Don’t Just Age Gracefully—Age Full of Grace

Do you realize the Bible has special counsel for those of us who are older? God promises, “The righteous shall flourish…They shall still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:12, 14). “Let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you” (Proverbs 3:1-2). “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31).

If you want to make the most of every year of your life, here’s how:
1.    Keep in good shape—physically and mentally. Refuse to believe that aging means constant decline! Determine to continue learning, to be active, to commit yourself to activities that make a positive difference in the world. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

2.    Look forward, not back. Memories are great places to visit, but don’t dwell there. Instead, heed the Apostle Paul’s advice: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

3.    Trust God in all things. The God of your youth will not abandon you as you age. “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you!” (Isaiah 46:4). God wants you to continue to grow in grace is all situations. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it…” (Philippians 1:6).

Emory Professor Refutes Theory about African American Marital Instability

            Deeply ingrained theories about the impact of slave marriages on modern African American marital stability is challenged in a recent a new book by Frances Smith Foster, Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Emory University.  

 Documents examined by Dr. Foster show that even though enslaved people could not marry legally, many did so anyway for life.  Her evidence comes from letters, poems, sermons, essays, court cases, and articles written by the enslaved and by antebellum African Americans who were free.

            Antebellum records she examined that were written by enslaved people suggest that brides and grooms vowed to stay faithful “ ‘til death or distance do us part.” Dr. Foster says "In fact, accounts by enslaved African Americans reveal that wedding officiators deliberately declared that only God could dissolve a wedding, not distance or slave owners."
            Dr. Foster reveals that historians developed their ideas of slave marriage "from stories told by people who were not enslaved themselves," believing that marriage vows were fragile due to death, distance, and many other factors.  The theory took hold and was dubbed with the modern labels of “post traumatic slavery disorder” or post traumatic slavery syndrome” to explain why modern African Americans are less likely than white Americans to make commitments to marriage and monogamy.  One example of how this myth is propagated today is a recent article in Essence magazine about how African Americans can break free from the “bonds of slavery [that] continue to hold Black folks captive.”

            “Many modern African Americans buy into the misconception that they cannot commit and are ultimately doomed to failure in relationships with the opposite sex,” Dr. Foster says, adding that “the men are incarcerated, and the women are ‘demanding, emasculating, or traumatized,’ all because Black Americans do not have a heritage of marital success as do white Americans.”
              She refutes these notions pointing out that “Slaves usually celebrated their marriages with their families and friends. Some even were able to have lavish weddings, marrying in churches and exchanging rings. Because many African Americans believed in staying faithful to their spouses until death, they chose their partners carefully. When free African Americans fell in love with people who were enslaved, it was not uncommon for them to forfeit their freedom so that they could marry their beloved and live together. They viewed ‘freedom a dubious gift, a counterfeit coin, if they couldn't spend it on the people they loved’."

Read more in Dr. Foster’s book,  ‘Till Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America was published by the Oxford University Press (2010). It is a companion to her earlier volume, “Love and Marriage in Early African America published by Northeastern University Press (2007).  Both are products of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion's project on "Sex, Marriage, and Family & the Religions of the Book.

Dr. Foster is the recipient of the  Association of Departments of English "Francis Andrew March Award" for exceptional service to the profession of English. She is an editor of The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, and the author of a dozen other volumes.

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) at Emory University is home to world-class scholars and forums on the religious foundations of law, politics, and society. It offers first-rank expertise on how the teachings and practices of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have shaped and can continue to transform the fundamental ideas and institutions of our public and private lives. The scholarship of CSLR faculty provides the latest perspectives, while its conferences and public forums foster reasoned and robust public debate.

  SHIRLEY SHERROD'S JOURNEY
        "YOU AND I CAN'T YIELD...NOT NOW, NOT EVER "      

                                                                                                                         August 17, 2010

 Marlene,

 Back in March, I delivered a speech to an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet in my home state of Georgia. I drew on my personal life story to urge poor people, white and black, to pull together and overcome racial divisions. We have to understand that our struggle is against poverty and against those who are blocking our path out of poverty.

Unless we figure this out, I warned, our communities won't thrive and our children won't prosper.

As you know, a Tea Party blogger named Andrew Breitbart released an intentionally deceptive, heavily edited clip from that speech to make it look as if I was delivering exactly the opposite message. Then Fox News blasted that false message across America's airwaves, creating a firestorm that led to my ouster as the USDA State Director here in Georgia.

Not long ago, I sat here in my living room in Albany, Georgia for an afternoon of deep conversation with NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. As he has done in public, Ben movingly apologized for the fact that the NAACP was initially hoodwinked by Breitbart and Fox into supporting my removal. I told him what I want to tell you.

That's behind us, and the last thing I want to see happen is for my situation to weaken support for the NAACP. Too many people confronted by racism and poverty count on the NAACP to be there for them, especially those in rural areas who often have nowhere else to turn.

People ask me, "Shirley, how are you getting through all of this?" I tell them that, if they knew what I have lived through, they'd understand that these current challenges aren't about to throw me off course.

When I was 17 years old, my father was murdered by a white man in Baker County, Georgia. There were three witnesses, but the grand jury refused to indict the person responsible. I knew I had to do something in answer to my father's death.

That very night, I made a commitment that I would stay in the South and fight for change.

I have lived true to that commitment for 45 years. I didn't yield when, just months after my father was killed, they came in the middle of the night to burn a cross in front of our house with my mother, four sisters, and the baby brother my father never got to see still inside.

And I'm surely not going to yield because some Tea Party agitator sat at his computer and turned everything I said upside down and inside out.

I learned a lot of lessons from my parents growing up, but one of the most important ones is what my mother taught her children after our father was killed. She told us we mustn't try to live with hate in our hearts.

My mother led by example. Just 11 years after that cross-burning incident, she became the first black elected official in Baker County, and she's still serving, still working to bring people together.

You and I have to keep working as well. Change has to start with us. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I have received over these last few weeks. It means so much to me and my family.

But you and I have to make sure that people all across the country who wage a daily struggle against poverty and racism have support networks as well. And that's why your personal involvement in sustaining the NAACP is so critical.

The NAACP confronts the virulent racism that my family and so many other families have had to endure. But it is also leading the way in breaking down the structural barriers that block so many people's paths out of poverty.

In our struggle between the "haves" and the "have-nots," they want to keep the poor divided - and we have to insist, by our words and our actions, that there is no difference between us.

As we move forward together, I urge you to remember this: Life is a grindstone. But whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us.

Thank you for all you are doing to challenge poverty and racism. I look forward to working and struggling right by your side.

Sincerely,

Shirley Sherrod

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Mourns Beloved 10th National President and Civil Rights Matriarch Dr. Dorthy Irene Height


WASHINGTON—Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. across the globe are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, the organization’s 10th National President and chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women. Dr. Height died early this (Tuesday) morning of natural causes at Howard
University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

A civil and human rights leader, women’s rights pioneer and staunch advocate for social justice, Dr. Height was a strategist in the struggle for equality for all people for more than a half a century. She was often the lone woman at the table strategizing with world renowned Civil Rights leaders such as: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney H. Young, A. Phillip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and John Lewis.

“The world knows Dr. Height as the ‘Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement,’ but to the members of Delta Sigma Theta, she was so much more,” said Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, National President of Delta Sigma Theta. "Dr. Height was a role model, mentor, sister and friend who will be greatly missed. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy that will inspire us all to work toward effecting change with the vigor and tenacity that she embodied.”

Dr. Height served as an advisor to Eleanor Roosevelt on Civil Rights issues and was a driving force behind the development of policies affecting women, families and children, as well as social welfare, economic development and civil and human rights. A devoted student of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the NCNW and honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta, Dr. Height was committed to keeping her vision alive. She received hundreds of honors and awards, including the Medal of Freedom, presented by President William Jefferson Clinton, and the Congressional Gold Medal, presented by President George W. Bush.

Dr. Height was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in 1939 through Rho Chapter at Columbia University. She went on to serve as the 10th National President of the Sorority from 1947-1956. During her tenure, she oversaw the purchase of the Sorority’s first National Headquarters building. She was involved in hiring the
organization’s first executive director, The Honorable Patricia Roberts Harris. Dr. Height also developed leadership training programs as well as interracial and ecumenical educational programs for members of Delta Sigma Theta as well as other organizations and institutions throughout the United States.

Dr. Height was always present and very much involved at national Delta events and many local and regional events as well. There was never a time that she did not leave words of wisdom for Sorority members and guests who were present.

“Words cannot express what Dr. Height has meant to the members of Delta Sigma Theta,” said Butler-McIntyre. “She is a visionary leader who has inspired others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. Her dedication, sacrifice and committed service have played a major role in shaping strategies, policies and procedures that continue to sustain Delta as the single largest African-American women’s organization. We join the nation in mourning the loss of this phenomenal woman.”

***

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded in 1913 on the campus of Howard University to promote
academic excellence; to provide scholarships; to provide support to the underserved; educate and stimulate
participation in the establishment of positive public policy; and to highlight issues and provide solutions for
problems in their communities. Today Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has over 250,000 members and more than 900 chapters worldwide. The Sorority uses its Five-Point Programmatic Thrust of economic development, educational development, international awareness and involvement, physical and mental health, and political awareness and involvement to create its national programs.

ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA MOURNS THE LOSS OF DR. DOROTHY HEIGHT


“Heartbroken.” That is the word that captures the overwhelming feeling of grief that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is feeling upon learning of the death of Dr. Dorothy Height.

Speaking on behalf of the organization's 250,000 members worldwide, AKA's international president Barbara A. McKinzie hailed Height for her service as president of the National Council of Negro Women, where she championed the rights of black women and advanced their agenda for change. In viewing her life's mission, McKinzie described Height as an authentic hero who devoted her entire life to promoting civil rights, human rights and women's rights.

McKinzie noted that from her earliest days as a teenager, Dorothy Height was speaking out against injustice. This lifelong passion elevated her to iconic status as she continued her crusade by speaking out against racism, speaking up for equality and outreaching to the highest level of government to achieve parity for African Americans and black women.

The international president noted that Height was inspired by Frederick Douglass' charge that change comes as a result of “agitating.” Taking that word as a call to action, Height adopted the word “agitate” as her style of leadership. It was a style that effected change, achieved results and catapulted her onto the world stage as a heroine. Her numerous awards - including the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to her by President Bill Clinton -- were testimonies to the power she wielded, the successes she achieved and the international reverence she enjoyed.

Recalled McKinzie, “She was a valiant and vibrant leader who was unrelenting in decrying injustice and urging that wrongs are righted. It was her lifelong mission.” For that reason, McKinzie pointed to Height as her "role model whose example served as a source of strength to all who gained by her grit and fight."

"Her courage inspired admiration, love and respect. Most of all, she moved those on the sidelines to join her in the fight!"

McKinzie recalled that Dr. Height was on the podium when Black Greek-lettered organizations marched to the Capitol in 2008 during Alpha Kappa Alpha's Centennial Celebration. She recalled how Height used that occasion to urge the crowd to continue the fight for justice. The international president added that she is part of the Ford Motor Company Fund, National Committee of Honor, that pays tribute to Dr. Height as one of the Freedom's Sisters Legends in an exhibit that is touring the country.

She extended condolences to the National Council of Negro Women, to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, over which she served as president; and to the millions who benefited from her lifelong mission to make the world a better place -- for all.

She asked that members of the Sorority pause in prayer today to mourn the loss of a true giant whose record of achievement through agitation will serve as her legacy.

The Black Church: Alive and Well

Religious Press Release Service

April 21, 2010, Valley Forge, PA—A new Judson Press book celebrating the vitality, gifts, and strength of the black church stands in sharp contrast to the death knell sounded by Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. in his recent Huffington Post essay titled "The Black Church is Dead." In What We Love about the Black Church: Can We Get a Witness?, William H. Crouch and Joel C. Gregory identify twelve aspects of the black church that highlight its impact and contributions. What makes this resource particularly unique and compelling is that Crouch and Gregory are white pastors and academics who have discovered the benefits of being in the black church without being of it.

In response to Glaude's so-called obituary, Crouch, president of Georgetown College, reflected on a recent experience which speaks to the health of the black church:
"Recently a newspaper editor visited our campus to examine our diversity program. When he did his exit interview with me, he said he knew that what made our program so rich is the fact that our African American students are coming from within the black church, where they are being encouraged, prayed for, funded and guided by their pastors. We have more than an 80% retention rate with these black church members. I am stunned by Dr. Glaude's pronouncement and invite him to visit our campus and see the outgrowth from the black church!"

Gregory, professor of preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, confessed to being mystified by Glaude's conclusion:

"As a white minister who has spoken hundreds of times in black church and conference settings from coast to coast for a dozen years, I see the polar opposite. I do not know any other institution that demonstrates the inherent vitality of the black church. There is no more vital, resilient and energetic institution in America."

More than two dozen leaders of the African American church contributed to What We Love about the Black Church, including:

Sheila M. Bailey
Bryan L. Carter
Cynthia L. Hale
Donald Hilliard Jr.
Major Lewis Jemison
A. Louis Patterson Jr.
Melvin V. Wade Sr.
Ralph Douglas West Sr.
J. Alfred Smith Sr. (foreword)
Rhoda McKinney-Jones (afterword)

Their contributions and endorsements recognize the book's passion for and testimony to both the past and future of the black church, and celebrate its potential to bridge the racial divide and cultural chasm that have segregated the Body of Christ in this country.

What We Love about the Black Church will be available in early May 2010 and can be ordered by calling 800-458-3766 or visiting www.judsonpress.com.

About Judson Press: Founded in 1824, Judson Press—a publishing ministry of National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA—produces Christ-centered leadership resources for the transformation of persons, congregations, communities and cultures. Judson has been recognized by Publishers Weekly as one of the leading publishers of resources for the black church.

American Baptist Churches USA is a historic Protestant denomination that includes 1.5 million members in 5,600 congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Nearly half of its members are African American.

NOTE: Glaude's obituary for the black church has resulted in an undeniably passionate and vocal response on both sides of the issue. Shortly after it appeared, a panel of African American religious scholars responded with "The Black Church is Dead—Long Live the Black Church" on the Religion Dispatches website. On April 16, The New York Times joined the conversation with Samuel G. Freedman's "Call and Response on the State of the Black Church." Crouch, Gregory, and various book contributors will be posting their comments on these sites.