pastor of the First AME Bethel Church in Harlem, NY.
It was a lengthy funeral with an array of who's who in New York in attendance, including Mayor, Eric Adams, elected officials, clergy, community activists, Former Ambassador Gaspard, former Borough President of Manhattan, Virginia Fields, Senator Cordell Cleare of Harlem, Hazel Dukes, President of NAACP NYS Conference, Sen. Robert Jackson, and Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and of course family members and friends. Former Congressman Charles Rangel was also present.
It's hard to remember when I first met Senator Perkins. It seemed that we had known each other for years. He was always on the scene whenever there was an issue concerning our people,particularly his people in Harlem. He served as a legislator of Harlem where he served 24 years, he was ubiquitous, tireless, courageous, committed - a fearless fighter for the people. He exemplified the quote- “he spoke truth to power”.
Comentarios