Bill J. Leonard Distinguished Service Award
No words – just a remix on W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Prayer for Persistence”
“Yet with joy – the prayer of our souls is a petition for persistence; not for the one good deed, not just for our single lives, or the one single thought – but deed upon deed, life upon life, hope upon hope, prayer upon prayer, until Day calling unto Day shall make a life worth living.”
"I looked at the Statue of Liberty,
but she didn't wave after me.
I said, I looked at the Statue of Liberty
but she didn't wave after me.
You see, I was born in Haiti
and the Coast Guard dumped me
in the raging seas..."
How long?
How much more long, how long?
How long?
How much more long, how long?
I wanna know how much more longer
Is I'm just gon' have to wait on you?
Song: How Long?
(Lyrics by Sweet Honey in the Rock)
Remember when, as the New York Times front page headline termed, “Reagan Orders Aliens Stopped on the High Seas”? And no one seemed to care that dozens drowned a month later as boats overturned off Florida. Maybe because they were “aliens”?
Remember when US Border Patrol Agents on horseback herded Haitian refugees like cattle? And everybody seemed to be ok because the Agents may have used unnecessary force on human beings, but at least they didn’t hit them?
Remember when Donald Trump lifted a baseless lie on international television, accusing immigrants of eating pets? And with a few weak “fact check” comments from moderators, the debate between Trump and Kamala Harris went on as if there was no reason to be concerned about the implications of a dehumanizing lie from the unhinged leader of a national political party on the lives of the every day Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio.
How long?
That’s it. That is the prayer.
How long, how much more long, how long?
Day 3: Advent Promises – Change is Coming!
Isaiah 9:5-7 (The Message)
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood, will be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He’ll take over the running of the world.
His names will be:
Amazing Counselor,
Strong God, Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He’ll rule from the historic David throne
over that promised kingdom.
He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will do all this.
*******
I don’t remember where I found this photo – maybe Twitter or Facebook – don’t know. I didn’t take it and I don’t know the child in the photo. But when I saw the caption, my heart fluttered. Santa, I don’t want any games – I want justice.
And One is coming who has promised peace, love, abundant life and justice …
A Voice In Ramah 