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I apologize if someone else already mentionned it, but the Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. speech reminds me of this short speech then Carlton did in the episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when he was called a sellout back in 1993.
Not really. For Carlton, that really was the time and the place. He was being targeted, singled out, and discriminated against because he wasn't "Black enough". The frat guy literally disrespected Carlton to his face and did things to his face. Carlton had EVERY cause to speak out. In the case of Rev. Williams, Aretha Franklin's funeral was not the time or the place for it, and it distracted from the funeral.
This is something I do know. It says in the Bible "thou shall not kill". Rev. Williams would have had every cause to speak on Black on Black murder in his sermons on Sunday and take his message to the streets. Aretha Franklin's funeral was suppose to be about the life of Aretha Franklin.
Hypothetical question so I'll give you a guess. It's possible they knew that millions of black folks would be watching the service of this revered and influential black woman, and they hoped it might have a positive impact. It may have been her wish to use her farewell service as a platform to hopefully bring about change.
I don't know if Aretha Franklin asked Rev. Williams to bring it up. I've never heard of that. I just don't think her funeral was the time or the place for it. I don't want him airing out dirty laundry, especially during Aretha Franklin's funeral. I don't think her funeral would have brought any change anyway. This issue has been brought up before, over and over.
It is beautiful and appropriate that Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. addressed hard issues and truths. As for the choice of timing, he was addressing an audience that both was listening and needed to hear what was said.
Actually, the timing was way off. Even if certain members might have been willing to hear, her funeral was not the time or place for it. Why her funeral of all places, a time and place that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the issue at hand?
Until God speak for himself, what men in the pulpit say "should be taken with a grain of salt."
Well, the Bible does say "thou shall not kill". As for Reverend Williams, I think he should have saved his peace for Sunday. That would have been a much better place to bring the message about Black on Black killing.
You know something's wrong when a bigot,racist,antisemite Farrakhan is invited.
As for Sharpton, even someone with a 70 IQ knows what will happen when he's allowed near a microphone...
Well, guess what - it's not your guest list, nor your right to question who attends. Face it, you ain't special.
This is what I'm seeing with all of this. Black on Black violence is a big problem. It needs to be dealt with. However, I don't see mentioning this issue at Aretha Franklin's funeral as a good thing. Part of me feels like airing out dirty laundry publicly. Many people love to hear a Black man make public criticisms of Black people, and not for the reason of "we care about Black people". I remember that scene from "Lean On Me". Granted, I do respect the main character. However, I think about the woman (Lynn Thigpen) who basically wanted the mayor of Paterson,NJ to get rid of Principal Clark. She said "I know why you picked Clark. He's a guard dog. He does your dirty work for you. Keeps the Black folks in line". I think about that. While his message was in fact true, part of me wonders if he was just airing the Black population's dirty laundry in public. And this segues into the next paragraph.
There are those who have a bone to pick when it comes to Black people. There are many people who have a disdain or are very critical of Black people, It is music to their ears to hear Black person talk critical of Black people. Some persons might feel "he's Black and he's critical of the Black community, so it's okay for me to say those things" or "he's doing the dirty work for me".
The way I see it, the Black population is looked down on more, relative to other ethnic groups. I feel like airing out dirty laundry in public would not make things any better. I will speak out on Black on Black violence. However I won't use it as a platform to publicly criticize Black people. I don't want it that way. There are people that truly care and want the violence to end. However, I also see individuals who just have a bone to pick with Black people, and look for any excuse to do so. Rev. Williams untimely choice to mention Black on Black violence could be and has proven to be that moment. I don't want Rev. Williams to be that guard dog, that guy who "keeps the Black folks in line". I want him to take his message to his parishioners and encourage his parishioners to take to the streets with that message. Alot of Black people care, but picking Aretha Franklin's funeral as that platform was more of a distraction than anything else.
And lastly, Black people have been talking about and protesting Black on Black violence for a while. It has not stopped the thugs and hood rats from being murderers. It has not stopped the drug trade. It has not stopped gang members. Gang members do not care if they live or die. The city of New Orleans is a far more murderous city per capita than Chicago is. The state of Louisiana, which has the death penalty and will use it, has been the #1 state for murder since 1989. New Orleans has made the title of murder capital several times since the 1990s. The killers in New Orleans, as well as pretty much every city with a high murder rate, don't seem to value life. A Black gang member in Anchorage,Alaska admitted that when he became member of the Crips (yes, Alaska has Crips) he didn't value life all that much. When you have individuals who don't value life, nothing will stop them from killing other people.
Except one thing. He could have saved it for his Sunday sermon. He didn't need to pick Aretha Franklin's funeral for that. Her death had nothing to do with Black on black violence.
What is wrong with wanting some media attention to discuss a very important matter?
What is wrong with wanting some media attention to discuss a very important matter?
Something about airing out dirty laundry, that isn't a great idea. There were better places to bring up that issue. Airing out dirty laundry in public is not a good thing. Plenty of people who love to see a Black man criticize Black people in public. Some people want to hear this just because they have their own bone to pick with Blacks.
I agree with the good Reverend, but also do not like the intrusion of politics into every sphere of life.
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