So….*sigh* For those of you who only follow certain sports, hockey is now in the playoffs as one team aspires to become the 2012 Stanley Cup champions. The Washington Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins in an overtime win in Game 7 and the goal was scored by Joel Ward….a black guy.  Ward (based on a Yahoo article), is a black Canadian whose parents emigrated from Barbados. Following his game winning goal there was a fire storm on twitter from people upset, that a (insert most appropriate racial slur) scored the game winning ...Read More »

While at the airport earlier this week my wife and I overheard a man talking about the time he spent with his grandparents and their stories about growing up during the Great Depression.  They had to barter and work with their neighbors in order to survive.  He said, “Imagine waking up tomorrow and Walmart and Target saying your money was no good, or going to your bank and them not allowing you to get your money out or your ATM cards not working.”  It would be a crazy day if that happened. In our society we rely on Google for information, ...Read More »

The Trayvon Martin case is moving along at a decent speed.  They have charged Mr. Zimmerman with second degree murder, understanding that, “every murder is a homicide, but every homicide is not a murder” at least that’s what the Wall Street Journal said. I digress. The greater question is, “Now what?” This phrase has a deeper meaning for me than just this particular case.  The first funeral I ever assisted with as a minister was for a young child that had committed suicide.  The child was a “good kid.”  They got good grades, but their siblings were ...Read More »

My last blog post on Trayvon Martin has created some commentary that I would like to briefly unpack.  The main question is why is everyone supporting and rallying for Trayvon when there is so much going on in their own communities that they do not rally behind?  I will entertain the question though - quite honestly - I think it is injudicious to even ask it. First, the fact that shootings – and other heartbreaking incidents - occur often should not diminish this family’s situation. Most importantly, this case does have an ...Read More »

As more and more information surfaces regarding Trayvon Martin, more questions have to be asked.  In a case that should ultimately take care of itself, more and more work has been warranted to prove that something is indeed wrong with a 17-year old unarmed African-American male being shot and killed. Leaders and activists are having to rally and protest to get the smallest amount of justice in a case that seems very clear cut.  However, a man is being justified in his actions as a homegrown neighborhood watch captain gone bad.  ...Read More »

When I originally became aware of this story, I thought it would take care of itself.  As more evidence and information became available and the tapes from the 911 calls were released, I thought surely this would take care of itself. Yet, leaders and activists are having to rally and protest to get the smallest amount of justice in a case that seems very clear cut.  However, a man is being justified in his actions as a homegrown neighborhood watch captain gone bad.  The justice system in the state of Florida ...Read More »