Adventures in Urban Ministry

This is another installment of, Adventures in Urban Ministry...

Urban ministry is not for the faint of heart. Certainly "urban" has many meanings, and our church is at a kind of a crossroads. We are located in a gentrifying area. One side is poverty, no other way to describe it. Abandoned buildings, next to buildings that should be condemned, next to half way decent homes... all lined up and joined together in typical Philadelphia row house fashion. Most are inhabited. As near as I can tell, most are inhabited by working class people and poor folk. Around the corner, Parkside Ave. Beautiful, upscale properties with easy access to the zoo, the park, the School of the Future and a new museum. The people are a mixed lot. Reminiscent of the people in the text I am preaching from next Sunday in Acts 16. Where we find Lydia (the purple cloth dealer), a slave girl, and a jailer. 3 people from 3 different economic, social, and psychological backgrounds. This resembles the population we have around our church.

What follows here is 2 sets of dialogue between myself and my friends on Facebook, regarding 2 status updates I posted about a particular young man I noticed in the hood.

Dialogue #1

FH: OK, peep this. Dude across the street from the church... good looking, clean cut, young black man. Lives in a home that kind of looks like a shack, but is rolling in a 100K Benz. Brand spankin' new joint. Am I wrong for what I'm thinking?
December 23 at 12:43pm

KH, Umm...I guess we both are...'cause I'm thinking the same thing!
December 23 at 12:45pm · Like

FH, LOL. I don't want to stereotype, because somebody is likely doing the same with me every day! Even though I'm not pushing the 100K joint. LOL
December 23 at 12:46pm · Like

AP, At least we have progressed with the times I remember that same dudes dad and uncles parking a caddy in the front yard in newark.
December 23 at 1:00pm · Unlike · 2 people

GF, Whhaaaaack. Priorities not in line...
December 23 at 1:00pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, That was my other thought G. Whether he's slingin' or not, he's sure stupid... then again, maybe he's stacking what he's saving on the mortgage?
December 23 at 1:03pm · Like

CB, and watching the stacks dwindle with the depreciation on the car.
December 23 at 1:21pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, Which is why you are in charge of the money CB!
December 23 at 1:22pm · Like

RPM, No you're not wrong...matter of fact, you should go tell the brother exactly what you're thinking!!!
December 23 at 3:27pm · Like

FH, I definitely should engage the brother.
December 23 at 3:29pm · Like

MW, I engaged someone once and he told me that everyone is different, he'd rather ride and rent than own...at the time his car cost as much as a house in B-more...so be prepared for ignorance being bliss :)
December 23 at 5:01pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, M, I have a term for that kind of thinking. Unfortunately I've experienced it all too often.
December 23 at 5:32pm · Like

CM, He probably loves that car more than anything. Bet he doesn't have a garage. Who parks that on the street? Oh, yeah. Somebody living in a shack.
December 23 at 7:55pm · Like

FH, LOL. Exactly. Who parks that on G Ave in the hood?!?! LOL!!!
December 23 at 7:58pm · Like

KW, I have cousins on G Ave in Philly so I've been in that area often. Rev he slinging! Please update us if you decide to engage.
December 23 at 8:28pm via Facebook Mobile · Unlike · 1 person

FH, We definitely have dealers in the hood! We'll see. I'm going to introduce myself just like I do with the cats outside on the corner.
December 23 at 8:57pm · Like · 1 person

MT, Keep us up-dated on this one F. It is very difficult to speak words that change life-styles.
December 24 at 3:12pm · Like

MW, Hey, I just thought about the women with the minks and paying rent...I refused to hang a mink in a rented closet, but that's me. Yeah, chat with the brother but be prepared :).
December 24 at 5:29pm · Unlike · 1 person


Dialogue #2


FH, Remember the brother with the 100K car on W. G Ave? Talked to him. Yup, he's slingin'. Insightful "conversation" about a space he shoveled out in front of the church. He knows my name now... for sure.
December 30 at 1pm · · Like · Comment

MG, Maybe I need to talk to him wit my boys.
2 hours ago · Like

TC, That's what's up keep touching that community ...your doing great brother/mentor/father figure/friend/bro/homeslice/fellowblackman/R.U. Peeps/S.A.I. Peeps.../ etc....LOL
2 hours ago via Facebook Mobile · Like

JN, LMBO! Rev, pray tell. what did u say to this poor guy?
2 hours ago · Like

FH, Hopefully I sowed a seed. That's all I can say. Oh, and he knows "my heart don't pump no Kool-Aid."
2 hours ago · Like · 1 person

JN, LMS, PF, it's nice to hear of u + M's burgeoning dedication to this church + community. Keep on keeping on... + Best wishes for the NY.
2 hours ago · Like

KH, Did he seem some what "receptive" to what you were saying during the convo?
about an hour ago · Like

FH, I think he felt convicted by my choice of words and my mannerisms. I was firm.
about an hour ago · Like

FH, Just bumped into the brother on my way out of the church. He apologized. He said he was in the wrong, and I invited him to church.
about an hour ago · Like · 1 person

MH, Powerful....it is also amazing to me how God utilizes all of our life experiences and brings them to bear into our purpose. You needed to be just who you are to Pastor "where" you are....I am also thankful for the Holy Spirits intervention! Thank ya!~ (in my Pentecostal get your shout on voice)
a few seconds ago · Like


Like I said, urban ministry isn't for the faint of heart!

Subject: Preapred in advance by my mom - A.

A message from one of my own personal angels, which breaks my heart a little, though it fills me with joy. She manages to capture so much of what I feel, and so much of what I want to say about Christmas. I'm sure she prepared many of these notes for the many she looked over and prayed for daily. Love you Colette.



Merry Christmas Fred!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens

My sentiments exactly about the season I find myself in. Best. Worst. Wisdom. Foolishness. Belief. Incredulity. Light. Dark. Hope, Despair. Everything. Nothing. Heaven. especially now...heaven. Christmas is a mixed bag for me. I absolutely detest the "Disneyfication of Christianity" (Don Cupitt) that much of 'the holidays' embodies. But it is in thinking about Christmas that I understand these words of Jesus, "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." (John 12:24-25)

The moment Jesus landed on this earth, taking meetings with Magi, and ensuring that manger making will forever be a respectable occupation, he started to die. Slowly at first, double speed as time went on. Joy to the world. Dead to the world. That truth helped me to embrace today more fully, appreciate it for what it really is...the beginning of a miraculous ending which was the cause and catalyst for countless miraculous beginnings, not the the other way around. As I write this Christmas is still a ways off, but I can sense things speeding up. There remains real joy in this for me. Clear eyed joy. Not wild and crazy too good to be true joy, but true enough to be good to me and for me joy. So today I will celebrate. Today I am excited, expectant, and energized about the beginning up ahead for me. So today, for me, follow the instructions of Jesus: let your love go, be reckless in it, because love never fails, never ends, never dies.

Love,
Colette

Power Points From This Week's Sermon, 12/19/2010

This week's sermon focused on Matthew 1:18-25, "God Is With Us"...

1.—Your Lineage Does Not Determine Your Destiny—
Jesus’ lineage isn’t defined by Tamar, Rahab, Ruth or Bathsheba anymore than it is defined by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph ties Jesus to the line of King David, but the tie to the Davidic line isn’t a manifestation of biological descendents; it’s a product of divine connection.

2.—Following God’s Plan Always Involves a Choice—
Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem, and so you’ve got to be able to follow the leading God, if you want to be a part of God’s plan. Joseph made a hard choice, even going against his own convictions, and the result of choosing God is the divine revelation that situates him in the middle of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity.

3.—The Right Choice Will Lead You to Your Destiny—
Not only was Joseph the recipient of divine revelation, but making the choice to follow God’s plan allowed him to fulfill his own purpose and destiny in God. He became the adopted father of the one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; sent to save His people; the Messiah… Joseph was granted the privilege of raising the King of Kings as his own son.

4.— He is our Emmanuel—
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel —which means, ‘God is with us’”
Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago, and His presence… WITH US… today is no less than it was when He walked the earth. How can I be so sure? The gospel tells us. Matthew begins his gospel with the angel’s announcement of the birth of Jesus, who is Immanuel, “God is with us,” and Matthew ends his gospel with the resurrected Jesus saying: “Surely I am WITH YOU always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).


Jesus’ birth and mission is not about being born into the right family… the right conditions… or the right circumstances. His birth is about Emmanuel… God with us…

The Christmas story is about the fact that God can step into our imperfect lives and walk WITH US through the realities of the lives we live; and we can look back over our lives and declare “God you were with me.”

Rev. Frederick A. Hanna

Come out and join us one Sunday at FAPC!!!

Adventures in Urban Ministry 2 - "He knew the dopes, the pushers, the addicts, everybody..."

Sermonizing for this coming Sunday... I got to the office, finished my exegesis, but didn't really have a word yet. I'm coming from Luke 19:1-10. The story of Zacchaeus, the cheif tax collector. I sat back in my guest chair and looked at the "Relentless - Hanna" painting, hoping it would preach to me.



It did, but not what I was looking for. I thought about the fact that Zacchaeus had to reposition himself in order to meet Jesus, so instead of vegging out in the chair, I decided to reposition myself...
...Ministry is about context... relevant ministry is not just about knowing scripture. It's about knowing people and understanding context, and building relationships...



So I went out... and been hanging in the hood all day. 2 transitional homes, a few street corners, a drug spot, NA meeting, front steps of the church... ended up listening to old school hip-hop and R&B on my iPhone with a young man in the sanctuary, who is teaching himself to play the piano by ear...



I met some real genuine people, many of whom are looking for a 2nd chance in life.

This morning I was singing... "He knew the dopes, the pushers, the addicts, everybody" (MC Lyte)... Yeah... Yeah... That's WJWD!!! You gotta know ya hood... "Everybody"... Knowing people's story... That's urban ministry!

Frederick A Hanna

Adventures in Urban Ministry

Hanging out at the church late last night after a number of meetings and numerous futile attempts at starting this Sunday's sermon... I decided to go out and get a bite to eat. Unfortunately my travels landed me at Checkers around the corner from the church. Checkers offered up a meal of deep fried, extra greasy hot wings! I decided to indulge. A decision met with immediately regrets, as I took my first and subsequently last bite of that first grease bomb. Oh well! My trip to Checkers did bring another interesting experience though.

As I was sitting at the drive-through, a woman, probably in her late 30s to early 40s as near as I could tell... disheveled hair, dirty clothes, slightly dazed look in her eye, standing about 5 feet from the drive-through pickup window... began a solicitation for spare change. At first I turned a deaf ear to her. I had already spotted her staring at me before I even got to the window. I could see in her face that she would be giving me some kind of spiel or plea for money.

She asked, "Sir do you happen to have any change? A nickel, a dime, a quarter? Anything you can spare. I'm hungry. I don't have any money. I've been living on the streets for the last six months."

Still trying to turn a deaf ear to this "same old song"... don't carry cash anyway besides a few coins that I have nestled in my pocket... She continues to talk "I just don't have any money, been living on the street, trying to make it, 37 years old, my whole life has been difficult, I've been on and off drugs, got mental health issues, living in an abandoned building..." When she talked, it was like one long sentence.

She continued, "I have mental health issues... I don't know whether I'm coming or going sometimes... I can't find a job... I finally got a payee, so I can get my money from the state. It's only about $70 a week, but at least it's something. But it's really not that much, especially when you owe people money from a year ago and they're waiting to get paid back... and then my payee? I don't even know if they'll give me the money... they'll probably just keep it all... I don't know."

She continues, "I like that cross hanging in your window. That's a nice cross. I saw one like it down at the Salvation Army earlier today. 'Yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.' I like that cross. It's nice just like that one I saw earlier today. Are you a godly man? Are you a pastor? Do you work at a church or teach?"

Now I'm thinking to myself, "Man! Sister got game!"

Again she says, "Do you work at a church or teach?"

I respond, "Actually I work at a church and teach."

"Really!" she says... "I knew it! I could see it! You have a glow about you. I see that glow in your face. I see that glow in your eyes. I knew you were a special man. I knew you were a godly man!"

Now the only way I could be glowing is if I had been exposed to some kind of radioactivity earlier that day. I've looked in the mirror enough times to know that I don't physically glow, and I know myself well enough to know that I don't have a character that would cause me to glow in any supernatural way. I've got enough flaws to prevent anything like that from happening. So, still I'm thinking, "She got game! Sister got game! She knows this game well!"

She continues talking, "I always wanted a godly man. A man with morals, a man with values, a man with goals." Suddenly there's a sense of clarity in her voice that wasn't there before.

She goes on with an aire of deep sincerity, "All I ever had was men who treated me bad... men who used drugs... men who used me to get their drugs... men who got me hooked on drugs... men took everything I had... men who I tried to help, but they used me and abused me, and treated me bad. I always wanted a good man. A godly man who would encourage me... and love me... and care for me. I always wanted a man like that. I knew you were good man."

I don't know exactly what it was. Maybe I was touched by the depth of the sincerity in her final plea? Maybe I was convicted in my own shortcomings and the fact that the man she was describing was more the man I want to be, than the man I am?

When she was done, I gave her what little change I had. It wasn't much at all. I wish I could've done more. I said to her, "Sister, come on out to the church at the corner of 42nd and Girard on Wednesday at noon. We'll give you a nice meal... and come by the church tomorrow, and we'll give you a bag of groceries. I'm sorry I don't have more change right now to come by the church. I'd like to talk to you."

She smiled and excitedly exclaimed, "I'll be there!"

I hope she comes.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Many For The Few

Visited Chichen-Itza today. One of the 7 Wonders of the world. The Mayan’s ancient calendar, which was based on their knowledge of astronomy, is only rivaled by NASA’s modern technology.





Truly amazing. Of course, it is sad to see the Mayan descendents scurrying about, peddling trinkets of their heritage to Western tourists for pennies. I’m not sure why we find so many descendants of such rich culture living in such destitute situations. Perhaps it isn’t them who are destitute. Maybe it’s us. Even after their way of life has been ravaged by outsiders; their sacred practices deemed evil and pagan; their land stripped of its resources; they are still a dignified, hope filled people. Interesting comment by our tour guide today regarding the practice of human sacrifice at Chichen-Itza: “Back then, they sacrificed a few for the many. Today, we sacrifice many for the few.”

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Black Beautiful and Bad

We spent the last few days of our South Africa trip at the Rugby House... the center of University of Pretoria's athletic training facilities. UP, as it is known locally, had a historical significance in the development and entrenching of Afrikaner nationalism. According to Jonathan Jansen,

"The University of Pretoria was one of the key Apartheid institutions for higher learning and one that fulfilled its white nationalist duty with considerable fervor for more than 100 years."

This was a university that churned out loyal civil servants of Apartheid, and ministers of religion who could defend its racist regime on holy grounds. Its anthropologists assigned ethnic and racial sensibilities that aligned with white racist ideology; its sociologists justified the racial order of society; its political scientists justified Apartheid rule; and its historians "impressed Afrikaner nationalism on public understandings of the past." (Jansen) It turned out prime ministers, business moguls, judges and Springbok (Rugby) captains. Its training originated in English, but was soon taken over by the language of Afrikaner nationalism, Afrikaans. At the center of the university's emblem sits the ox wagon, the symbol of the Vortrekker journey that has taken on mythical proportion in Afrikaner history.

Desegregation at UP -post Apartheid- meant overcoming the fears and racist tendencies that had become a part of university culture. Jansen writes, "This was university change in the context of a country that was itself transforming dramatically in the aftermath of apartheid." This was a long and ongoing process. The desegregation and integration of UP in recent years, means that it has a vastly different feel and look today. Outside of the rugby and cricket teams, most of the athletes we saw at UP were black. Still, all of the service workers were black, all of the cafeteria workers were black, and there seemed to be an air of elitism among whites that was palpable. A group of white American students studying abroad at UP told us how white Afrikaners would speak to them in Afrikaans, as if to test their ethnic allegiance. The seperation among races at the University was so striking that our multicultural group, a group who dined and laughed together, and generally liked each other, seemed a bit of a novelty.



The unspoken tension was never more apparent to me than the day I wore one of my favorite tee shirts. On the front, the sillohette of a naked black woman with a Pam Grier, 1970's Afro... On the back, the words Black Beautiful and Bad.



As I walked into the cafeteria that morning, no less than 3 black women approached me and exuberantly greeted me with "I love your shirt." Others nodded in my direction, gave me clinched fists of solidarity, and smiled at me with their eyes. I felt like a super hero...

...and I wondered, if the blacks are this excited about my tee shirt, what will the whites, specifically the Afrikaners, think? Hmmm... well it didn't take me long to find out. I enjoyed my breakfast and the celebrity status my tee shirt granted me. It was almost time to leave for our daily adventure, and I needed to run upstairs and grab my camera. On my way down the stairs from the 3rd floor, a group of 4 young, blonde haired Afrikaner males exited the gym on the 2nd floor, and were perfectly positioned to get a bird's eye view of the back of my tee. What I heard next was a grumbling of angry words from one of them in Afrikaans. Some words sound the same in every language... so I slowed my gait, squared my shoulders, and stopped...

...complete silence now screamed in the space that was once inhabited by angry words... The silence sounded like, "Oh my God. I hope he doesn't speak Afrikaans."

...no movement... I slowly turned my head to see the 4 youngsters standing frozen about half way down a flight of stairs...



I glared at them... ...the smallest of the 4 then decided to walk past me. As I stared at him, he refused to make eye contact, his face contorted with anger and defiance. What was said? I'll never know, but as he scurried out of the door and the others waited for me to resume movement, it was obvious that he was the culprit. When I resumed movement, so did the group behind me. I told our group what happened after I boarded the bus, and Krystal noted, "It was probably the 'Beautiful' that got to them."

"I bet you're right," I said.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

I Believe

"I watched and listened to a child, a girl, who lives in a shack, walk to the front of the classroom, with dirty close cropped hair, and dirty, high-water pants, and they weren't Capri pants, and I distinctly remember the big hole in the elbow of her sweater... I watched her look into my eyes and listened to her tell me that she was going to be a doctor, and I believed her." ~ Frederick A Hanna

But That Doll is Black

Our first night in Johannesburg and we are walking down Melville Street looking for a place to grab dinner, when something catches my eye. Two black rag dolls in the window of a toy store. I had been looking for a black rag doll for a special little girl, and here was a matching pair. One male and one female, and the male was wearing a bow tie, so you know this was meant to be. Right? Well, unfortunately the store was closed as it was late in the day, so I made plans to return before we checked out of the B&B.

Two days later and I finally made it back to the store the morning we were to check out. I was excited to make this purchase as I walked into the store and cautiously asked to see the 2 dolls in the window. Why cautiously? Because in the light of day, I noticed something different about these dolls as I spied them in the window. While they were cleverly dressed, well made and priced right; they didn't exactly look like me. When I say "me" I mean "black people."

After I asked to see the dolls, something else happened that was peculiar.
The shopkeeper (and owner) said, "You will be the 1st black person to ever buy a black doll from me!"
I said, "really?"
She said, "Yes, the white people buy the black dolls and the black people buy the white dolls."
"Strange," I thought as I looked at this doll. "I wonder why that is," I said.
"Well the white people say they remind them of their gulley's! The ones they had when they were children. " she exclaimed, which she explained to me was what they called this kind of rag doll regardless of color.
"That's a relief," I thought to myself.
"Well," I said, "I don't know if I can buy this doll because its black, like black, like I'm not black, not like this. But that doll is BLACK." She looked at me strangely and I said, "You know, like you're not white. You're pink, and none of the white dolls are white."

What followed was an insightful conversation between an American Black man and a White South African woman about the Clark Doll Test:



...And other matters of history, race and children. I explained to her that this black rag doll could have a profound affect on a child, and how I wouldn't want my daughter to look at this black doll and think it was ugly, and perhaps think of herself as being ugly by association. Without going into all the details, the conversation ended like this... The shop owner said, "If you can come back before you leave South Africa, I will have brown dolls for you, and if you don't come back, don't worry - someone else will buy them. Thank you for educating me. May we all continue to educate each other, and evolve together."

With that, we hugged and parted ways.

This is one of the reasons why I love South Africa. The simple act of buying a rag doll in South Africa can have so many implications, and can turn up such complexities and such opportunities.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Never Again

Tonight was my final debrief with the SAI 2010 graduate students. I started off by reading this address from Nelson Mandela, 1994:



STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA
AT HIS INAUGURATION AS
PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
UNION BUILDINGS, PRETORIA
MAY 10 1994

Your Majesties,

Your Highnesses,

Distinguished Guests,

Comrades and Friends.

Today, all of us do, by our presence here, and by our celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty.

Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.

All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world who are so well represented here today.

To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld.

Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal. The national mood changes as the seasons change.

We are moved by a sense of joy and exhilaration when the grass turns green and the flowers bloom.

That spiritual and physical oneness we all share with this common homeland explains the depth of the pain we all carried in our hearts as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict, and as we saw it spurned, outlawed and isolated by the peoples of the world, precisely because it has become the universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and racial oppression.

We, the people of South Africa, feel fulfilled that humanity has taken us back into its bosom, that we, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil.

We thank all our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity.

We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the challenges of building peace, prosperity, non-sexism, non-racialism and democracy.

We deeply appreciate the role that the masses of our people and their political mass democratic, religious, women, youth, business, traditional and other leaders have played to bring about this conclusion. Not least among them is my Second Deputy President, the Honourable F.W. de Klerk.

We would also like to pay tribute to our security forces, in all their ranks, for the distinguished role they have played in securing our first democratic elections and the transition to democracy, from blood-thirsty forces which still refuse to see the light.

The time for the healing of the wounds has come.

The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.

The time to build is upon us.

We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.

We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.

We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

As a token of its commitment to the renewal of our country, the new Interim Government of National Unity will, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of amnesty for various categories of our people who are currently serving terms of imprisonment.

We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free.

Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward.

We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist government.

We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom

We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success.

We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.

Let there be justice for all.

Let there be peace for all.

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.

Let freedom reign.

The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!

God bless Africa!

Thank you.

I chose to read this as I reflected on Edwin Smith's comment the other night that Nelson Mandela may have hurt South Africa by saying the words "never again." Why? Because it almost seems as if blacks need to create a similarly unjust system -as the one that oppressed them for nearly 2 centuries- just to close the gap in racial inequality that still exists in South Africa today. It is an utterly complex country with as complicated a history as we have in the United States against our own backdrop of racial inequity and oppression.

Reading this out loud to the group was powerful for me. To think about what Mandela had lived through, and what his hopes were for the future of his beloved South Africa against the backdrop of everything we had seen stirred deep, conflicting emotions. You could not have read this address before the trip, and read it after the trip... and have had the same experience of reading it each time. Thus, I asked the group, "What has South Africa done to you? Because if this place hasn't done anything 'to you' then you weren't really here. You may have been here physically, but you could not have truly come to South Africa if it didn't do anything to you."

Written by Frederick A Hanna

We All Need Goals

After doing a little "technologies" teaching today, I decided to keep up my theme of goals and vision. It was really inspired by the 6th grade students sharing "what they want to be when they grow up" with me. So, I began an impromptu talk about what it means to set goals and the kind of goals that a 6th grader might be thinking about. At the end of the session, I asked each of them to share some goals with me... goals that they will write down and actively work towards:

Here's a short list. I hope you'll be as inspired as I am.

1. You cannot be "Daddy" before you are "Husband."
2. Mommy 2nd, Wife 1st. No babies before finishing school.
3. Never smoke drugs.
4. Make better marks next term.
5. Don't bully other students at school.
6. Avoid peer pressure.
7. Do what the teacher instructs.
8. Come to school with the expectation to learn.
9. Build good study habits.
10. Take responsibility for my education.
11. Become a doctor, judge, teacher, lawyer, soccer player, pilot, architect, taxi driver (hey don't knock it!), singer, artist, police officer, soldier...

I felt so inspired by these young people's excitement around goal setting. Sometimes, all young people need is some encouragement. Someone to say "you are special" "you are beautiful" "you are uniquely and wonderfully created, and you have a future and a hope and a destiny"...

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Learn How to Tell Your Story

These 5 young men gave me a chance to share my story with them, as they shared their lives and their dreams with me. It is important that we all learn "our story." That is, the journey that God has you on in this thing called life. Why did you go through this or that? How have your experiences impacted or changed you for better or worse? How do you process each experience so that it becomes a marker on the journey, and not an exit ramp that takes you off course and stops you from reaching your God ordained destiny? Who are the people who have helped you along the way? What choices did you make that helped and/or hindered the process?

We left off with this,

1. We all need "purpose." In order to understand our purpose, we need to know who we are-our identity; what we are good at-our gifts and talents; and what we love to do-our passion.
2. Next, we must set goals, short term and long term.
3. We need to evaluate those goals in a timely fashion. If we aren't making progress towards those goals, then we need to make adjustments that will allow us to move forward.
4. Overall, we need to have a vision for our lives, and we have to believe that we can, with God's help, see that vision come to fruition.

And anyone who doesn't believe in that vision or discourages it in any way can keep it moving!

Frederick A Hanna

Killed You on Your Own Track

Remember when Redman killed killed EPMD on their own track, Headbanger?



How about when LL killed EPMD on Rampage?



Or when Cannibus ripped LL on 4, 3, 2, 1? (the original lyrics, not the LL revenge joint)



I remember me and my boys talking about how EPMD always had a fly collabo on every album where another artist basically got wreck on them.

I found this ill list of artists who got "murdered on their own track." Can you add to it?

Here are the rules as per the link below:

1. Guest artist must outshine song’s host.
2. One song per artist on the list.
3. No bootlegs or freestyles.

Killed You on Your Own Track

Be Ready When The Door Opens

Matthew 25 - The Parable of the Ten Virgins

With so much going on in my life right now, I was led to this text today...

1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.


Some seasons in your life are times of preparation for what's next. Its easy to get frustrated or anxious in those seasons. You might even be tempted to think that time and chance have passed you by. The worst thing you can do in these seasons is to become complacent or despondent. Instead, PERSIST IN THE THINGS THAT WILL PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR DESTINY... And, Stay ready! The worst thing you can do is to not be ready when God opens a door for you.

Be Blessed,
Written by Frederick A Hanna

A Challenge to the Black Church

article here: Blacks, Mirroring Larger U.S. Trend, 'Come Out' As Nonbelievers

Frederick A Hanna


I don't honestly see this as a threat to the Black Church, but a challenge. I hate when people criticize black churches without having spent significant time inside of them. AND when I say "inside" I don't mean some jaded experience you had that disenchanted and marred you as a youth, nor do I mean a cursory outsider's perspective based on your intellectual opinion.

Nonetheless, statements like,

"...religious principles get in the way of effectively addressing the social ills facing the black community, including a higher proportion of HIV and AIDS cases compared with other races and ethnicities."

AND

"... black churches are sometimes be part of the problem, not the solution... We need clinics, jobs, and schools in black neighborhoods... We need proactive solutions, and praying and churches is not the answer." (which I would change to "is not the full extent of the answer")

are at least partially true for far too many churches. Movements like this should force churches to critically analyze their role in society in a post modern age. Preaching and praying isn't enough. I have said it before, it's not enough to "have" church we have got to "be" the church. Far too many Christians don't truly understand what that means because they have become ensnared by religion. Still, as a good friend of mine once told me, "you can't blame the people for that, it's what they've been taught."

Remember who killed Jesus? Religious folk! The religious elite... the establishment...

Having said all of that, if I'm going to roll the dice, I'm rolling with Jesus!

Building a Better Teacher

Doug Lemov gets to the point... well, at least one of the points that are of importance when looking at educational outcomes... "The smarter path to boosting student performance, Lemov maintains, is to improve the quality of the teachers who are already teaching."


This is the path I favor in improving educational outcomes. We can't just sellout and fire all of the teachers in failing schools. We have to help the ones who need help and want it. If they don't want it, then out they go. Too many teachers are victims of poor training, and I don't think it's fair to hold them accountable where the system has failed them without offering to help make up the difference. We also need to elevate the standards for those coming into the classroom now and in the future so that the cycle is ended, and we need to pay teachers in accordance with the significance of the job they do.

Nothing new in this article from my perspective. It's just something that needs to be said. Subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical competence add up to good teaching. PERIOD


Building a Better Teacher - NYT Article

School’s Shake-Up Is Embraced by the President

If an entire faculty needs to be fired - which I find hard to believe yet not impossible - then there are clearly some deep and pervasive issues here.

School’s Shake-Up Is Embraced by the President - NYT Article

Bill Perkins Opposes Charter Schools Popular in Harlem

Mr. Perkins' voice needs to be heard. I'm with him insofar as questioning the wholesale selling out of public schools that seems to be being advocated today. If bureaucracy is such a huge issue for public schools, then let's change the system so that we can devise better ways to educate!

“When you are dying of thirst, you will drink whatever is wet,” Mr. Perkins said of the parents who yearn for more charter schools. “You are at the mercy of whoever is holding out some hope for you. So I don’t see the number of applicants as evidence of success for charters, I see it as evidence of failure of others.”

Bill Perkins Opposes Charter Schools Popular in Harlem - NYTimes.com

Time and Space

I read a great essay yesterday by Ira Berlin, entitled “Time, Space, and the Evolution of Afro-American Society on British Mainland North America.” I read the article on the advice of Hilary Moss (Schooling Citizens: The Struggle for African American Education in Antebellum America)who recently commented on a draft of my dissertation proposal. She was cautioning me on an assumption that I seemed to be making in my writing that suggested a monolithic African American/Black culture in North America. While this wasn't my intention, I could see that she was correct. In my thinking, I always make the distinction between northern and southern black culture especially since I married a woman who's regional and cultural tendencies are decidedly southern.

In informal conversations I find that most Southerners think that Northerners see them as stereotypically simple and stupid (Here is a Southerner's Response). While it is probably true in many cases that Northerners see Southerners as gullible, charming folk, who speak with a drawl, drive pick up trucks, and prefer fishing to intellectually stimulating conversation; not all Northerners would agree to such stereotypical representations of our southern brothers and sisters. For me, Southerners are just different... from me. My sensibilities, likes, my style, what I am attracted to, reflects my upbringing in the urban centers of northeastern United States. Even down to what I like to experience in worship. This is something I am acutely aware of, so it was strange to think that I would write pages upon pages melding northern and southern black culture together as though they were one.

Berlin's article was helpful as it pointed to 3 distinct African American cultures developing in the 17th and 18th centuries. Distinctions which are probably still relevant today in many ways. These distinctions were mediated by time and space. Berlin suggests that one culture developed amidst a nonplantation culture in the North, a a 2nd was a Southern plantation system in the Chesapeake area, and a 3rd plantation system developed in the South Carolina and Georgia low country. To find out the particulars of the differences, I suggest you read the essay.

There are a number of things that these groups held in common however: a common African lineage, a common racial oppressor, and a common desire to create the richest life possible for themselves and their families amidst intensely difficult circumstances. Black life in the US is mediated by time and space; by social circumstances and local traditions; by cultural distinctions and regional sensibilities; and although African American life has grown immensely in diversity since the antebellum years, one might argue that it is still held together by the same commonalities today.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

US Christian Roots

Just a simple question...

If you can acknowledge the existence of racially based policies such as slavery, the near extermination of Native Americans and their removal from "their" lands, the super-exploitation and degrading utilization of Mexicans and various Asian groups as contract laborers, Jim Crow and any number of other degrading practices that were a part of US history from at least 1776-1960's... ...Can you still laud the Protestant religious foundations of the US as pure and true?

I love America and I love Jesus, but if I hear one more person talking about the Christian roots of our forefathers without acknowledging the bigotry and discrimination that excluded even most white men and all white woman from the rights of citizenship as part of the development of a liberal nation-state, I'm gonna throw up.

Holla Back!

Written by Frederick A Hanna