I AM TRAYVON MARTIN!!!

[Gracious]

Hi ,

Just a few thoughts that I pray you'll be led to help me with  ...  Amen?

(BIIIIG  SIGH  through some tears)   

The saddest words I've ever heard or read ... dwell in "Strange Fruit"!

"Strange Fruit"-  published in 1936; a jazz standard written by Abel Meeropol aka Lewis Allan.  Who was a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx.  This poem exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans.  Such lynching's had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all other regions of the United States. Shortly after the composition, "Lady Day" (born Eleanora Harris aka Billy Holiday) breathed such an anointing into it, that the song lives & stings the humane - spirit to this very day!

For those who are unfamiliar with this poem/jazz standard ... here it is:

Strange Fruit
Composed by Abel Meeropol (aka Lewis Allan)
Originally sung by: Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

We know from our Sword of The Spirit, that the most heinous way for one to have been executed, was being hung from a tree ... Amen?  And we also know that our Savior - Jesus of Nazareth, who'd received His Christ-Dom from His Father in heaven, when John baptiized Him in the Jordan River.  And walked in His Christ-Dom by becoming sin (an excruciating horror); baring physical pain, such that we could never imagine. Finally giving up the ghost, to pave a Way that all who would believe, receive & (prayerfully) follow Him - might be saved!

Unlike the bodies in this song, our Redeemer did not drop from His Cross - His tree.  Instead, He chose to carry it to Golgotha.  And at an ordained time, He was carefully removed and placed in an unmarked borrowed tomb.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus The Christ ... our Redeemer/ Friend/Deliverer, was such a "young" man, when He gave up the ghost, ascended to heaven, making way for our Comforter.  But He chose to do it ... fulfilling His promise to us.

Yet, rather than showing our gratitude (each & every day) for this, the "ultimate sacrifice" PAID IN FULL!  What do many do?   Many choose to murder the very young! 

Yes!

Today, the "tree" that was once used to attempt to control, instill fear & wreak terror among the masses, has metamorphosed into a 9 millimeter (moose-shootin') killing weapon. 

And so it goes Saints ...

Whenever "they" mock those who are called by His Name (His Children) with unjust murdering, a People shall eventually become indignant / intolerant and with divine direction, surround those who seek to destroy them. Yes! Just as Joshua (Yehoshu'a) and his people surrounded the enemy's camp ... and at the appointed time, began to sound the alarm with reverberations so powerful - so piercing, that even the coldest of heart ... must acquiesce to the unstoppable drumbeat of justice!!!

Again ... a movement for change / for justice has awakened - rising from a slumber of unrest!

The martyr? 

An innocent child of 17 years (half the age of our Savior when He ascended into heaven), walkin from a convenience store!

And the "cross" he'd bare?

A "hoodie" covering his head from the rain ... and BEAUTIFUL BROWN SKIN!

What a terrible shame!  For THAT young child could have been you or yours or me or mine!

This is why, as we assemble to march around the camp of the enemy ... in every corner of this country ... BOLDLY donning our own "hoodie" ... YES ... WE SHOUT:


I ... AM ... TRAYVON ... MARTIN!!!!



Thank you for listening.  May our Lord & Savior - Jesus The Christ keep you & yours safe.


Gracious

[Gracious]

OK ...

TODAY ... the PEOPLE have realized the beginning discussions of "man's inhumanity to man" - so-to-speak.  The undeniable institutionalized evil that has been deeply rooted in this country practically since its inception ... "Racism", uncloaked / exposed!

This is a subject defiantly ignored by certain People of Color, as well certain Caucasians. Today, through the weight / the pressure of The People, the legal process in this country, has shown signs of equity. 

Today, the voice of every parent of every child unjustly murdered (without consequence), has been remembered - has been heard! The misguided hatred that gives certain Peoples an officially authorized license to exact their revenge on the innocent is once again, being called into question by the courts!

Though this is only the beginning, we may sigh, a SHORT breath of relief, in knowing that ... FINALLY ... the murderer of "Trayvon Martin" (an African American seventeen year old, unarmed teenaged child) has been arrested and NOW must answer to the justice system and to the world for his actions.

THIS TIME ... let us learn the lesson You've divinely placed before us, dear FATHER!  So that we may NEVER again have to repeat it!  As You admonish us all to remember that ... but for Your grace ... anyone of our loved ones , or anyone of us could have met the same fate of this young man!

So until true justice has been satisfied, we shall continue to say, with one united voice ...


I  ... AM ... TRAYVON ... MARTIN !!!

[Gracious]

The Morning After

Beloved,

Yesterday I saw & heard something that truly puzzled me & I'd like to share it with you.  While watching the news, a pundit came on the air and said: 

"... Now concerning the Trayvon Martin case - this just in ... George Zimmerman (accused in the murder of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen year old African American male) was found not guilty on all counts & after processing, is a free man ..."

Strangely, I was not surprised. I mean George's fate was in the hands of 5 Caucasian women and one "possible" person of color?  And in this country pervasively the word justice with reference to the court system - excludes certain Peoples.  Who are these "People's" you may ask?  Answer:  "JUST US"!!!

Of course, we can "Monday morning quarterback" this thing, beginning with the ineptness of the prosecution's council.  But I believe that the outcome of this trial was decided before the proceedings began!

The morning after I heard the jury's decision, I went to GOD in prayer, trying desperately to extrapolate the meaning of it all ... Why did Trayvon Martin (may God rest his soul) have to die?  When all Zimmerman had to do was STAY in his car AND - OR to heed the direction of the 911 operator, stop his pursuit of Trayvon Martin, go back to his car & wait for police assistance!

How are "we" as a People - living "IN" this country, to digest this bitter pill?  How many times past have African American boys & men died innocently at the hands of Caucasian men with an obvious axe to grind concerning African Americans ... MALES in particular, simply because of the color of their beautiful brown skin?  Is THIS the year 2013 A.D., or have we digressed to 50 - 450 yrs prior?

The morning after I heard & I saw the news, I remember also seeing Trayvon Martin's mother on the television.  She held within her countenance the epitome of grace, class & resolve.  Sort of what you see when God calls & elevates you to a specific history making task!  A task that appears to cost you EVERYTHING ... with a pressure that seems waaay too much for one individual to bear!

Because we as a People in THIS country, have become so accustomed/immune even) to the obvious dysfunction held within Caucasians towards us & we them, there appears to be an invisible deadly force that swells in our spirit, corrupts and eventually erupts!

Today, it appears that rather than relive the successful solutions of our past towards injustice (galvanize, hit the streets - march - become a "political" power force within our OWN individual communities) we'd rather unjustly kill ourselves AND allow other races to "unjustly" kill us!

I'm led that the fight the devil has for us is amongst us (bickering over woulda'/could'/shoulda'attorney mishaps & the like) ... Amen?

Yet,  I hear a higher, greater power (in heaven) unctioning us to humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face and turn away from our own wickedness!  And acknowledge HIM who is higher I or you!

Earlier, I'd shared:

"Whenever "they" mock those who are called by His Name (His Children) with unjust murdering, a People shall eventually become indignant / intolerant and with divine direction, surround those who seek to destroy them. Yes! Just as Joshua (Yehoshu'a) and his people surrounded the enemy's camp ... and at the appointed time, began to sound the alarm with reverberations so powerful - so piercing, that even the coldest of heart ... must acquiesce to the unstoppable drumbeat of justice!!!

Again ... a movement for change / for justice has awakened - rising from a slumber of unrest!"

Get ready my brothers and my sisters, because whether we like it or we do not - in the near future, we as a People shall be forced to divinely galvanize, get along with & care for one another ... for the greater good and PEACEFULLY unite! 

... YES, it appears that we are way past weary, we remember who we were, we remember those incarcerated unjustly, we remember those of us cut down (slain) at the hands of hate!

We remember ... Trayvon Martin!!!


And above all, we remember a GOD - OUR GOD ... who is ever with us in our good & righteous doings & shall remain with us, covering us with HIS hands of protection!

[Gracious]

An Answer!
The Poor People's Campaign / The Least Of These -
A Movement For Change!

Greetings Everyone,

Digesting the recent court's verdict concerning Trayvon Martin (murdered/deceased) and George Zimmerman has been bitter to say the least.  And has called many of us GOD fearing persons to fall on our knees, seeking answers from HIM, to try and make sense of that which makes absolutely NO SENSE AT ALL!!!

While on my knees praying firstly for the family of Trayvon Martin and then for all of the nameless in this country who've met a similar fate at the hand of Legal Terrorism ... I heard a Word from heaven! 

And here it is ...

There are many sleeping giants around us!  Giants that include "us", as in the GREAT EXPECTIONS that dwell in each of us no matter our race, gender or creed ... awakened only by & through our awesome CREATOR!

Over 40 years ago, a modern day Prophet surnamed Martin Luther King Jr rose from the smoldering ashes of Jim Crow, being born African American in this country and through the teachings of Mohandas K. Gandhi (aka Mahatma Gandhi meaning "great-soul" ) which included The Salt March of 1930 and became "the-face" of the Civil Rights movement within "this" country & around the world!

Towards the end of his life, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. both organized/galvanized and began to saturate much of his works in:

The Poor People's Campaign / The Least Of These -
A Movement For Change!
Born of "The Crisis in America's Cities"
Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968
(The deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker)

The 'Memphis Sanitation Strike' began on February 11, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Citing years of poor treatment, discrimination, dangerous working conditions, and the horrifying recent deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, some 1300 black sanitation workers walked off the job in protest. They also sought to join the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733.

Echol Cole and Robert Walker, had been crushed in a mechanical malfunction on February 1st, 1968; city rules forbade black employees to seek shelter from rain anywhere but in the back of their compressor trucks, with the garbage.

Memphis's mayor, Henry Loeb, declared the strike illegal and refused to meet with local black leaders. (He did meet with AFSCME's national officers.)

The Poor People's Campaign was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. It was organized by Martin Luther King, Jr and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - SCLC, and carried out in the wake of King's assassination.

The Campaign demanded economic and human rights for poor Blacks, Chicanos, Native Americans, and Whites. After presenting an organized set of demands to Congress and executive agencies, participants set up a 3000-person tent city on the Washington Mall, where they stayed for six weeks.

The fact that Trayvon Martin an African American 17 year old unarmed child was murdered on that rainy Sunday evening of February 26, 2011, by a 28 year old man (of whom major media sources tout as being of Caucasian & Hispanic??? descent) & that man was not formally arrested nor was he formally charged for this murder until Apr 11, 2012 (some 14 months after he'd admittedly killed Trayvon Martin), speaks volumes concerning the legal indignity designed to further perpetuate racial injustice in this country. 

What took so long for Zimmerman to be formally arrested???

Well, it was only through the POWER of "righteous indignation", led & galvanized chiefly by The Honorable Reverend Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton with a voice coming directly from and through Peoples of ALL races ... peaceably hitting the streets, protesting in almost every corner of this nation (with the world anxiously watching) ... calling for JUSTICE ... was Zimmerman FINALLY formally arrested & charged!

Sound familiar?

Again, History speaks ... 'Memphis Sanitation Strike' of 1968!

Initially, the mayor at that time (Henry Loeb) refused to acknowledge the "righteous indignation" coming from Peoples of all races. From many corners of this country, they entered this city to "peaceably protest" the deplorable working conditions of African American Sanitation Workers in Memphis.  Again, with the world anxiously watching, calling for JUSTICE; The SCLC & The Honorable Coretta Scott-King lead a silent march of over 42,000 Peoples (of all races) and FINALLY true justice prevailed!

Beloved,

The laws of this country were supposed to be designed to create equity & peace for this ever growing/changing populous.  However, what we've seen is quite the opposite; laws being made to protect evil, immorality & hate - laws protecting terrorism against certain Peoples of Color.

... "The Stand Your Ground Law"?

Just as in times past ... Jim Crow legislation laid the ground work for the horrific deaths of 2 Black men (sanitation workers from Memphis, TN) that few remember ... Echol Cole and Robert Walker. Two Black men who suffered dreadful anguish while being crushed to death!

WHY??? 

Because of LAWS (instigated by old Jim Crow mentalities) designed to protect the so-called rights of terroristic attackers against certain Peoples of Color!

Racism is a sickness designed to kill its target, steal the hope, and destroy all memory/HISTORY of its victim(s).  Racism is an infectious disease!  It rests in the spirit of men & women & eats tenaciously at the heart, leaving only the residue - the stench of spoil!

Approaching a possible Answer ...

The Poor People's Campaign / The Least Of These -
A Movement for Change!!

Our Sword of the Spirit holds within it many questions and answers EACH of those questions.  We need only to be led by our supreme knowledge/wisdom regulator (The Holy Ghost) for divine understanding ... Amen?

As I'd referenced in an earlier post ... In the book of Joshua (1-12) after the death of Moses, the Lord came to Joshua with succinct instruction.  HE told Joshua how to "position" himself & his People to walk into their abundant destiny.  And Joshua obeyed HIM!  All of this obedience to GOD did not come automatically however.  There was a history of pride (original sin) among Joshua's own People and it was only after his People were pushed to the point of ... "No More!!!" ... & left with little choice BUT to follow him, was Joshua able to lead.

Sound familiar???

For today, certain Peoples of Color have wandered & walked around this mountain of racial degradation and we have had enough!  Everything within is shouting:

"NO ... NOT AGAIN ... WE'VE FOUGHT THIS FIGHT BEFORE! ... TOO MANY OF OUR BEST & OUR BRIGHTEST HAVE DIED AT THE HANDS OF HATE ... TERRORISM AGAINST OUR PEOPLE ... SHALL ... CEASE!

It is they who've been labeled "The Poor / The Least Of These"/the defenseless among us, that  always appear to suffer the most.  Can you imagine how many of us, died with no name (no one knowing or caring who they are ... the homeless) - their hope lost? The only way we'd even know they'd existed is because their residue looks vaguely like one of our own family members???

When you've been LEGALLY restricted/ driven into and confined by poverty, your legal rights (Human Rights) are defined by the hate of your perpetrator!  When you are labeled as a target BECAUSE of your race in THIS country - no matter your station ... the enemy will do his very best that you be caricatured into the stench of old stereotypes!

We know this, yet there is something within the Holy-fiber of our being that has NEVER accepted this!  And it is because of "Joshua's Might"  carefully imbedded within each of us, that we remember those murdered at the hands of terrorists - against us & we label our hope for tomorrow by saying that:

We remember ... Trayvon Martin!!!



As we peacefully hit the streets, we are carefully admonished & governed by the 6 points of non-violence - taught us by our Prophet, The Honorable Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in our demonstrations!

These recent events have awakened the sleeping giant within and as we revitalize, we ANSWER ... injustice boldly with this decree:

The Poor People's Campaign -
An Answer to: "The Crisis in America's Cities" -
A Movement For Change!

Now, if by chance you find yourself feeling completely detached from the "poor, the least of these and or a movement for change"!  Please know, that if ever in your life, you have found yourself unjustly dealt with because of the color of your skin, because of whom you've chosen to love or even because of your economic station/status, you have been spiritually enjoined with "THE LEAST OF THESE" and the Holy Bible speaks directly in this way ...

Jesus The Christ answered HIS questioners in Matthew 25:40 by simply saying:

"...Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to ME!