"DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???"
Posted on 08/22/2012 8:01:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It’s Friday evening. The air is cool and the sky is clear. A group of well-dressed men and women gather at Empowerment Temple in West Baltimore at an event designed to spur people to register and vote in the upcoming election and those that will follow.
Inside the church, a panel of distinguished guests has their audience's full attention. CNN commentator Roland Martin asked the panel--including the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, former Rep. John Conyers, BET commentator Jeff Johnson, Bishop Vashti McKenzie and several others--what they perceived to be the biggest problem among Blacks and how that problem could be resolved.
The debate moved from one point to another. Jackson got a standing ovation after he claimed that the law does not work in favor of African Americans. “When black kills white, its jail time, when white kills black, its riot time and when black kills black, its Miller time.," Jackson said. Another panelist member said that with the current generation, main stream hip hop is pushing death through ITunes. McKenzie said that women have to be, “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and that if women want to change the negative portrayals of them in the media, then they must stop funding it. Johnson made all the black men in the room stand. He asked them to look around at each other and emphasized that there was significance to this symbolism. Decades ago, “Black men were in uniform,” he said, adding that Black men used to be trained to stand in the front line in their communities.
“Whether it was black folks or white folks, it said that our lives matter and men are going to defend the lives of those in the community,” Johnson said.
The three day event, which started Aug. 16, was entitled "Code Red: It’s A State of Emergency." The goal was to inform, urge voters to get out on Election Day and also to deputize others to register voters.
"We...want to put the power back into the hands of the people,” said Dr. Jamal Bryant, founder and pastor of Empowerment Temple, before the event. "Attendees can then go back home and register the people in their communities, in their homes, and in their fraternities and sororities. It's an incredible opportunity that we've not taken advantage of. "
Bryant says the idea for the conference was sparked a few months ago when he saw an African American pastor and legislator, Del. Emmett C. Burns (D-Baltimore County), stating in national news that he would be staying home on Election Day because of President Obama’s stance on gay marriage.
“With the church being nonpartisan, you can vote for anybody, but to not participate in the democratic process at all would be a very dangerous precedent,” said Bryant.
Burns, pastor of The Rising Sun Baptist Church in Woodlawn, Md., later told the AFRO he changed his mind and would be casting a ballot on Nov. 6 because not doing so “would be the wrong thing to do.”
Day one of the Code Red conference focused on will focus on the lack of a common Black agenda, something Bryant says every group of Americans except African Americans have.
"Where do we want to see the Black community in four years? What are we asking the next president to do, whether it's President Obama or Romney,” said Bryant.
“I want to see an investigation into how the prison system has become the new plantation. We need to turn that around. I'd like to see more funding for our public schools and an economic plan that pushes entrepreneurship and investment. I want our young people who are at the lowest economic stratus to still have an opportunity to compete on a global scale.
“We need to be spending the night at the polls so that our voices are heard and our agenda is met,” he said.
Attendees of Friday’s session will walk away prepared to register voters.
"This isn't just about the presidential election this year,” said Marvin Randolph , senior vice president of campaigns for the NAACP, in an interview. “Across this nation, mayors are being elected, sheriffs and police commissioners will be appointed...Many things in our communities are affected by the ballot box. The black church has always been a very important part of both educating African American people about voting and making sure people understand what's at stake.”
Civil rights organizations across the country are predicting that the wave of new voter I.D. laws could have a devastating effect on the next election. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, 5 million voters stand to become disenfranchised on Election Day due to laws that have changed requirements to cast a ballot and registration periods.
Seven states, are requiring voters to show a state-issued I.D. in order to vote, which poses a problem for out-of-state college students. The report also shows that 13 states have introduced legislation to end same-day registration and voting. In Alabama, Kansas, and Tennessee, proof of citizenship is now required in order to vote, meaning voters will have to show a document, like a birth certificate, before receiving a ballot.
After several standing ovations and heated debated between the panelists, the evening ended with a couple of selection from a choir and a benediction from Bryant. The forum can be viewed on the Empowerment Temple website. Bryant left the audience with something to think about as they prepared to exit his church.
“We are in a crisis," he said. "Sound the alarms!”
What’s the black unemployment rate??
What does legalizing millions of low skilled laborers do to black workers.
"DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???"
Sure as hell has nothing to do with voting!
And these "gentlemen" have no clue about the solution.
Why? I ain't saying.
I’m white and apparently did not receive the memo regarding the common white agenda. Would someone please send it along!
And isn’t it illegal in churches since they are typically under non-profit status to engage in political activities or does that just apply to the non-black churches?
Isn't that a hoot? The Rev-a-rund should work up a routine and take it on the road.
That’s what happens when you miss the Bitter-Clinger meetings at your local NASCAR race, trailer park, shootin’ range or snake-handlin’ holy-roller church.
Jackson got a standing ovation after he claimed that the law does not work in favor of African Americans. “When black kills white, its jail time, when white kills black, its riot time and when black kills black, its Miller time.,”
Whose fault is that, Jesse? When someone kills a white person, other white people actually cooperate with the police investigation to ensure that the murderer is brought to justice. When someone kills a black person, they may hold protests marches and vigils, they may throw a riot if they think a white person did it, but the one thing they are generally not doing is cooperating with authorities to help put the murderer in prison.
Dangit, ya beat me to it!
The funniest part is that he said “Miller Time”, while his family owns Budweiser distributorships. He’s giving his own competitors free advertising, because they happen to have a catchier slogan for his race-baiting purposes.
Good post.
There already IS a common black agenda:
"GET WHITEY!"
Can someone explain to me when we didn’t have to show an id to vote? I’ve always had to show my id when I enter the place where I vote to pick up a ballot. Where does this not happen, am I missing something?
Couple things...Non Partisan, give me a break!
Prisons becoming next plantation? This is very very sad, but I do have a theory. What would happen if the ALL black Democrat Churches taught respect for life?
Why do they vote for a party that supports openly the things that are against the Lord.
Speaking of abortion, gay marriage removal of Christ/God from classroom and public square.
Maybe if they stopped spitting on Christ, when they support these evils, that`s what they are doing.
Same things can be said of Catholic Democrats etc etc
MwaaaaHaaaaHaaaaa!!!
What do black churches do to black Americans when they become but another extension of the Democrat Party, union like, and anti American Marxist thinkers, demanding material gifts of those they despise and teach their flock to despise? Where is their superior teaching of God and family and neighbor and personal responsibility?
Granted that today’s churches across the spectrum would be unrecognizable from the piety and practice of those just 50-60 years ago, but the context of “code red” portrayed here was about using the church as a political vehicle sans its holy purpose, to love God and teach His commands, not our own.
Really?
The socialist-democratic system has booted MEN out of the picture in "the community"
They don't hold the EBT cards - the Women do - who are you talking about?
What? Are the MEN supposed to show up every 4 years?
You should see it here in New York city, day after day more and more blacks BEGGING people for money on the streets, and I’m not talking about the usual drug-addict-alcoholic-mental-patient but clean well dressed black people who are so incredibly broke they have resorted to asking people on the street for money. There’s one guy I see all the time now at the entrance to the 59th street bridge who actually wears a suit! When Bush was POTUS I never saw this now they are all over the place. THIS is Obamanomics and it is so bad here now I was thinking of taking pictures of them and sending them to DNC . As part of my biz I move around NYC all day and they constantly constantly constantly hit me up for money.
Trough is getting mighty empty...
“The funniest part is that he said “Miller Time”, while his family owns Budweiser distributorships.”
The Rev run is from Chgo. He talked with Anheuser Busch and helped them understand that he and his frens could demonstrate against A-B in Chgo or, for a piece of the action, they could stand down. They got the Cook County dealership for a pittance - that was about 15 or so years ago. That franchise used to be the largest A-B franchise in existence. Some people might call that extortion; others might just call it good ol’ church people takin’ care of each other.
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