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Bishop Eddie Long: Another Black Church Leader Exposed!

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Just when corporate news was killing us with Lindsay Lohan, now comes Bishop Eddie Long to spice it up.  By now we've all heard the allegations about the possible sexual exploits with young male members of his church. But, this is only a small portion of what ails Black America.  Eddie Long is far from being alone in his alleged nastiness, just check out the list on Eco.Soul.Intellectual's place.  Yet, this is really the symptom of another deep set disease of the mind as I see it. 

Eddie Long and other ministers of his "genre" are in love with the "getting" of money.  Eddie Long has previously allowed himself to be used (for money of course) by George Bush and the Republican camp to assist Dubya's re-election to office.  The "prosperity" ministers have long shown their love for the material over the spiritual, thus there should be no surprise about Bishop Long's alleged carnal exploits with young males since his ministerial focus has been on the physical.  But, this is not the disease. 

Self aggrandizement, selfishness and the teaching of such is the disease.  Huey P. Newton once wrote a book entitled To Die For The People based on the idea of self sacrifice for the uplift of the masses of Black people.  Yet, since COINTELPRO did such a great job in destructing Black leadership, self sacrifice became a pariah.  The ministry and society seemed to move towards a social construct of "getting" money will cure your ills and "prosperity" ministries began to flourish without conscientiousness, without a care for the uplift of the people (congregation.)  A grand sort of selfishness has come over Black ministers. 

All the while these ministers are teaching that if "you do what God says"  you will be blessed (with a whole lot of money) like me.  The ministers became the bright and morning star the congregation should look to. They put themselves up as the example of what God can do in your life.  Revolutionary Suicide was now dead, the ministers grew in wealth and the congregations financially languish. Obviously, because they are not doing "what God teaches."  The sacrafice of commiting Revolutionary Suicide or dying for the people is dead.  Symbolic or even real regicide (In the case of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King or El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) is no more.

Anna Reneean Afrospear guest writer and host of Anna Renee Is Still Talking presents several ministries that are working for the good of the people, mainly (at least the ministries she presents) assit in the education of the spread of HIV/AIDS.  However, this is far from our deepest issues(diabetes and high blood pressure affect more Black people than HIV/AIDS.)  Black people are in need of education, real financial and health education.  The response to statics put out by the CDC (who show no love for Black people) is far from enough.  This however, does not excuse any so called "prosperity" messages they may have presented over the last decade (if they are doing so.)  Prosperity messages as they are taught, are not uplifting the people.  These messages are filled with the false pos hoc logic, If you do what God says Then you will be blessed with money.  Merely attaining fiat currency is not enough.  If it were we would never see a broke lottery grand prize winner.  True economic education would result in true prosperity.  Prosperity for the congregation and for the surrounding community.  Not only for the pastor.

We are at time of great change.  Not the change that candidate Obama promised.  The change is in the economics of the United States.  We are at a time when there is an economic recovery without jobs, we are at a time of economic change in which we will probably see a rise in entrepreneurs making only the amount of money they may have made at a minimum wage job.  If these "prosperity" ministers such as Eddie Long were really committing Revolutionary Suicide there would be money changing hands in the church and surrounding community at least 10 times before those monies left the community.  There would be no need for college students that are members of the church to get loans from the government, they would get them in house from the church.  If prosperity were really the goal for the people and not for the bright and morning star of the church, the congregation would be engaged economically on every level and putting people to work in the community with stores, restaurants, gas stations and other business ventures.  But no, preachers like Bishop Eddie Long are the bright and morning star and not (Yeshua) Jesus who committed Revolutionary Suicide.  Black ministers had a history of dying for the people.   What happned?   The love of money?  A Chinese proverb says "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey."  In this case COINTELPRO killed the chicken and made chickens of the Black ministers!

Haute Lanta Fashion Week 2010

(Photo courtesy of FotoMike.Net and Real Atlanta Magazine. Infinity swim wear by Kae Couture Swim wear)

2010 is year four of Haute.Lanta Fashion week for "Entrefashionista" Layla K, the creator of Atlanta's version of fashion week.  The week began with a Media Suite on this past Wednesday at the Glenn Hotel and ended on Sunday with an all white style show and party, complete with top model Eva Marcille AKA Eva Pigford in attendance.  Many local designers presented their collections for spring/summer 2011 including Theiry Sim of Youtheary Khmer Collections, hat designer Andre Millinery of Christine Designs and Kenyatta Williams of Kae Couture Swim Wear, just to name a few of the many great talents of Atlanta.

(Design by Theary Sim)

Haute.Lanta Fashion Week is a great idea with good intention to put Atlanta on the fashion map.  This could do a lot for the amount of talent percolating and waiting to expand into the universe of fashion and design.  Layla K has birthed a bright and shining baby of fashion right here in Hotlanta, hopefully the baby will grow. Yet there are some deep and ugly draw backs hovering to destroy her conception.  Disorganization looms as an ugly monster waiting to devour the baby, as the dragon in the book of Revelations is set to devour the baby of the woman travailing in birth pain as soon as the baby is born.

Ugliest of all is the beast of tardiness.  Sadly, Friday's show began two and one half hours late.  Sunday's show began a ridiculous three and one half hours behind schedule.  This is absolutely absurd and without conscious.  Friday, it appearedthe band that was hired to play, and actually did a good job of entertaining, packed up and left during the intermission after having played for two hours or more to keep the crowd somewhat entertained during the delay to the opening of the show.   This is an ugly beast that Layla K must defeat to make any attempt to get near the hem of the garments of Los Angeles' or not to mention New York's fashion week.  This is a disastrous beast that must be slain before proceeding into next year.  Layla K, slay this beast or your baby will be devoured by the beast of your own making.

Hispanic is the new black in Los Angeles

Not unexpectedly, the so called Hispanics/Latinos are being treated as Black people once where (and still are, just go to San Diego, the beautiful contradiction) in southern California.  On Sunday past Manuel Jaminez was shot dead by L.A.P.D. officers while allegedly wielding a knife and threatening a pregnant woman.  Bicycle cops arrive on the scene and yell at Jaminez in English and Spanish to drop the knife and seconds later officer Frank Hernandez pulls the trigger of his weapon and Jaminez is dead.  For Los Angelinos, this is really not an uncommon occurrence, so what would make this case different?

 

Talk radio in southern California is wildly conservative with the likes of Rush Limbaugh being pumped in daily and AM 640's John and Ken show during drive time.  Of course, when the song of racist cops was being sung the first thing out of the mouths of white conservatives was "The cops are Hispanic, so how could it be racist?"  Simply, the Hispanic cops are carrying out racist policies written and unwritten that have been followed for years in LA, period.  Thats how it's racist.  But, there is another underlying problem that's not so evident that should be addressed and this lies within the Hispanic/Latino collective at large.

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called officer Frank Hernandez a "hero" and defended police Chief Charlie Beck saying it was "outrageous" to call Chief Beck a "murderer" at the community meeting following the shooting.  What seems to be ignored is the obvious splinter in the Hispanic/Latino collective between those that have been in the States since, well, forever and those recently coming in the last 10 - 15 years.  Officer Hernandez was known in the Westlake neighborhood and very disliked for "messing with people all the time" says Juan Lorenzo.  Hernandez would often write tickets for people selling food (I suppose without a permit) or just taking the food and throwing it away.  Maybe the schism is much deeper than L.A.P.D.'s racist polices for  little did officer Hernandez know at the time that Manual Jaminez' first language was Quiche and may have never fully understood the English or Spanish being hurled at him by the officer.  Maybe, officer Hernandez has been embarrassed by the standard of living the recent immigrants maintain, while he considers himself a full fledged "Amurkin" and 'these peasants make us all (Hispanics/Latinos) look bad'

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