“Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more”

I feel in love with this line (in fact the entire soliloquy) from Shakespeare’s classic play Macbeth during my high school years. It spoke to me about the brevity of life and the dearth of leadership within my community.  As most teenagers I had a developing sense of concern about my ability to do anything meaningful with my life. Through the years, I have tried not only to make good on “giving something back” to the African American community but also to whatever context I find myself.  My life’s work has been made easier by friends I have met along the way who exhibit the same selfless passion and love for community.

Last night, I got a call informing me that someone whom I have adored working with had tragically died in a car accident. I don’t really know how to explain what became of me during the first seconds of the call; I was still but the world around me unashamedly moved on.  Such a surreal experience to hear of a close friend’s death!

I am mourning this great friend and gifted preacher’s death.  In some way I am also mourning the fact that the rest of the world is not also in visible mourning with me.  It seems to me that when you lose someone close to you, the whole world ought be made to stand still and mourn with you.  Yes, it is a nonsensical statement but it is how grief makes you feel.

Grief placed my body, if but for a few seconds, in catatonic shock. Forget the food that needs to be cooked; forget the errands that need to be done; forget the phone that needs to be answered; forget the door that needs to be opened.  Nothing should take place, everything must stand still in honor of the ineffable friendship we once shared.  ”Let it wait” was my visceral reaction.

And now even sleep must wait until I can say, until I have written, until I can share what a wonderful, beautiful person Reverend Joseph Roberson was. Shakespeare was wrong but I’m not mad at Shakespeare.  He didn’t know my friend.  What is more, he didn’t know yours.

Let the “stuff” of life stand still for a few moments.  Call someone you love and tell them how much they mean to you. Don’t send one of those “chain letter” -been “FWDed” fifty million times piece of junk.  Do it the old school way, YOU make the call; this thing is personal.

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South African runner Caster Semenya will be allowed to keep both her prize money and gold medal for winning the 800-meter race at the World Championships held earlier this year in Berlin.  Though the results of her gender tests remain confidential, so much has been alleged about the analysis of the tests that the matter has become the proverbial “cat out of the bag.” Now the chatter of running enthusiasts has kicked into full gear as an intersexed woman who has outward female genitalia and internal male testes must wait for the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) to decide Semenya’s eligibility to continue competing as a woman.

What I find most disturbing about this case is the lengths people will go to in order to protect their notions about what it is to “be a woman” or “be a man” in this world. How many innocent babies have been subject to the sadistic taunts of other children who accused them of “acting” in ways antithetical to their presented gender? How many adults have participated in risky behavior or done things so out of line with their character simply to “prove” themselves or to show how really “masculine” or “feminine” they could be?

Here’s what we know: Caster Semenya loves running and she’s good at it. I certainly hope something will be done so that she and any other runner or athlete like her will be allowed to continue competing.  By the way: Are there any unisex track events for runners? Just a thought…

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I recently read an article that showed how vulnerable the social network site, Facebook is to hackers. The group “Control Your Image” was able to get valuable information about Facebook members by hacking into groups where the administrator was no longer active.  With members’ information, the hackers were able to send out some horrible posts using the members’ names.  Friends were receiving strange messages totally out of character and wondering what was going on with their dear friends

I enjoy Facebook and have been able to catch up to old friends and make new friends through it.  I have always been uncomfortable joining groups, causes and any of those tools (especially those fun little games) that clearly state you will have to allow it to access some  of your profile information in order for you to sign on.  I’ve always felt that was too much access and too much potential for my personal information to be stolen.  Now, once again, I agree with that old saying, “Follow your first mind.”  My sneaky suspicion has proven correct.

Just another reason to enjoy these sites but be careful, very careful.

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A few days ago I visited the DuSable Museum of African American History here in Chicago.  The museum is uniquely this country’s first and oldest such tribute to the history and culture of African Americans.

One of the most difficult artifacts on the walls of the museum’s civil rights exhibit is the historic photo of the open casket where the swollen, beaten and mutilated body of Emmett Till lay in rest.  The 1955 murder of this young 14-year-old child mobilized the civil rights movement and remains a point of deep pain for many Americans involved in the movement and is particularly poignant for African Americans of that generation and those following.  Though I was born several years later, it was recounted to my peers and myself many times.  This telling and retelling of this horrible true story is indicative of its place as one of those tragic “lest we forget” events in the psyche of Black America.

This year, October 28th, President Obama signed into law the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act which expands the existing federal hate crime laws to now grant federal protection on the basis of gender, gender identity and disability.  The law was named after two men who were murdered for no other reasons than racism and homophobia.  Matthew Shepard was tortured and left to die tied to a fence in Wyoming in 1998 because of his sexual orientation. James Byrd was tied and dragged behind a truck in Texas, in 1998 because he was black.  It has been over a decade since these crimes and over a half century since the murder of Emmett Till.

Despite the opposition from  the politicians representing the state of Wyoming, the law was enacted with overwhelming approval.  I’m so thankful for this new law! Creating this law was - has been - the right thing to do.  For the memory of Till, Shepard, James and so many more.

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I had the privilege of sitting at a table of scholars gathered together to review the upcoming pastoral letter which is a rewriting of the 1986 Council of Bishops’ letter entitled, “In Defense of Creation.”  The new document focuses on three areas: 1) pandemic poverty and disease, 2) environmental degradation, and 3) the proliferation of weaponry and violence.  Very often, these areas are handled as single entities.  I am thrilled to know that the bishops of the United Methodist Church are - at least at this time - acknowledging these as all interrelated.  Of course, why not?!!! Read the rest of this entry »

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