Seeking freedom in perpetual struggle

This is the sermon Carl W. Kenney II preached for the launch of Liberation Station, home of the Underground Church, on Sunday, August 18, 2019. As part of the ongoing work of these ministries, Kenney, the spiritual leader, will publish his sermons on the Rev-elution each week. 

Luke 4:16-21 ¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ¹⁸"The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor." ²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Introduction

The journey from the wilderness to the temple reveals of myriad of hurting people. We pass them by. We watch them linger in misery without blinking an eye. We travel in the comfort of our privilege – headed to the temple to pray.

We watch them from a distance. On our way to the temple.

We witness their misery

On our way to pray.

We see the vastness of brokenness

We see the consequences of not enough

We see the torture of dreams deferred

We see homeless people with no faith

We see the torment of isolation.

People walking like zombies

Dead men and women walking

On our way to the temple

To pray.

To sing.

To hear words to validate our pretension

We witness the slow-motion movement of men and women walking in the streets.

Underpaid workers

Hungry children

Molested women

We watch them on our way to the temple

We hear the cries of racist indignation

Go back to where you come from

Lock her up

Build a wall

On our way to the temple

To hear good preaching

to shout when the holy ghost comes

To sing about trouble don’t last always

We witness the hypocrisy of our teaching.

On our way to church

I would like to use my sanctified imagination of the black preaching tradition to conjure a thought regarding the context for today’s scripture.

I imagine Jesus walking from the wilderness – to the temple

I imagine Jesus spending time alone to reflect, mediate and pray – before heading to the synagogue

I imagine Jesus engrossed in thought regarding what it means to be used by God -before going to Church

I imagine Jesus grappling with taking the easy rode before traveling down those tough streets.

I imagine he saw some things.

I imagine he felt something

With every step

With every sight

With each disappointment.

The sight of political corruption – high taxation, no representation

The smell of inadequate health care

The sound of deceitful teaching

Women, take your husbands abuse

Bring your hard-earned earnings to the church

Feed the system when you can’t eat

I imagine Jesus witnessing all of it

The brokenness

The frustration

The pain

The indifference

The silence

The assumptions

The privilege

On his way to Church, Jesus watched it

Did you watch it today, on your way to Church?

I like to think that Jesus felt what I felt while on my way to the temple

Did you feel it

Did you weep for the children?

Did you cry for the mothers isolated from their children because they’re trying to find freedom?

Did you cry when hearing about more hate filled public policies.

did you weep for the victims of gun violence?

did you cry

On your way to church

To pray

To shout

To moan

If not, why not?

Did your soul cry for an answer to the question how long because how long is taking too long

Why not?

Did you pause to consider the things you take for granted in the face of indifference

Why not?

I need my sanctified imagination to help me escape the lingering madness in my head.

I see Jesus walking, from the wilderness to a place of worship.

I see Jesus headed to the synagogue, not to pray, not for worship

I see Jesus headed home, to go to church, to make a point.

To make an enduring statement. To put an end to the madness

To share how he felt and to announce what he plans to do.

I see Jesus walking, from the wilderness, to Church, as was his custom, to set the record straight.

To talk about what he saw on the way, to the church, to fight for justice

He opens the scroll to one of the pages of the great prophet, Isaiah

The prophet who wrote, But they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they will run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.

The prophet who wrote, Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

The prophet who wrote, And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here I am! Send me.

He turned to the pages of that prophet and read

"The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because she has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. She has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."

Then he rolled it up, after traveling from the wilderness

He took his seat, after making the trip from the wilderness to the temple

He looked at the church folk. He looked at the holy folks. He glared at the students of his faith tradition and says

"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Do you hear him. I hear him saying, enough is enough. I’ve seen enough. I’ve heard enough. I’m sick of talk about freedom

Let’s do this thing. Let’s bust a move. Time to make that change.

Let’s fix economic disparity, that’s what he said.

Let’s repair the criminal justice system and undo the horrific injustices of mass incarceration, he said that.

Let’s create a system that allows everyone access to healthcare, it’s there in the text.

Liberate the oppressed

Then he tells them it’s time for Jubilee. It’s time to celebrate. Let’s have a party.

But how?

How do you celebrate freedom when living with perpetual struggle?

How do you celebrate with all this chaos?

With Donald Trump?

With the uncovering of expanding racism.

How?

1.    Change the narrative

What we’re told, and what is said about us has significant bearing on how we approach life. Changing the narrative shifts the language used to define who we are

Changing the narrative exposes the lies of their definitions

Changing the narrative forces reconsideration involving history. It adds the parts taken out of textbooks about black history

Changing the narrative shifts the way we interpret scriptures. It places women in the middle.

Changing the narrative is both personal and corporate.

When I say BLACK LIVES Matter, that is about a historical interpretation. I matter now., I’ve always mattered. It changes the narrative

Liberation begins when I challenge being placed in potholes and labeled by a racist agenda.

Liberation begins when women talk about being absent from the Biblical text and being denied leadership because of their gender

Liberation begins when people say you have no hell to put me in and my relationship with God has nothing to do with the miscalculations in your imagination.

Freedom is attached to the promise in the text.

Jesus has seen enough. I’m changing the narrative of a woman dipping her bucket in the well. She’s not a ho, she a person

Jesus has seen enough, he takes the hand of a leper, and says be free

Jesus has seen enough, he uses the history of his people to teach a lesson, God told Pharaoh, let my people go.

This day, today, Is the day of jubilee.

No more walls used to define and minimize the humanity of people born a few miles away

No more public policies aimed at keeping America white

The work of faith involves changing the narrative regarding what it means to be human.

It’s an anthropological question

It’s a theological question

It’s an ethical question

It’s a question lifted in the Biblical text. It’s for us to witness.

Jesus says, I see the poor. I see the incarcerated. I see the homeless. I see LBGTQI and A. I see the isolated and I see all the people troubled in spirit.

I’m changing how you think about them

2.    Revamp the purpose

The purpose is participating in work offering liberation. Our work is about communicating wholeness. Wholeness is the answer to brokenness. Wholeness is the gift of completeness.

It’s the answer to the humans who construct limits to feel better about their place in creation. It’s the answer to language that places limits above freedom.

Limited dreams

Limited aspirations

Limited participation

Our purpose is to tear down walls that trap people into accepting less than enough.

Not enough money

Not enough access

our purpose is social justice work

our purpose is advocacy

our purpose is being present with victims of all forms of violence

rape victims

sexual harassment

murder

institutionalized violence

violent housing laws

greed is violent

Or purpose is presence for everyone in this room and for those seeking liberation from the damage created by massive pretension.

3.    Expand the vision

Jesus has seen enough. Jesus has heard enough.

He walks into a room filled with church folks. Holy people. People who know the scriptures. People who measure the divide between sheep and wolves. The gatekeepers. The advocates of tradition.

Jesus walks into that space. After spending time in the wilderness. After witnessing the consequences of the churches neglect. He watches the spiritual refugees seeking a place to call home.

He offers a solution.

It’s time for a new vision. It’s time to move past a constraining narrative. It’s time to embrace wholeness for all who need freedom

it has helped some people to hear about the need for personal salvation. Some people need to know and feel a deeper relationship with God

it has helped some people to be active in the work of a local church. To work on the usher board, sing in the choir, teach Sunday school

it has helped some people to listen to a message about heaven. It helps seeking a place away from earth for the promise of a place with no weeping, no heartache, no more death, no more sorrow.  

it helps some people to memorize scripture

to learn church doctrine

to serve in leadership

But today, Jesus says, I’m expanding the vision

He tells them they have waited long enough

The time has come

today.

right now.

it’s party time

How can this be true?

Because we are jubilee. we announce the change. we exist to celebrate change.

Not in the sweet bye and bye

Not in life after death

Today.

Right now

In the imminent here and now.

We affirm this because we are Jubilee

We represent the day of the Lord’s favor.

We bear witness to God’s changing agenda

We manifest the work of Queendom building

We are the advocates of peace.

We are the conveyors of a new vision

Let’s go. Let’s make that change. Let’s be that change.

Today. This text comes to life. Now. In this moment.

"Woke" is the language of black progressive solidarity: Checking white privilege

[Picture taken on the site where Michael Brown was killed on August 9, 2019, in Ferguson, MO. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was shot by Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer.]

Clarence Thomas messed it up for black people. Put another way, I miss the good ole days.

Back in the day, way before today’s “woke” generation, it was assumed that black people had a collective agenda. It felt good standing behind the virtuousness of a black monolithic expectations. For all that plagued black life in America, there was comfort in believing the brother/sisterhood were on the same page.

Clarence Thomas changed all of that by giving new meaning to Frantz Fanon’s book Black Skin, White Mask.  Fanon sought to present a historical critique of the effects of racism and feelings of dehumanization inherent in colonialism. Thomas introduced the reality of Black Skin, White Soul.

When Thomas was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court on October 15, 1991, it uncovered black America’s secret. Not all black people are progressive thinkers. There are black republicans, some of the most conservative ilk, who fight for causes and support people independent of the supposed black agenda.

Nothing has been the same since that day. Black pride and power came with a new verbiage to explain incongruities. He’s not really black. She’s not with us. They’re not our people. They can’t come to the family reunion. You can have her.

She’s not “woke” is another way of distancing the Clarence Thomas type black person from others who identify with the unwritten agenda of black solidarity. Black unanimity was understood and celebrated as part of the black cultural experience. It’s what happens when black people, from coast to coast, gather at family reunions and line dance to the music of Frankie Beverly & Maze. It’s the festivity of getting down with the get down during homecoming at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU). It’s the black homecoming long before Beyoncé’ introduced black culture to white Americans

It’s a black thang, and you wouldn’t understand is jargon intended to address the people who agree with Clarence Thomas. Not all people get it. Not all black people understand it. Not all black people care about being black.

Being “woke” is another way of saying you’re not down with causes that impact black people. “Woke” is black talk aimed at censuring black people who don’t care about being black. It also applies to the embrace of viewpoints outside the purview of the unwritten, national, black manifesto.

You’re either with us black or seduced into a deep sleep. You’re either down with the televised black revolution or protecting the master’s property like Uncle Tom on the plantation.

Being “woke” is black talk. It is created, adapted, endorsed and inspired by cultural variance, nuances and concerns of black people confronted by the ongoing influence of white supremacy, institutionalized racism and assumptions of white privilege.

It’s a black thang, you wouldn’t understand.

White power, white supremacy, and all of its side demons are managed by the influence of cultural appropriation – the inappropriate espousal of customs, practices, ideas and language of black people. White people have taken “woke” and named as their own creation. White people have taken the continuing movement of black people to obtain and maintain progress and named it a progressive movement.

The search to undo the outcomes of slavery, post-reconstruction, Jim Crow legislation, voter repression and the ongoing quest to maintain white domination is the work of black progressive movement. Progress is the goal of the unwritten manifesto of the black collective vision.

Black progress is about sharing the wealth, getting our share and being outspoken about what black people deserve after years of deprived progress. What the black delegation doesn’t need is a gang of white progressives defining what progress means. These are labels created to assert power and privilege defined by white people who have stolen the language of “woke” to separate themselves from other white people.

Step back. Take notes, and please back away from asserting high levels of cultural appropriation in declaring the merit of black people. We got this. We’ll keep our folks in check.

In the meantime, check your white folks.

We good?

Durham’s local jazz scene gets a dedicated stage at The Fruit on select Monday nights

[Mavis Swan Poole performs with the Brian Horton Quartet on September 16th at The Fruit as part of a jazz-infused "support local" campaign highlighting the talents of established and emerging artists with Durham roots.]

DURHAM, NC — On Monday, August 12, 2019, a concert series dedicated to spotlighting locally grown (or based) masters of the jazz idiom kicks off at The Fruit in downtown Durham. The series will celebrate local jazz talent in a setting that mirrors a metropolitan jazz club, on select Monday nights. Titled straightforwardly, Local Jazz reimagines The Fruit to stage concerts that encourage distinguished bandleaders, rising stars, and ambitious students to explore new and original material, record live performances, and/or release albums locally before launching regional or national tours.

Despite Durham’s abundance of talent, many local jazz standouts weather the rite of passage that is low-paying gigs at area bars and eateries — where crowds talk loudly over their masterful playing or peek sparingly at them between bites. Once they’ve outgrown that tedious ceremony there’s little else that pays, save for opportunities at the intimate and beloved Sharp 9 Gallery. As a result, the demand for larger, more attentive audiences has grown and a series that offers opportunities for burgeoning and established local jazz musicians to evolve and expand their reach is much needed.  

Given Durham’s long-standing love affair with jazz, it’s unsurprising to note the incomparable talents who have honed their craft here (Stanley Baird, Alvin Atkinson, Chip Crawford, and Eve Cornelious), or the renowned icons that have made the city their home (Branford Marsalis, Nnenna Freelon, Kate McGarry, and Joey Calderazzo). Add the unrivaled Jazz Studies program at North Carolina Central University and the result is a deep — and continually replenishing — pool of local talent deserving of a space to showcase their ability.

The series will be hosted by much-loved singer-songwriter and cellist, Shana Tucker. Upcoming concerts include:

8/12 — 99 Brass Band ($15)

An extemporized reunion of veteran bandleaders and notable NCCU alumni has morphed into an eight-piece outfit of masterful players with a distinctive lilt that calls to mind the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The spirited good-time is a time-traveling adventure that reinterprets years of New Orleans brass band magic and expands the idiom’s lexicon. 

8/19 — 60th Anniversary Celebration of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue | Lynn Grissett Sextet ($20)

On August 17, 1959, jazz giants turned their back on standard chord progressions and introduced the understated warmth of modality to a world that would be forever changed. The release of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue — the most important, influential, and best-selling jazz record of all time — represented an instantly successful and universally acknowledged masterpiece, revered as much by rock and classical music fans as by jazz lovers. Kind of Blue is not only regarded as the seminal work in Davis’ remarkable catalog, but the “painterly masterpiece” is regularly included in debates as the greatest album of all time (Rolling Stone). 

Renowned for his tenure as a member of Prince’s peerless New Power Generation, Grissett’s trumpet playing is near-mythic. Boasting a spellbinding tone and pitch-perfect soloing, Grissett has earned countless awards that have propelled him into the musical company of Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Branford Marsalis, Maceo Parker, Larry Graham, Liv Warfield, Trombone Shorty, and others. Along the way, he’s performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Montreux Jazz Festival, The Arsenio Hall Show, and Essence Festival.

8/26 — Annalisa and Zen Poets ($15)

Annalisa is a lauded saxophonist, composer, arranger, and founder of the euphonious force that is Zen Poets. Her prodigious playing is matched by an uncanny ability to pen imaginative, fiery, and yet, sweet-sounding jazz that has earned her the praise of DownBeat magazine and national notoriety as a forward-looking composer. Together with Zen Poets — drummer Jasmine Best, bassist Aaron Gross, and guitarist Gabriel Dansereau — remarkable originals are buoyed by likeminded and accomplished players with the shared intention of familiarizing ears with the exquisiteness of unanticipated phrases.

9/9 — Ernest Turner Trio ($20)

A brilliant career spanning twenty years recently surged ever higher with the release of My Americana: a courageous ode to the African-American songbook that imbues Turner’s contemplative flair into Stevie Wonder’s “If it’s Magic” and Thomas A. Dorsey’s “Precious Lord,” and homes them next to inspired originals. The result is an unquestionable masterpiece from a virtuosic pianist who has played alongside or recorded with Raphael Saadiq, Delfeayo Marsalis, John Legend, and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

9/16 — Brian Horton Quartet with special guest Mavis Swan Poole ($20)

Distinguished by the honeyed hum of his inimitable playing, Dr. Horton’s cerebral compositions are regularly cited by ethnomusicologists, featured in films by notable documentarians, and studied by aspiring jazz masters. A peerless composer and saxophone maestro, Dr. Horton thoughtfully crafts warming melodies that make him a favorite of purists and casual listeners alike. Dr. Horton is joined by Mavis Swan Poole, the revered vocalist that legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller unequivocally deemed “Little Ella.”

10/21 — Shaquim Muldrow Quartet ($15)

A rising star whose emotive playing is colored by a velvet tone and ingenious phrasing, Shaquim Muldrow embodies Sonny Rollins’ effortless cool and Don Byas’ buoyant stride. The dazzling tenor saxophonist freewheels through improvised solos with a mesmeric flair, interspersing technical prowess and nonconformist ideas throughout. By all accounts, it won’t be long before the star is aligned with his trajectory.

10/28 — Shana Tucker & Brian Horton present John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman ($22)

Shana Tucker & Brian Horton reimagine the quintessential ballad jazz recording John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman with a full-length retelling that embraces definitive standards including “Lush Life,” “They Say it’s Wonderful,” and “My One and Only Love.” With Tucker deftly navigating the iconic balladeer’s romantic baritone, and Horton’s signature warmth striding in step as a modern-day Trane, the idyllic pair add nuance to one of love’s essential soundtracks.

11/4 — The Christian Tamburr Quartet featuring Kate McGarry ($25)

Christian Tamburr is an internationally renowned vibraphonist, pianist, composer, and arranger with an awe-inspiring resume spanning sixty-seven countries and regular performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Newport Jazz Festival. The stellar vibraphonist is a five-time “Critics Choice Top Rising Star” who DownBeat magazine has honored with its “Outstanding Solo Jazz Performance” award. Tamburr’s astonishing career includes tenancies as Musical Director and Pianist for Latin vocal legend Julio Iglesias, Cirque du Soleil in Macau China, Landau Eugene Murphy, and Penn & Teller; playing vibraphone alongside pianist Dave Brubeck and as a featured solo percussionist with Michael Feinstein; and performing live at private events for Michael Jordan and Julia Roberts.

After two Grammy nominations (2019 and 2009) for Best Jazz Vocal Album and six critically acclaimed releases, Kate McGarry is widely recognized as an incomparable jazz artist whose voice is “heartfelt, intelligent, and unforgettable” (All About Jazz). Her many extraordinary accomplishments include appearances on Piano Jazz, All Things Considered, Jazz Set with Dee Dee Bridgewater, performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Birdland, Newport Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Fest, and Jazz Baltica. Along the way, McGarry’s outsized talent has empowered her to perform, record, or tour with a host of lauded jazz luminaries including Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Archie Shepp, Fred Hersch, Kurt Elling, Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck, and Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown.

11/11 — Ariel Pocock Quartet ($18)

Ariel Pocock is a pianist, vocalist, and composer who has achieved international acclaim headlining performances at Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the 2014 Jazz Cruise, the Tokyo Jazz Festival, the Quebec City International Jazz Festival, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. The 25-year-old’s original compositions draw inspiration from an impressive array of sources that demonstrates her sprawling musical lexicon: Cuban and Brazilian folk music, the Great American Songbook, modern jazz composers such as Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, and songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, and Paul Simon. On the young talent’s sophomore release Living In Twilight, Pocock surrounds herself with some of the jazz world’s foremost A-listers and crafts “an all-embracing set that simultaneously marks her as a reflective and questioning soul with an open mind and an artist with a confident and strong vision of self” (All About Jazz).

Doors open at 7pm. Shows start at 7:30pm.

All concerts are general admission. Tickets are ONLY available online & in advance.

Tickets to all shows are on sale now. For program updates please visit Local Jazz and/or The Fruit.

Presenting partners include: WNCU, Ruggero Piano, The Fruit, and Studio Harbor.

This is a Race War

I was taught not to be ashamed of being a Christian.

I was taught to wave the Christian flag with pride and to lead others to Jesus with passion.

Not anymore.

It’s hard admitting I’m a minister. In the minds of many, I’m the worst type – a Baptist. Although I claim affiliation as an American Baptist, people don’t understand the difference between the people I hang with versus those waving the flag of white supremacy.

That’s the point that makes it hard to admit I’m a Christian. It’s Donald Trump and the Christian who embrace his version of American religion. They sing “God Bless America” with a fervor that propagandizes superiority over everyone else. God made us and grants us massive provision – if you’re white – to authenticate reign over the rest of the world – they suggest. “God Bless America”, and to Hell with everyone else

This is the type of theological hypothesis oozing from the venom of Trump supporters who showed up in Greenville, NC last night They showed up with the oomph of a tent revival to endorse the aspiration to send all critics of White Supremacist Christian perspective “back to where they came from.”

Back where?

Back to wherever people who look and think like you live.

In other words, get your black, brown, female ass out of OUR country.

This is a mugging of theologies affirming “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in Her sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

The call to “send her back” repudiates the humanity of anyone who isn’t white.

The relevant questions for folks like me are WTF and what should we say?

It’s the absence of conversations from pastors, prophets and church folks that disturbs me the most. What y’all got to say bout all of this? What names do you give to confront these demons? Yes, demons. Yes, evil incarnate for the purpose of undoing the work of Jesus. Yes, “get behind me Satan.” Yes, all of that and more.

What do you say? Let me help you with that. You begin by calling it what it is. Stop pretending it is something else. Stop the maddening game of speaking language aimed at identifying with these evil people. Call it out. Name it. Scream it. Don’t play games with this evil.

What is it?

This is racism. We have a racist president who uses racist jargon to lure us into a race war. Your president, not mine, is intentionally using racism to pit the Americans who want to make “America Great”, I mean White, “Again” against the people who have fought for centuries to be seen, heard and understood.

In addition to Trump agitating a race war, this is a theological battle. This is a clash to define what it means to be human. Trump is re-establishing a hierarchy of power with white men on top and people of color skirmishing to climb from the bottom

Trump is upholding a theology that assumes white men are created, by God, with more power than white women, black men, black women and all immigrants (and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) from shithole countries. This is manifest destiny on reboot. This time, the expansion of America is not only justifiable, being American is defined as white people called to deport, criticize, attack, lock-up, rape and kill everyone else.

Trumps agenda is the fulfillment of the eugenics movement, a set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality by eliminating other races. This is the theology of white supremacy that electrified Hitler’s Third Reich.

Trump demands getting “woke”.

It’s hard being a Christian when people remain on the sideline with perched lips.

Being “woke” requires a will to fight.

Fight

The Curse of the Loud Negro

   This is the first of a series of essays aimed at pressing theological questions advancing liberation. These essays reflect the theology of Carl W. Kenney II, curator of this blog and founder of Liberation Station, home of the Underground Church, a new faith community plant in Durham, NC. For more information on Liberation Station email us at: liberationstationnc@gmail.com         




             It started on yesterday during a conversation at Bean Traders, a locally owned coffeehouse in Durham, NC.

            “Racism will never end because it’s a generational curse,” a new friend offered in response to a question from an open-minded white dude who wanted to know “if we can all just get along. I interjected a few thoughts from Derrick Bell’s book Faces from the Bottom of the Well: The Permeance of Racism to refute notions that we will someday soon experience a post-racism society.

            Like Bell, I’m not down with talk from progressives involving the pursuit of enlightenment that will lead to justice for all people. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s view regarding advancement toward inclusion via a strategy of black kids and white kids walking together no longer satisfies my urge for an enduring fix.

            That was strike one. Strike two happened later that night during talks involving the formation of a ministry designed for black men.

            “We need to talk to men about the curse. We can’t make progress because we are trapped by a curse,” a potential leader of the ministry offered.

            Check please.

            As grueling as it has been for me to listen to black people talk about being cursed, there are thoughts implicit in these discussions that expose thoughts and actions pertaining to black identity. These nuances affect how black people speak about communal sin and the “curse” as a manifestation of God’s judgement and displeasure of black people. The construction of these thoughts reflects both internal and external theological presuppositions that complicate efforts aimed at achieving authentic wholeness.

            Conceptions of contemporary ideas of the “curse” are contrived from poor interpretations of African religion. The “curse” fits within the cosmology of Vodu, Vodum, Voodoo and other religions of the African diaspora, but notions that relate the “curse” as judgement against an entire race reflect the theology of the antebellum South. In addition, more contemporary views related to the “curse” reflect the theology of White Evangelical Christian formation.

            Philosophies that advance the generational curse of black people are used to promote the goals of White Evangelical theological views aimed at demoralizing efforts to liberate black people from self-hate and subjugation. These theories arouse suspicion of people offering alternative theological claims. The “curse” is the enemy of freedom.

            The Curse of the Loud Negro is the label given the men and women advocating for liberation, justice and peace, versus a gospel that preaches salvation without an accounting for the impact of evil systems.

            The curse follows Assata Shakur’s speech.  It’s the consequence Angela Davis, Fred Hampton, Harry and Harriette Moore, Martin and Malcolm endured for speaking. The “curse” is the perceived punishment for speaking. Speaking resulted in Malcolm X’s father’s death. The generational curse was his own death. Dr. King’s death is followed by his mother’s death. What happens when the perception involves their activism being punished as part of an ongoing generational curse?

The Epistemology of the Generational Curse

Vodum in the American Christian Context

Black people talk a lot about curses. Some of it relates to the influence of Vodum, a traditional African religion which influenced the development of the religion of the slaves. Al Raboteau, in Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South, argues the slaves merged Vodum with Christianity to create a unique expression of their faith. The religion of the slaves reflects the faith of activism and freedom. Vodum uncovers the faith of retribution. Put another way, the Lord gonna check the white man for all he done to us.

The notion of giving and receiving curses is deeply rooted in the faith and culture of the Africa diaspora in Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vudu, Cuban Vodu, Brazilian Vodum, Puerto Rican Vudu and Louisiana Voodoo. Understanding the faith and practice of black people necessitates an examination of African religions and their influence in advancing black religious thought in the Americas. It uncovers the faith of a people who believed in vengeance for the evils of slavery.

Understanding Vodum cosmology is an important step in helping black people understand the distinction between the theology and practice of white versus black Christianity. It is also important to stress how giving and receiving curses isn’t restricted to African religion. Theological suppositions centering around curses used to punish disobedience is taught as a theme among most faith traditions.

Black people should own teachings that affirms Vodum spirits governing the earth in a hierarchy with major deities governing nature and humans to minor spirits that manage trees and rocks. Vodum is a celebration of our relationship with nature, our ancestors and unity. The curse, in Vodum, is used as a response to someone who has wronged you. It’s used to obtain justice. These curses are passed down through the family for generations, but we should be careful in relating messages that support notions of generational curses based exclusively on race.

The usage of terminology defining systemic evil as a generational curse minimizes institutionalized sin. We should be careful with language used to justify actions and suffering prolonged for multiple generations. The curse explains generational poverty, incarceration, health disparities, substance abuse and other mental illnesses. It justifies these maladies as a curse thrust upon black people due to generational sins.

The curse, as understood in Vodum, isn’t a generational curse aimed at punishing a race. We should avoid theology that asserts the curse of a race. It’s a practice aimed at attacking a slaveowner or anyone who causes damage.

The Curse of Ham

The story of Noah’s vilification of his son Ham was used by Southern slave advocates to justify slavery as the punishment for all black people. Ham and his descendants are blamed for a variety of crimes and evil conduct. Ham is framed as a sexual offender, heretic, supporter of demons and blasphemer.

Frederick Dalcho wrote Practical Considerations Founded on the Scriptures Relative to the Slave Population of South-Carolina in 1823. Dalcho argues the Bible proves black people forfeited immortality due to Ham’s sin. "And, perhaps, we shall find," he writes, "that the negroes, the descendants of Ham, lost their freedom through the abominable wickedness of their progenitor…Canaan’s whole race were under the malediction. These people were peculiarly wicked, and obnoxious to the wrath of God."

Robert L. Dabney, a Presbyterian minister, added commentary to the curse on all black people in A Defence of Virginia published in 1867. He called black people ‘wicked, ‘depraved” and “degraded in morals” and argues slavery as God’s "punishment of, and remedy for . . . the peculiar moral degradation of a part of the race.” He argues the disgraceful actions of Ham is a serious transgression that dictated the terms of his, (and his son Canaan) being cursed. Genesis Chapter 9 is interpreted as a prediction of social fatality and retribution for all descendants of Ham and Canaan with a form of punishment that reflects the impact of the sin.

This reading of Genesis 9 honors the life and witness of Noah (white people) while attacking Ham (black slaves). It assumed Ham, as the ancestor of Africans and slaves, lacked honor worthy of defeating the consequences of slavery. Slavery is understood as a generational curse inherited from Ham.

Self-imposed Curses

It’s the next step after the “name it, claim it craze”. After enduring assumptions that black people are cursed because they are black, we now have a theology that asserts the curse is their fault.

You asked for it by speaking it into existence. Your words evoke the power of life and death. This is the new language of the curse.

All of us can gain from critical lessons involving the miracle of old-fashioned positive thinking. Most of us have gained insight after avoiding all of that stinking thinking. Beyond the forming of theologies that blame victims for their pain, what is the merit in conjuring a theology that promotes the damage of self-imposed curses? Even more, what are the consequences related to assuming the presence of a curse based on what a person says? What happens to the life and dreams of those who speak with prophetic urgency the will to overcome institutionalized obstructions?

What happens to loud Negroes who spew negative words to advocate for change? Are they cursed for speaking loudly? If so, can we assume their death, both physically and emotionally, to be a curse rooted in their screaming? If so, thoughts related to assumptions involving being cursed force the proliferation of silence. The curse of the loud Negro fosters a culture of silence.

These notions involving being cursed - as a generational matter, as factors driven by race or a consequence of what a person says – bring to the forefront perceptions of black identity. When theology is used to rationalize human pain, left out is critical space to examine what it means to be made in God’s imagine outside the norms of white normativity. Black people aren’t suffering because of historical communal sin factored by race. Black people aren’t suffering due to a failure to abide by the rules of respectability. Black people are suffering due to institutions created to advance the goals of white supremacy.

We need to say all of that.

The curse isn’t being black. The curse is a derivative of the counter-culture black people create to advance beyond the systems formed to keep them trapped in spaces reserved for black people. Crime is a response to subjugation. Laws are created to maintain control. Ham’s proclivity for sinful behavior, an assertion not found in the text, isn’t the result of his black DNA.

Black people aren’t cursed due to how they dress. Culture is not a reflection of immorality. It’s an expression of communal identity.  Black people aren’t cursed due to what they eat, how they speak or by their music. Black people aren’t cursed because of Hip-Hop music.

Self-imposed curses are presented as what we bring upon ourselves by the words we speak. In this sense, the curse is what black people receive for speaking their truth. One blogger wrote, “we are actually cursing ourselves. When we say “I am no good” or I am useless” or I will never be able to overcome this sin or problem” or” let this misfortune happen to me” we are pronouncing a curse on ourselves..

Only if it were that simple

It may be true that circulating negative messages can produce unhealthy outcomes. When faced with the realty of institutionalized evils, claiming those outcomes as a self-imposed curse shifts the culpability on what people say versus the institutions and practices used to damage the souls of black people.

The Curse of the Loud Negro

Language matters. How we talk about sin and punishment reflects fundamental theological views. It matters when theological messages assert pain as the burden of race or the corollary of an historical family sin. Applying principals of personal salvation (your own “come to Jesus” moment) in the face of theology that continues to hold you hostage for sin beyond your realm of control, deflates and confuses the message of the Gospel. If suffering is a construction of a “root” placed on a long dead family member, or the function of the Biblical curse of all black people, there is the absence of places to apply the message of grace. Even more significant is the forfeiture of a message calling for prophetic utterances aimed at addressing institutionalized evils.

If the naming and embrace of truth as evident in the daily lives of hurting people triggers a traumatic – self-imposed curse – then the witness of the Church is diminished by a theology promising a curse for conjuring negativity. This type of theology leads to a feel-good faith reflective of televangelist who spread the good news with no comfort for those lingering in the madness of their bad news.

The curse of the loud Negro is the silencing of messages that liberates people to move beyond the assumptions of White Evangelical theological views.