BeThe(+)

Today when I woke up it seemed as a standard Sunday morning in my hotel room in Atlana. I wake up scroll through my missed calls and messages and then turn to my social media pages; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I go to a fellow teammates page because he seems to always have post that I can get an honest and in depth perception on the pictures. The photo below is what he posted. His caption read "Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it."

The Government created the CHURCH ARSON PREVENTION ACT OF 1996, which made it a crime to "intentionally deface or destory any real religious property because of race, color, or ethnic characteristics," with a "maximum prison sentence of 40 years." For more information on the Chruch Arson Prevention Act of 1996, visit http://www.civilrights.org/monitor/vol8_no5_6/art4.html

So I did some research on the photo and found out that the photo was accurate. I commented "Smh." He then would respond with "Had to google it to check and c if it was true. This doesn't make any sense, supposed to be a sanctuary, a safe haven from all evil." Now, I love my teammate because we can have these conversations and relate and provide each other with such insight on topics even though we've seen each other at our most immature moments. He asked a question that we have been asking ourselves since the Trevon Martin killing and all the unarmed killings of African Americans by authority figures in our neighborhoods and communities that somehow the victims are made out to be bad people.

Simple yet complex answer, our soft spots have been exposed; our youth and our religion. If you take them away from us, what do we have? We have all the knowledge as elders but no youth to instill the wisdom into. If you're like myself, as a young child you learned in the church as a youth from your elders. The youth are taught in the church like a vast majority of us learned. We learned love, strength, forgiveness, unity and most of all religion.

Some of our greatest leaders in the African American community were brought up and were instrumental in the church congregations. Such as, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X (granted he ran the streets in his younger days before his conversion to the Muslim faith), Al Sharpton, Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson to name a few. All of whom had an immense effect on those in their congregations.

The African American community is gaining strength whether you notice it or not but it is imperitive that we speed up our learning curve. The youth of our community are our future and the Church is where they will learn; so we rely on them both. But what future do we have if we lack our youth? What can we teach if we have no place learn?

BeThe(+)