I was reading Death Blossoms yesterday and came across the section/chapter/essay entitled “The Faith of Slaves”. In it, Mumia begins with how Christianity was a means of controlling and/or brainwashing the enslaved Africans… which is not new information by any stretch of the mind. However, the perpetual manner in which politicians continue to utilize religion to control blacks is astonishing.
With respect to church being one of few “freedoms” of enslaved Africans, Mumia wrote:
“It was a useful allowance, for an obeisant minister - especially one who believed in the efficacy of long-suffering over rebellion - could exercise tremendous influence over his fellow captives and save his white “Massa” countless difficulties.”
To its continuing effect, he writes about a gubernatorial race in which it was alleged that the Republicans had payed New Jersey’s black preachers to convince their congregation not to exercise their right to vote. I had heard nothing about this prior to this reading… because I was a small child when this occurred and it has been effectively repressed from any mention in schools or by either major political party. In looking it up, I was able to find a couple of archived NYTimes articles.
Read More after the jump.Black Clergy Payed to Control Their Congregations
Damage Control
The Truth In Ed Rollin’s “Lies”
All of this happened in 1993. Now, you may say to yourself “that was still almost 20 years ago”. To that, I say “you are incredibly naive”. But, more importantly, I implore you to reflect on the 2004 Republican campaign. You do remember that, don’t you? That was the campaign in which Republicans used Christian blacks as complete puppets. With everything that was going on in this country that pertained specifically to the black community — higher percentage of people fighting in a war with no apparent aim or end, higher unemployment rates, lower education levels, poorer schools, racist legislating (cocaine gets much less time than crack), little-to-no police protection for blacks in poorer neighborhoods — Black preachers throughout the South (I chose the south because that’s where I’m from) were telling their congregations to vote for the Republicans and keep George W. Bush in office because …. wait for it…. “They are going to stop Gay Marriage and do the work of God”.
So… they did. Bush won. What happened? Nothing to be proud of… The war continued. We lost thousands upon thousands of more lives. We ended up in a horrendous recession which, naturally, led to more violence within the country because that’s what the opulent do when the money runs out… they kill people (wife, kids, husband, granny, the girl scout selling cookies, themselves, etc.). Bank bailout. Wall Street bailout. “Too big to fail”. More assaults on the poor. They didn’t even do what they told the Christians they would do. No Federal Amendment was passed that prevented Gay Marriage. Even if it could have/would have, what is the purpose? Gays are still gay whether they marry or not. That’s simple logic. So what really occurred here? Politicians manipulated a segment of the black community using religion. They used our faith to quell our minds and independent spirits.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr., Minister Malcolm X, Minister Louis Farrakhan… do you think this was by accident? Most black leaders come from the pulpit. We rarely have secular leaders who aren’t murdered or imprisoned on questionable or completely fabricated evidence- Nat Turner, Huey Newton & most of the Black Panther party. Even with the religious leaders, if they cross a certain line, they are taken out. And that line appears to be “instead of suffering it out and hoping for the best (the meek shall inherit the Earth, your reward for suffering is waiting for you), we’re going to fight for our human and civil rights immediately”.
Do you all realize that MLK was considered a radical? Why? Because he wasn’t saying just wait it out; it will be okay. The great racists will learn to love us soon enough and treat us like humans or either, you know, God will repay us for having to live like this. No. Instead he was saying God helps those who help themselves. We have to fight for our rights and freedom from oppression just like the Jews from the Pharaoh. He wasn’t willing to accept the status quo. He even wrote a book called “Why We Can’t Wait”. And for this “radical” nature, he was murdered. He got out of hand. He didn’t take the bait that God wants us to quietly sit back and take the injustice, just waiting on Him to come down and save us while doing nothing to aid in our own liberation. He was actually using their own tool against them. (The NERVE, right?)
But, you may ask, why were he and Minister Malcolm killed but not the others? Consider what they were doing that the others on the list haven’t done / aren’t doing. 1) They were appealing to more segments of the population than downtrodden blacks. 2) They had a large international appeal… other countries were starting to see America for what it was. 3) (MAJOR) They couldn’t be bought. There was no amount of giving to their organization or appeasing them with empty gestures that was going to make them slow down or give in. You couldn’t shut them up with money, or air time, or a big house and you couldn’t discredit them …. even though many have tried to do so posthumously. And for that, for their religious incorrigibility, they had to die.
The sad thing is… much like most of the divisions that were created at that time — color (light vs dark), hair (bad vs good), sex (we STAY at odds with each other, we love sons but raise daughters in fear that our men will be taken, men feel attacked by women, women don’t feel protected by the men, women feel the need to run the house because the men won’t be there, men don’t know how to be there because they’re father wasn’t there - sold/lynched/jailed) — this behavior has become self-preserved. We continue to perpetuate it with little-to-no interference most of the time. We control our own minds, vanquish our own spirits, subdue our own logic, and viciously attack those who dare to diverge from that march towards the promised land that requires you never take a look at (let alone try to change) what’s happening around you.
For examples of this behavior, you merely need to look at those who will choose to ignore mountains of evidence because “dinosaurs were never explicitly mentioned in the Bible” yet ignore other facets of missing information such as Jesus ages 13-31. They will base an intense hatred of another human being who has done nothing to them on one line in one book in the Old Testament. They will allow pedophiles (as long as they’re in the pulpit) to tell them AIDS is a punishment from God and we shouldn’t be looking into saving people who are suffering from this disease even though people of color and the poor die from it more than others. They increasingly treat leaders, many self-appointed, as extensions of God who consequently cannot be questioned, whose motives are not to be second-guessed. So whatever they say or do goes.
And this, of course, makes these faux-leaders prime targets (or conduits, even) for politicians or anyone who wishes to control the black community… just go through the church…
So, you’re probably assuming I’m an atheist at this point. You could not be further from the truth. However, the spell of “everything about my religion is right and from God, not Man” was broken a long time ago… in childhood. So, I’m able to take a step back sometimes and say What is going on here? Who benefits from this? More often than not, I’m finding that politicians and others seeking fame, glory, money, power, or any combination thereof are the answer to the latter. Because of that, I find myself more and more frequently saying “I am a follower of Christ” rather than “I’m a Christian” because what being Christian has come to mean through all of its adulterations, manipulations, and misconstructions is not what I ascribe to the Word or aim of a deity but of Man. As a result, it is a malleable tool for those who wish to gain some form of compensation or credibility - whether it be financial, political, or personal. It’s the classic wolves and sheep dichotomy and unfortunately many believers (not all) have become willing sheep, due to their willful ignorance. I am not one of them. Are you?
With respect to church being one of few “freedoms” of enslaved Africans, Mumia wrote:
“It was a useful allowance, for an obeisant minister - especially one who believed in the efficacy of long-suffering over rebellion - could exercise tremendous influence over his fellow captives and save his white “Massa” countless difficulties.”
To its continuing effect, he writes about a gubernatorial race in which it was alleged that the Republicans had payed New Jersey’s black preachers to convince their congregation not to exercise their right to vote. I had heard nothing about this prior to this reading… because I was a small child when this occurred and it has been effectively repressed from any mention in schools or by either major political party. In looking it up, I was able to find a couple of archived NYTimes articles.
Read More after the jump.Black Clergy Payed to Control Their Congregations
Damage Control
The Truth In Ed Rollin’s “Lies”
All of this happened in 1993. Now, you may say to yourself “that was still almost 20 years ago”. To that, I say “you are incredibly naive”. But, more importantly, I implore you to reflect on the 2004 Republican campaign. You do remember that, don’t you? That was the campaign in which Republicans used Christian blacks as complete puppets. With everything that was going on in this country that pertained specifically to the black community — higher percentage of people fighting in a war with no apparent aim or end, higher unemployment rates, lower education levels, poorer schools, racist legislating (cocaine gets much less time than crack), little-to-no police protection for blacks in poorer neighborhoods — Black preachers throughout the South (I chose the south because that’s where I’m from) were telling their congregations to vote for the Republicans and keep George W. Bush in office because …. wait for it…. “They are going to stop Gay Marriage and do the work of God”.
So… they did. Bush won. What happened? Nothing to be proud of… The war continued. We lost thousands upon thousands of more lives. We ended up in a horrendous recession which, naturally, led to more violence within the country because that’s what the opulent do when the money runs out… they kill people (wife, kids, husband, granny, the girl scout selling cookies, themselves, etc.). Bank bailout. Wall Street bailout. “Too big to fail”. More assaults on the poor. They didn’t even do what they told the Christians they would do. No Federal Amendment was passed that prevented Gay Marriage. Even if it could have/would have, what is the purpose? Gays are still gay whether they marry or not. That’s simple logic. So what really occurred here? Politicians manipulated a segment of the black community using religion. They used our faith to quell our minds and independent spirits.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr., Minister Malcolm X, Minister Louis Farrakhan… do you think this was by accident? Most black leaders come from the pulpit. We rarely have secular leaders who aren’t murdered or imprisoned on questionable or completely fabricated evidence- Nat Turner, Huey Newton & most of the Black Panther party. Even with the religious leaders, if they cross a certain line, they are taken out. And that line appears to be “instead of suffering it out and hoping for the best (the meek shall inherit the Earth, your reward for suffering is waiting for you), we’re going to fight for our human and civil rights immediately”.
Do you all realize that MLK was considered a radical? Why? Because he wasn’t saying just wait it out; it will be okay. The great racists will learn to love us soon enough and treat us like humans or either, you know, God will repay us for having to live like this. No. Instead he was saying God helps those who help themselves. We have to fight for our rights and freedom from oppression just like the Jews from the Pharaoh. He wasn’t willing to accept the status quo. He even wrote a book called “Why We Can’t Wait”. And for this “radical” nature, he was murdered. He got out of hand. He didn’t take the bait that God wants us to quietly sit back and take the injustice, just waiting on Him to come down and save us while doing nothing to aid in our own liberation. He was actually using their own tool against them. (The NERVE, right?)
But, you may ask, why were he and Minister Malcolm killed but not the others? Consider what they were doing that the others on the list haven’t done / aren’t doing. 1) They were appealing to more segments of the population than downtrodden blacks. 2) They had a large international appeal… other countries were starting to see America for what it was. 3) (MAJOR) They couldn’t be bought. There was no amount of giving to their organization or appeasing them with empty gestures that was going to make them slow down or give in. You couldn’t shut them up with money, or air time, or a big house and you couldn’t discredit them …. even though many have tried to do so posthumously. And for that, for their religious incorrigibility, they had to die.
The sad thing is… much like most of the divisions that were created at that time — color (light vs dark), hair (bad vs good), sex (we STAY at odds with each other, we love sons but raise daughters in fear that our men will be taken, men feel attacked by women, women don’t feel protected by the men, women feel the need to run the house because the men won’t be there, men don’t know how to be there because they’re father wasn’t there - sold/lynched/jailed) — this behavior has become self-preserved. We continue to perpetuate it with little-to-no interference most of the time. We control our own minds, vanquish our own spirits, subdue our own logic, and viciously attack those who dare to diverge from that march towards the promised land that requires you never take a look at (let alone try to change) what’s happening around you.
For examples of this behavior, you merely need to look at those who will choose to ignore mountains of evidence because “dinosaurs were never explicitly mentioned in the Bible” yet ignore other facets of missing information such as Jesus ages 13-31. They will base an intense hatred of another human being who has done nothing to them on one line in one book in the Old Testament. They will allow pedophiles (as long as they’re in the pulpit) to tell them AIDS is a punishment from God and we shouldn’t be looking into saving people who are suffering from this disease even though people of color and the poor die from it more than others. They increasingly treat leaders, many self-appointed, as extensions of God who consequently cannot be questioned, whose motives are not to be second-guessed. So whatever they say or do goes.
And this, of course, makes these faux-leaders prime targets (or conduits, even) for politicians or anyone who wishes to control the black community… just go through the church…
So, you’re probably assuming I’m an atheist at this point. You could not be further from the truth. However, the spell of “everything about my religion is right and from God, not Man” was broken a long time ago… in childhood. So, I’m able to take a step back sometimes and say What is going on here? Who benefits from this? More often than not, I’m finding that politicians and others seeking fame, glory, money, power, or any combination thereof are the answer to the latter. Because of that, I find myself more and more frequently saying “I am a follower of Christ” rather than “I’m a Christian” because what being Christian has come to mean through all of its adulterations, manipulations, and misconstructions is not what I ascribe to the Word or aim of a deity but of Man. As a result, it is a malleable tool for those who wish to gain some form of compensation or credibility - whether it be financial, political, or personal. It’s the classic wolves and sheep dichotomy and unfortunately many believers (not all) have become willing sheep, due to their willful ignorance. I am not one of them. Are you?
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