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The Rev. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, says the African American faith community must unite to Occupy the Dream .
I admit that this question of religion and racism is quite complicated and I don't claim to have all the answers. But I do know that recognizing the equal rights of black Americans under the law, while of paramount importance, is not the same as recognizing our intellectual capabilities and moral character as inherently equal to whites.
The prophetic tradition has served to create a public discourse and will courageous enough to enact sweeping public policy that tilts toward the least of these and the expansion of democratic opportunity. By reducing the public discourse to cheering on the president without critique only serves the interest of the most powerful.
Unity in the Black community also requires bridging the class divide. Brothers and sisters who have seized on a pathway to the middle and upper class paved by the blood and sacrifice of heroes and sheroes of the Black freedom struggle have an obligation to spiritually and/or physically return to “Tobacco Road,” the urban inner-city neighborhoods of this country, to give back, to reinvest their time, talent and resources to reconstruct/revive the “dark ghettos” from which they escaped.
Nevertheless, I support #OccupytheDream because it offers an opportunity to energize the progressive religious wing of the black organizing tradition.
My motivation for writing this book is plentiful. But one reason stands out the most; the commercialization of Hip-hop. I believe that radio stations, music video channels and those individual Hip-hop artists that are making a lot of money from the business side of Hip-hop has created a monopoly in the music and in the culture. As a result, the “other” side of Hip-hop lacks exposure and what we get is a one-sided view of Hip-hop that has many critics. But what I try to do in this book is expose the positive side of Hip-hop by introducing its spiritual and social justice characteristics; which are most notably seen through its various ministries in (and outside) of the church.
On Wed. morning, Dec. 14, 2011, a press conference was called by concerned members of the African American Clergy. It was held in Washington, DC at the National Press Club. Speaking on camera, in this video, are: Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, David DeGraw, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., Sgt. Shamar Thomas and Kevin Zeese.
Michael Eric Dyson is an academic, author, social activist, Baptist minister, and preacher and radio host. Dyson is Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and has taught at Chicago Theological Seminary, Brown University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Columbia University, DePaul University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Tony Lee is a go-go preacher, and COH is a go-go church. Although Lee is deliberate about COH’s use of all forms of media, it’s always for the same goal—to offer hope to the local community. That’s why it’s easy to attend COH and forget about the use of new media. The new media is mixed in with the old. COH is as fervent about handbill flyers, home baked goods, t-shirts, and radio programs as they are about web channels, online video games, Bible apps, and Facebook. It’s all about connecting people to church and to God.
Pastor Jamal Bryant and Nationally Award-Winning Journalist Roland Martin discuss Bishop Eddie Long, Politics, the State of the Black Church and more.
