America Still Sings of Freedom

In the midst of nuclear insanity

In the midst of natural calamities

In the midst of hatred and harm crisscrossing the land

In the midst of hostility riding in cars emasculating our civil liberties

In the midst of blood spattered into the streets…

In the midst of people crying…people dying

America Still Sings of Freedom

In the midst of black lives Matter

In the midst of limitations set on Muslims’ immigration

In the midst of white supremacy poisoning the tender tendrils of democracy

In the midst of Native Americans wanting to save the earth from greed and destruction

In the midst of dreamers’ dreams vanishing in the wind

In the midst of chaos and confusion

America Still Sings of Freedom

In the midst of immigrant children being wrenched from their parents’ grasp

In the midst of the vanishing affordable health care act

In the midst of the oppressed screaming for justice from the callous and the cold

In the midst of the stranglehold of the school to prison pipeline

In the midst of the vines of violence choking aspirations

In the midst of mass incarceration

America Still Sings of Freedom

In the midst of earth’s disintegrating atmosphere

In the midst of conflicting attitudes towards a solution to pollution

In the midst of profits leading to the desecration of our planet

In the midst of socio-economic terrorism

In the midst of religious fanaticism

In the midst of man’s obsession with power

America Still Sings of Freedom

In the midst of the sunrise greeting a new day in magnificence

In the midst of the stars twinkling eminence throughout time

In the midst of intergalactic connections singing in eternity

In the midst of the courageous voices of the many standing together in unity

In the midst of joy infusing hearts of stone

In the midst of peace in search of a home

America Still Sings of Freedom

Who is My Neighbor?

“Love thy neighbor as thyself” a command of wealth for the health of our souls.  

Are we starting the day with a good morning to loved ones and to other people we meet on the way to our daily tasks? Do our hearts shine with God’s love in a world filled with misery and in our minds vowing to make a positive difference whether big or small in our communities?  Do we listen with empathy to stories of heartache and pain from those whose lives are drowning in a deluge of rain from the storms of life? Do we use soft words to confront strife… to diffuse situations always pushing toward the restoration of peace and harmony?  Have the hungry been fed? Is there shelter for the homeless? Do the sick have affordable health care? Are the incarcerated being educated to succeed in the world beyond the cement walls? Will the Statue of Liberty be allowed to continue to welcome immigrants with open arms to our country?

How long O’ Lord will mindless selfishness be the rule of our land? How long O’ Lord will the money god reign inflicting pain and oppression? How long O’ Lord will phony politicians and evangelical Christians wreak havoc destroying programs of promise?

1 out of 6 Americans face hunger

49 million Americans struggle to put food on the table

1 out of 5 children are hungry

1 out 3 African American and Latino children suffer from food scarcity

40 % of the food in America is thrown out every year…$165 billion dollars’ worth.  All this uneaten food could feed 25 million Americans.

St. Matthew 25:34-36 (this scripture is the parable that separates the sheep (true believers) from the goats (hypocrites.)

34) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35) For I was a hungered and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink, I was a stranger and ye took me in;

36) Naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came unto me.

Yesterday was pantry day. People from the community gathered early in the morning in great expectation and anticipation of food boxes to quell hunger pangs and the shame associated with food scarcity in one of the richest countries in the world.  Friendly camaraderie floated in and out of easy conversation as the clients lined up to get numbers and check in with Oasis the latest technology in keeping track of the hungry. It’s summer time and somewhat muggy. Those who have registered camp out in the shade waiting patiently for the arrival of the truck which will come bearing gifts of meat, beverages, produce, dairy products, canned goods, rice, bread and so much more. Over eighty people go home with enough food to tide them over for the next few days.

How long O’ Lord before we learn to “Love thy neighbor as thyself”?

The Great American Food Challenge

Hunger, holiday season on  the horizon touching hearts to reach out and embrace love…turkey love…cranberry craziness…sweets insanity...empty stomachs teased…cupboards bare...hearts ache. Hungry people everywhere…poverty across America…no money for the basics…soup kitchens and pantries addressing the need to a degree. That time of year once again has descended upon the economically challenged to emphasize and make them even more aware of this acute condition.

Soup kitchen aromas tantalize famished palates waiting to be pleased on this day out of the year set aside to give thanks for thoughtful souls. Hunger a year around concern yearns for means to keep refrigerators full, and cupboards complete with the ABC’s of nutrition. Hungry children, hungry adults, hungry seniors plead for relief from this chronic condition.

The House of Love Soup Kitchen, a faith based organization, located in Newark, NJ served a pre-Thanksgiving meal to over 80 people on the 15th of November. What a meal! What a meal! Praises floated up to the heavens as blessings of turkey with all the trimmings came down and filled plate after plate…God bless the hands that prepared the meal...fried chicken, mac ‘n cheese, stuffing, baked beans…it seemed as if the choices of food would never end...God bless all those who were able to partake of this scrumptious meal…candied yams, tuna noodle salad, pasta salad, green salad and mixed vegetables for the healthy minded... God bless all those trying to make a difference in their communities... ice tea to wash the feast down and yes, pies and cakes galore. Lord we thank you for this day to ward off hunger…this day for the community to engage in an all you can eat treat with camaraderie and the love of God filling the air.

Where do we go from here? What does the future hold in store for feeding hungry Americans? Should there even be a scarcity of food in America?

• Feeding America Statistics:  42.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 29.1 million adults and 13.1 million children.
• Households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (17%), especially households with children headed by single women (30%) or single men (22%), Black non-Hispanic households (22%) and Hispanic households (19%).
• In 2014, 5.4 million seniors (over age 60), or 9 percent of all seniors were food insecure.
• http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-poverty/hunger-and-poverty-fact-sheet.html

Praying and asking God to guide, to protect, and to direct those involved in battling hunger…please God fill the stomachs everyday of those suffering from the great American food challenge and please God strengthen all involved in the fight against hunger not allowing us to “grow weary in well doing”.

                                                                                                                  

The Death Toll Rises

Invisible forces gather together

Whirling…twirling

Bursting through the black hole

To capture suspecting and unsuspecting souls

Phantoms bold in their determination

To complete their mission

To track down those whose

Assigned time has come

To cross over the horizon

To go beyond the 7^th heaven

To meet the fate that awaits

All mankind.

House of Love Soup Kitchen/Pantry

Hope springs eternal in my soul for I know that God is with me. He blesses, He protects, He directs my path and leads me in what is my destiny.

Pantry day is here once again attempting to address the needs of families and people in the community suffering from food scarcity. It’s unbelievable that the budget adopted by the current administration proposes to cut eligibility for food stamps for at least 4 million people and reduce benefits for many others.

Have you ever received food stamps? Have you ever been hungry? Have you ever been in a position where the cupboards were bare, there was no food in the refrigerator, and you had children to feed? Well the writer of this blog has…I can answer yes to all the above questions. I know for a fact that food stamps do not stretch over the 30-31 days that they are supposed to last. If it had not been for the Lord being on our side…yes… working through community pantries and the government feeding programs helping to supplement the stamps we received, my family and I would have had some very lean days...days where there was no food…endless days of hunger.

One of my sons, who is now deceased, co-founded the House of Love Soup Kitchen/Pantry for that very reason. He remembered how as a child what it was like having to live off food stamps. He remembered the pantries where we had to stand in line for hours to receive boxes of food. He remembered the government feeding programs, the 10-pound blocks of cheese we would get along with other food staples. He remembered the summer breakfast and lunch programs that warded off starvation in the richest nation of the world…starvation always looming just beyond the horizon. He wanted to make a difference in the community by having a place, a sanctuary where a person could come and momentarily forget the everyday struggles of life, eat a good wholesome meal, and enjoy the camaraderie of shared experiences.

Hands join together to thank the Creator for His favor, and His Power, and His strength which lifts our spirits above the uncertainty of an economy governed by the wealthy, and for the wealthy only. God embraces us with His Love enabling us to rise above circumstance, and to continue to live in His glory and His hope always rejoicing in Him.

Inner Sanctum Anger

It was an honor to receive a "congratulations" email from the 50in50 Event to be held at the Billie Holiday Theater in Brooklyn NY. The challenge was to write a soliloquy describing how I, as an African American woman relate to the "MeToo" Movement. It will be performed by one of these outstanding actors.

A Most Troubled Land

Avarice disembarked from boats
in hopes of settling in a new world
the greed of many deceived the native inhabitants
into believing they were friends.

"Oh...oh freedom..."

Deception shook hands in the name of peace
slavery arrived clothed in bigotry
dollar signs disembarked from the ship joining forces
in the theft of the land from the Native Americans.

"Oh...oh..freedom..."

Slavery woven into the fabric of this
great nation at its inception

ripped families apart from the start
to be sold on the auction block.

"Oh...oh freedom over me..."

Rape, torture, Jim Crow, segregation emblazoned...
extolled within the borders of this country
the KKK Lord what can you say? The stench of
black bodies burned hanging from southern trees.

"And before I'd be a slave..."

Emmett till brutally murdered
children bombed in Sunday School...
hatred the rule for many caught up in delusions...
the illusion of demons and despotic power.

"I'd be buried in my grave..."

The Civil Rights Movement
dogs, fire hoses, jail, death...the world appalled
lives sacrificed so that black people could have
equal opportunity and the right to "justice for all"

"And go home to my Lord..."

Together people took a stand against intolerance
different races, different cultures united as one
to bring balance to the scales of justice...
a black man became president of the United States.

"And be free..."

Fate has now turned back the hand of time...
Racist rhetoric and the callousness of hate occupies
the oval office yet in unity the women once again
have taken a stand in the midst of our most troubled land.

"Oh...oh freedom..."