U('/;f1;tJII
.�
increase
soon.
But the proble don't ub-
id h . The ystem, be it na­
tionally, politically or
eoonomically,' corrupt and is
eel for a downfall. This 'fall'
. not the falling off of a cliff, but
the fall from your piritual
power and moral decay. It
ca the whole of humanity to
depreciate and as a ult, we
H t D
when inatructiDl Joehua in t
d molition of the wi city of
Jericho. All of th marching and
blowing of trum at t
ld tim b p bring down t
alla of t city. umerology
evident in the d of
Pharaoh . th of
abundance and van y of
famine throughout the land of
Egypt.
The p ging boo of iah
23 speaks of rebellious nation
that will be rejected by the Su­
preme Being. This chapter .
clearly peaking of America and
her wick! ; .... Ah, inful na­
tion, a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evil doe , children
given to corruption. .. Your eoun­
try i de olate, your citie
IN THE 23rd Boo of th
N T nt i 1 t John. Th
nd chapter i Nets not
to love th world or eything in
it. That this world belongs to Sa­
tan and it is going out while the
D w world is coming in: "Do not
love the orld or anything in the
orld. If anyon 10 the world,
the love of the Father is not in
hi •
m.
Love oftha orld is defined as
By Marian Wright EdelInan
Some of us believe in New
Year's resolutions, some of us
don't. We've all made and broken
enough promises about diet, ex­
ercise, budgets, cleaner closets,
better manners and ending bad
habits to make us reluctant to
commit to even the smallest
promise to ourselves on Decem-
ber31 t. 1ur ge
�ourh d
saving 0
, I've said it before and 111 re-
peat it until it's not ·true any­
more: Black children and
families in America today are
facing one of the worst crises
since slavery, and we've got to do
something about it. Between
poverty, racism, violence, inade­
quate health coverage and care,
joblessness and growing hope­
lessness, the horizon is bleaker
than ever for our young people.
But we can't give up without
a fight; we can't give in to de­
spair and stop working to make
things better, If you don't com­
mit to anything else at dawn of
1994, please commit to helping a
child, or children, in your home,
your neighborhood, your church
or your community.
Start small. Say you'll visit a
hospital and rock an abandoned
baby for an hour a week Help to
find a home for that baby, or for
an older Black child who doesn't
have a family. If you're a parent,
tty to see past the stress of eve­
ryday life and remember that
your children are your greatest
joy, the most important thing
you have to do. God entrusted
them to you, and the nurturing
and guidance you provide can
HELP A CIllLD get a head
start. Remind your national and
state representative of the im­
portance of Head Start and other
quality preschool programs.
While we know how effective
LOVE A CHILD. I mean the Head start can be, a third of all
unselfish kind of love that elizibls children can't attend be-
i ·de�iIMi""".QlIUO- ... _�prg .. ua n to
� •• =� 1 ���....-:;
w t t ey n mi letter on behalf of this program n your
prise you. And commit yourself which has helped so many and bome and in your community.
to helping meet their needs, has the potential to help so many And put a child's face on them to
whether the child is yours or not. remind yourself of how, impor-
Get involved. Every eommu- mO;;�lp a child get a fair start. tant your contribution can be.
nity has churches and organiza- Fight to end injustice. and in- Let's make 1994 the year we
tions that need your help. Find Iit d 't I t th b ttl begin to turn things around for
equa 1 y, on e . e a e our children. It's a resolution
Just one, and pledge to make a make you bitter. Fight for better worth keeping.
difference every week or month. education, for meaningful jobs,
You don't have to change the so our young people can look for­
world all at once. Just a little at ward to a future worth sticking
a time. around for. Let's end child pov-
Talk to a child or teen. Listen erty in America.
to what they're feeling, to the Help a child get. a safe start.
questions running through their We're surrounded by the grow­
mind. Offer your guidance, your ing din of violent crime, and
support, your understanding. struggle to keep our souls intact
Use the benefit of your years arid while our bodies are under siege.
experience to help guide them in Our children are growing up
positive directions. For every with the same kinds of stress as
time we shake our heads and children living in war zones. As
fuss about problems caused by the President works to shape an
young people today, remember, anti-crime bill that turns this
we bave a part to play insolving epidemic around, let's make
these problems. If we don't play sure our voices are heard, Stay
our part, then we become part of informed and involved in the de-
the problem ourselves. bate.
Help a child get a healthy
start. Talk to the pregnant
women and teens you know and
help them to get prenatal care
they need. Remind them about
the importance of fully immu­
nizing their children against
preventable disease.
make the difference between a
productive, contributing mem­
ber of the community, and one
who becomes a statistic in the
morning paper or the evening
news.
AND WORK TO make sure
that every child has access to
supportive, nurturing adults.
Our communities are in flux and
traditional values have been lost
in the shuffle. Dust those values
ITIS OTpromised that any
of us will make it, but hard and
earn t work will be rewarded.
Indeed God only h Ips th ho
help them 1 . The hour is
near at hand ... Wbat· your reso­
lution?
THE PAPER, which was drafted by TEAM's Racial Recon­
ciliation T k Force, tatee that "racism is sin, not just evil.
Racism is an exampl of the human inclination to put on If
nd one's own kind before neighbor. It reflects our unwilling­
n to believe that God has made us all one and valu us
equally. It is a refusal to humble ourselves before God and to
become TVant to one another." Taking this thought a step
further, the paper ys that "Racism is our natural tate. La
and social p urea may curtail some of our racist behavior,
but overcoming racism is a matter of repentance and conver­
sion, not just behavior modification. "
The Task Force has hit the nail on the head. For in linking
racial bias with what theologians call "original sin," the position
paper rightly identifies prejudice as part of the human condi­
tion.
Thus, from Christian perspective, acts of bigotry must
necessarily be understood as reflective of an underlying spiri­
tual problem. According to Christian theology, the remedy for
such transgressions is "repentance and conversion" through
faith in Jesus Christ.
For the Christian church, the implications of this under­
standing of its faith are legion for the position paper's state­
ment properly reckons salvation and bigotry to be incongruous.
(Indeed, as the noted Black theologian James Cone has sug­
gested, any theology which allows for the subjugation of a race
of people cannot be Christian.)
Fundamentally, according to the Task Force, the church
� t now view racial reconciliation as fundamental to its creed.,
Tq liaie, the paper states, "Combating racism has been pre­
sented as a moral obligation, a 'should' that good ChristianS
'ought' to be involved in - like soup kitchens and low income
housing. If, on the contrary, combating racism is a matter of
faith development, then it must be seen as a central element of
each person's spiritual growth and, therefore, of the church's
mission."
Rap I X Johnson
lonl
Child
Marian Wright Edelman ill President
of 1M ChildT'f!ll'1I nt(m e Fund, a na­
tional voi� for childT'f!ll, and a leader of
1M BlacJc Canmunity CMlme fa- Chil­
dT'f!ll, Call 1-800-ASK-BCCC IlJ join. the
Crusade IlJ Lmve NQ Child Behind.
IN A NATION where, according to evangelist Billy Gra­
ham, "the race issue" remains its most intractable problem, the
benefits of church leadership would be self-evident. Nor should
the fact that the church has failed to lead in the past preclude
it from doing so in the future.
For if the Christian faith has any meaning at all, it is that
See COLOR, B8
FREE TAX HELP CALL
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By ROBBIE CRUMP-McCOY
$p!C'" to the Michigan Citizen
LOUISVILLE, KY - According
to Pat Cole, reporter for Baptist
Press, news service for the 14
million-member Southern Bap­
tist Convention, "Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., is credited
with a more just attitude toward
racial equality among Southern
Baptists today".
Glen H. Stassen, professor of
. Christian Ethics at Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville, KY, points out, "Dr.
King brought together the love
of Jesus, the Sermon on the
Mount and the struggle for jus­
tice in the midst of th powerful
realiti of the I wo··ld".
ing'
impact
1 person $ 9,000
2 people $12,000
3 people $15;000
4 people $18,000
5 people $ 3,000 for each additional person
Da vis P. Gushee, assistant
professor of Christian Ethics at
the Seminary said, "Dr. King
grounded all his activities re­
lated to the civil rights move­
ment in the language of the
Christian faith. It was difficult
for Southern Baptists to dismiss
the rightn of his cause" .
Although white discrimina­
tory laws have been changed
and overt racial hatred has been
greatly reduced, Southern Bap­
tists still have a long way' to go
to "flush out Kings dream- of
total equality. -It's one thing to
change laws,' but it's another
thing to change attitudes and
act.iona," said Henlee H.
Barnette, senior research pro­
f sor at Southern Seminary.
EMMANUEL L. McCALL,
visiting professor of Black
Church Studies at Southern
Seminary, said; "Brier to Dr.
Kings gaining widespread noto­
riety as a civil rights leader, a
few Southern, Baptists has
dared to speak out against the
dominant culture of racial segre- .
gation in the south". Supporting
him were Barnette T.B. Maston,
Clarence Jordan, Foy Valentine,
Carlyle Marney and Victor
Glass, all early prophetic voices
in Southern Baptist life who
championed racial equality.
McCall said, "It's sad to think
of what the south would have
been like if Dr. King and the
Civil Rights Movement hadn't
happened".