Failing our Way to Success The madness of Mr. Trump prevents him from realizing how much he has won. Because of his madness, he cannot entertain the idea of losing. After all, in his world of reality, he is perfect. He can never understand that there are some priceless lessons that we gain by losing, or failing, that we can never learn otherwise. These lessons enabled us to become better and achieve more. Every great achiever that I know and or read about somewhere along the way failed or lost. Michael Jordan, some say the greatest basketball player ever, was cut from his high school basketball team. I think it was Robert F. Kennedy who said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” I have a sermon that I preached entitled Failing our Way to Success. The theme of the sermon is in order to succeed we must fail, but by failing in the long run we succeed. For, again, the lessons we learn make us better persons and greater achievers. I must confess if you have not already perceived, this subject, failing has the potential to lead to greater success, losing has the potential to make us greater winners and to be knocked down, and getting up has great potential to make us better. A setback can accelerate our move forward. There is a Bible verse that I like it says, God is able to make up for years that the locust has eaten. God can restore unto us the years that we have failed so that we lose nothing but gain tremendously. As I reflected on Mr. Trump’s loss and how difficult it must be I remembered the 2016 campaign and Mrs. Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump. There were two profoundly moving reactions of Mrs. Clinton and my daughter the Reverend Leah Daughtry and my response to Leah’s depression. My daughter, Rev. Leah Daughtry was the CEO of the 2008 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions which propelled President Barack Obama into office. It was called one of the greatest Democratic Conventions ever held. Then, Mrs. Clinton and the democratic leadership asked Leah to do it again in 2016. She made history. She became the only person to be the CEO twice. She was so successful that Mrs. Clinton called her the miracle worker. I wrote a book about her called To my Daughter, Reverend Leah Daughtry CEO, 2008 and 2016 of the Democratic National Convention History Maker! Miracle Worker We watched the election returns that night at the Jacob Javits Center. After Mrs. Clinton’s loss we were devastated. It was 2 a.m. when we left behind the thousands of stunned and transfixed followers of Mrs. Clinton. Staggering along, dodging vehicles parked and speeding, and stepping over debris, it all seemed so surreal as we pondered, sometimes verbally, and sometimes, silently, what just happened at the center. Our friend, leader, and “President” had just been defeated. We just saw it all and heard it on television. It is significant and instructive to compare Mrs. Clinton’s reaction to her loss, and Mr. Trump’s. In her concession speech, Mrs. Clinton showed great grace, forgiveness, and bigness of heart towards a person who was anything but gracious and kind to her. As always, her thoughts turned outward: how disappointing and hurt her family and supporters must have felt? All of us should continue working to make the country better. Her concession speech said it all. It should be held up as a challenge to all who have been and will be broken-hearted in defeat, especially by someone with questionable, suspicious baggage. Again, it’s a model and challenge for all of us to emulate. I do believe that Mrs. Clinton will go on making her contribution for the good of all, whether that’s bigger or more important than the calling of the job as President of the United States, God knows. Here is Mrs. Clinton’s concession speech: “Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. Our campaign was never about one person or even one election, it was about the country we love and about building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power and we don’t just respect that, we cherish it. It also enshrines other things; the rule of law, the principle that we are all equal in rights and dignity, and freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values too and we must defend them. Let me add, that our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear; making our economy work for everyone not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet, and breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams. We spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone. For people of all races and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and for people with disabilities, for everyone. To Barack and Michelle Obama, our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude. We thank you for your graceful, determined leadership that has meant so much to so many Americans and people across the world. And to Bill and Chelsea, Mark, Charlotte, Aidan our brothers, and our entire family my love for you means more than I can ever express. You crisscrossed this country even four-month-old Aidan who traveled with his mom. I will always be grateful to the talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country. You poured your hearts into this campaign. For some of you who are veterans, it was a campaign after you had done other campaigns. For some of you, it was your first campaign. I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anybody could have ever expected or wanted. I want everybody coming out from behind that and making sure your voices are heard going forward. To everyone who sent in contributions as small as $5 and kept us going, thank you. Thank you from all of us. And to the young people, in particular, I hope you will hear this. I have, as Tim said, spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in. I’ve had successes and setbacks and sometimes painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional public and political careers, you will have successes and setbacks too. This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It is worth it. And so we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion. Finally, I am so grateful for our country and for all that it has given to me. I count my blessings every single day that I am an American. And I still believe as deeply as I ever have that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen in our convictions and love for this nation our best days are still ahead of us. Because, you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never ever regret fighting for that. You know, Scripture tells us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap.” To my friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and not lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do. I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. ” Beautiful! Gracious! Magnanimous! Mr. Trump and all you followers of Mr. Trump are you listening or have you heard? If so, go and do likewise. To be continued....

January 6, 2022 Controversy at the Bangkok Meeting Rev. Dr. Herbert D. Daughtry Sr. It had been building from the beginning of the conference. In fact, it had been built for centuries. In the afternoon of January 4, 1973, in the first full plenary session, it began to explode. Professor Peter Beyerhaus was the precipitating factor. His well-prepared remarks – obviously prepared long before he arrived in Bangkok – criticized Philip Potter and M.M. Thomas for not tackling the question of a theology of mission. Since Mexico City, 1963, the Commission had drifted away from a Biblically oriented mission. He was very perturbed because the Frankfurt Declaration had not been seriously considered by the Commission and for the way, the conference had treated Arthur Glasser. He felt it was just another example of the way evangelicals were treated in ecumenical gatherings, all of which had widened the growing polarization between evangelicals and ecumenical. While there were adequate responses from Dr. Potter and Mr. Thomas, the real issues were opened by U. Kyaw Than, Burmese head of the East Asian Christian Conference, Dr. T.B. Simutupong of Indonesia, and Dr. S. A. E. Nababan, Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Council of Churches and others. Dr. Philip Potter was a huge man intellectually and physically. He was Director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, which sponsored the conference, and is now the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches. M.M. Thomas from Indonesia was Chair of the Board of Directors. They had heard that when German theologians cough American theologians catch a cold. They urged that Europe and America keep the problem of their theological formulations in their respective countries. It was also pointed out that in South East Asia, the Frankfurt Declaration was slipped to churches without the knowledge of the Christian Councils of those particular countries. They interpreted it as a sneaky attempt to undercut the influence of their councils and they were furious. Rev. Tu Tu of South Africa pushed the conference further along the line of racist attitudes of so-called Christians. It was he, more than anyone who really brought the conference to the pivotal point and probably was responsible for Philip’s intervention. He told of his experiences in South Africa where the missionaries identified with the racist situations. Then he told how on an occasion a little white girl had addressed his old father as “boy”. He said, “I could have choked that little girl”. Tu Tu’s whole being was reliving that experience. His voice was throaty, clear, and very emotional. This was for real. This was honesty, anger, pain, and truth at the visceral level. I think that every black in that conference could have said the same thing. Every white there was guilty of the attitude of that little white girl or had seen it manifested without saying a word. Everyone was involved in that incident. No one could escape and it was terrifying. I sat there pondering Beyehaus. I had sent my name up to the chairman to speak. Cannon Burgess Carr from Liberia refused to recognize me. He probably was trying to be fair. Black people are always trying to be super-fair, to show white folks how nice they really are. It was he who stopped Tu Tu from finishing his speech. He probably saw how uncomfortable white folks were. For all the world reminded me of Evangelicals in the U.S.A. whose paramount concern is the proper Biblical interpretation. Throughout the racist south, Bible verses leap at you from everywhere – billboards, restaurants, etc. Yet, until a few years ago, a black man couldn’t enter the front door of a dirty diner to get a cup of coffee and church-going, Bull Connor, the renowned police chief of Alabama, used to talk about his faithfulness to Bible classes and prayer meetings and beating niggers heads all in one breath. The same disrespect shown by Rev. Tu Tu’s father is still the prevailing attitude of most good white Christians. That is the tragedy and everyone who heard Rev. Tu Tu knew it.

Failing our Way to Success As I have mentioned Leah was devastated by Mrs. Clinton’s loss. As we continued walking from the Javits Center mostly in a heavy silence every once in a while she would say, “what a difference a day makes”. I am certain she was thinking of the significant role that she would play in the Clinton administration. The Clintons had/have a great love and respect for Leah and her abilities. Mrs. Clinton would have been appointed her to a special Cabinet position and a special advisor and confidant and now in a few hours, it all vanished. She went home and stayed in bed for days. I wrote her expressing my approach towards losses and defeats. In my eighty-five years of life sixty-five of those years in ministry and sixty-one years as a pastor, I’ve known bitter defeats and losses. Following is my letter to Leah which contained my reaction to defeat. I shared the letter with the hope that it would be helpful to all who have known great loss, defeat, and failure. Hopefully, the experiences will be utilized in achieving greatly which achievements could not have been done without the lessons learned from the defeats. What a difference a day makes? To My Daughter, The Rev. Leah Daughtry CEO, 2008 2016 Democratic National Convention History Maker, Miracle Worker Dear Leah, I know you are still hurting and reeling because I know how I feel, and you must feel far worse. I would like to share with you my approach to devastating loss and/or unbearable pain. There are seven attitudes that I strive to adopt: Face the whole worst of it I try to look at loss squarely in the eye and grasp the depth, length, and width of the loss. Dr. William James, the noted American psychologist said, “Acceptance is the first step in overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” Feel the hurt I allow myself to hurt, cry, sob, and feel disappointment. I don’t want to be immediately comforted until I say I have had enough. There is no time limit. I take as much time as I want- although not too long. Feeling hurt can become a way of life. Thus, what God intended for momentary survival, we can turn it into a permanent escape and a plea for sympathy. Learning and Applying the priceless lesson of the experience I try to learn and apply the lessons of the experience so that I might be better and serve more effectively. There are lessons that only pain, hurt, and loss can teach us. For me, I learned a long, long time ago that there is comfort, joy, peace, excitement, fulfillment, and all the wonderful things of life in being a student of life. I practice being a student, ever disposed towards learning. There are five areas of major realities that I study: I am a student of myself. I am a student of life. I am a student of this marvelous, magnificent, mysterious, and miraculous being that God has created. I am in perpetual oar, gratitude, wonder, and euphoria when I contemplate who I am and what I’ve been called to do. I am a student of my neighbor. In so many ways we are all the same. In so many ways, we are all different. Thank God! A few things are more fascinating and provide material for study other than human beings. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Everybody I meet is my superior in some things, therefore I learn from them.” I am a student of the human world - the events and issues of war, peace, events, their nations, beings, and activities. I am a student of the natural world. I am curious about everything that Mother Nature creates and protects. After all, she is in charge of God’s earth. I am a student of personal events. I bring every personal event again, especially those that cause me great hurt, pain, and disappointment into a kind of laboratory to be studied. Everything that happens to me especially losses and defeats, is brought into the laboratory to be dissected. I confess the years have taught me that I am really ignorant as to what is good and what is bad, meaning, of course, events. Things I thought were bad turned out to be good. Things I thought were good turned out to be bad. Thank God that God saved me from the consequences. Again, dealing with my attitude toward pain and loss, I try to think of and act on behalf of others. Here is the greatest and most difficult challenge of all- its of life itself. Yet, it is the one thing that brings the greatest comfort, release, peace, and fulfillment- in a word it brings the greatest blessing. It is what I told the many mothers whose children were killed by police or community violence. I tried to get them to think about other mothers, and to act in some way to prevent other mothers from suffering the same pain. The mothers who heed my counsel find the greatest release and comfort. Remember we called Jesus a “wounded healer”. He endured unimaginable suffering yet, he was the ultimate healer. I call you Leah and others “superstars” because you and others have been able to perform and do your job with a high degree of excellence even while all of you were in pain, hurting, or disappointed. You know, what makes a superstar is not only because they can perform hurt, while others' incomparable positions falter. It’s because superstars think of others. I got this idea from watching the football players. Those who could perform hurt were superstars while others have a low tolerance for pain. The football superstars play hurt because they believe their team is depending on them, their family is depending on them, the fans are depending on them, and the owners are depending on them. They dig down deep so much strength and tolerance from within themselves and do their jobs. When you’re in pain think of others! Everyone can be generous, loving, and outgoing when things are going well for them. It’s another thing to be generous and helpful when things are going bad. I noticed that even in Hillary’s statement she had concern for others- for her family, staff, supporters, etc. Be a superstar! In a real sense, I don’t need to tell you that. You have been a superstar. Even down to the last, you have always thought of others. I have been a beneficiary of your generous, thoughtful spirit. At the Javits Center, you worry about and made preparations for the family. “Where is Dan-Dan? Did I have extra tickets?” Once inside you were concerned about the comfort of everyone, especially sending someone into the crowded place to bring me to where you were sitting comfortably in a suite. Lean on Faith My fifth attitude is to lean on my faith, to believe in my experience and Scripture. What I have learned from my experience is that God has brought me through hard times and difficult seasons. I have been made better because of all of it. In a word, God didn’t bring me this far to leave me or see me fail (and I’ve come through many dangers toils, and snares…) Secondly, and equally important, perhaps more so, I trust the Scripture. I trust it, and my mother trusted it. In Romans 8:28 it says, “For we know that in all things, God works for good to them that love him and to them that are the called according to His purpose.” An Attitude of Gratitude The Bible says in all things give thanks, give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you. The Bible has not said that we should understand everything or know everything but we should give thanks. We believe that God is working for the good in everything. Remember Job said, “when I am tired I will come forth as gold”. So be grateful for all things. Humor If, at all, find some humor- something to laugh about. Get a video or DVD or watch your favorite comedian. Remember the last joke that made you laugh? In the severest crisis, somewhere there is humor. The Bible says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. There is healing in laughter, there is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing in laughter. So these are the seven attitudes that I bring to defeat and loss and failure. As I have studied them in the lives of others and as I have applied them in my own life I guarantee they will help you to overcome every situation and make you a better person accomplishing greater heights. To be continued...

January 11, 2022 A heavy silence crept over the place. Rev. TuTu could have gone but, as aforesaid, the chairman, a Liberian, discouraged it. He was the only person cut off in the whole conference. There were several other speakers but the conference was stunned. I don’t think they were even heard. Despair was thick and prevalent. Then Philip came to the rescue. He came forward slowly, seeming to wax bigger with each step. Now he was set and began to speak. He reminded everyone that he was responsible for convening the conference. For years he had longed to hear the very things which were being said today and in the manner, they were being said. It was long overdue. But now that they were said, let's be done with it and get on with the business of reconciliation for we are all members of the Sustaining Fellowship and the serious burden of mission still awaits our attention. He was his usual eloquent, persuasive, massive, commanding self. The response from the plenary was mildly enthusiastic, which I think, derived more from relief than anything else. I too was carried away by Phillip’s words and bearing. Afterward, I said to him, “Very well said”. But as I walked back to my room I began to think. I asked myself two questions. “What motivated Philip’s intervention?” and “What would have happened had the “love speaking” been allowed to continue?” The next day I asked another black person what he thought Philip was really saying. He replied, “Man, Philip was really saying, ‘Listen you cats, you’ve got to cool it now. You’ve stomped on whitey long enough and if you don’t stop running off at the mouth, whitey is going to take his money and go home and you won’t have a penny when you get home and I won’t have a job. So quit the rest of that babbling and let’s get together with whitey and talk about saving souls.” Of course, he said facetiously with a big grin on his face all the while he spoke, which interpreted means, whether or not I’m serious, I leave that for you to decide. That’s a code from the black survival kit – and the humor helps keep things in their proper perspective. Never let the other know precisely what you mean. For in antebellum times, and also in contemporary times, to speak the naked truth could mean reprisal of one form or another, even death. Now, Phillip, as stated earlier was the Director of the Commission on World Mission and now the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, which forces us to ask, “Can anyone with so much at stake in the perpetuation of a group ever do or say anything but what will advance the interest of that group. I mean, that’s why he’s here…isn’t it? On the other side, is he not expected to counter anything or anybody who threatens to destroy the group? If I were asked whether the process should have continued, my answer would be a ringing “YES!” But what motivates my decision? Was I enjoying it all and therefore wanted it to continue, as anyone desires the thing that affords him a pleasure to continue? Was I deriving sadistic pleasure in seeing whitey get blasted? Well, I confess, I was delighted and exhilarated. I’m not sure if it had to do more with seeing whitey get it; or with seeing Africans and Asians get it “off their chests” and out of their “gut”. In any event, I will leave others to discuss my motive.

January 26, 2022 One of the reasons I don’t think the process was completed is that there was still a lot of “love talking” afoot in small groups, caucuses, new conferences, and personal conversations I had with Africans and Asians even after Philip’s intervention. I know after overhearing whites’ reactions to this “love talk” that the message had not gotten home. Whites were still defensive – furtively defensive. I overheard a number react vehemently to the way other whites felt it would be helpful to everyone to confess their sins and express understanding of the actions and attitudes of Africans and Asians. “Why are we feeling so guilty about everything?” came the questions over and over again. Other whites felt the whole thing was irrational, totally unnecessary and a waste of time. All of this and more was going on clandestinely. But nothing had surfaced in larger groups, especially in the plenaries. Nothing of a face-to-face confrontation; let us settle it once and have done with it in the end. Miss Pauline Webb had spoken at one of the full sessions that she had observed that Africans and Asians were speaking out and whites were sitting back listening and she thought it was a good thing. Tracy Jones, trying to reassure his white brethren, said on the occasion of another full session, that all of this could be good. He reminded them of African-Americans in the U.S.A. had subjected them to their baptism of fire. There was nothing new or demonic about what was happening. Beyond those two reactions, whites were just not publicly responding. This in itself may be no more than white arrogance which refuses to acknowledge the deep feelings of blacks. To do so they would have to recognize the humanity of the “black other” and to recognize the humanity of the “black other” is to confess that a terrible sin has been committed to treating him as though he was a non-person; that he did not exist except as he existed according to the image which whites created for him, which image was according to themselves, their culture and values. Beyond that, he just didn’t exist. Now, this simply enhances the frustration and resentment of those who were trying to speak honestly. A few years ago Bill Bright, who is the head of Campus Crusades for Christ invited me and other members of the National Negro Evangelical Association to their headquarters in California. For a week Blacks poured out their frustrations, resentments, doubts, and uncertainties. It was an unforgettable experience. There were blacks, conservatives in theology, fighting with one another for employing too caustic language hurting from the nation's racist policies but more pained by the insensitivity on the part of their white brethren who share the same theology – begging and pleading with them to understand! Throughout the week there was no real meaningful response from any whites. I remember Bill Bright just sitting and not saying a word. There was some attempt to involve us in their Bible Training Institute. But to really get down to issues, feelings, and attitudes, which were our priorities, there was nothing. At the conclusion of the week, there was a call for prayer. I remember I became furious. Prayer? I thought that’s what we were trying to do all week by speaking honestly to our professed “brethren in the Lord” and to God about what was really hurting us. They wanted no part of that kind of prayer meeting. They wanted the nice, safe exercise where one can mouth a few pious phrases about celestial glories, and earthly irrelevancies and arise and continue living in an illusion of righteousness. It was the only prayer meeting I’ve ever boycotted in my life. I could not help saying over and over to myself, “What a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites!” While men are pouring out their guts, bearing their souls, these hypocrites refused to participate. They could have at least fought back, taken some verbal open position on something, and confessed their sins. Something! Anything! But they sat, as a pinnacle, high above all the heat, anger, and frustration. Their countenances always seemed to say, “How could you say such things and act that way and call yourself a Christian, a follower of loving, gentle Jesus”; or “Oh, you poor man, we will pray for you”; or “How dare you say those things to us whites!”

Reflections on Three Important Events I cannot let this time pass without recording it among other reasons for history's sake. There are three major events two of which would influence our lives for years to come. The vaccine has arrived. It had been promised for months that help was on the way and now it has finally arrived in the USA. The cure for covid-19 was now a reality and present in America. I recall Dr. Anthony Fauci director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases saying that help is on the way. But we need to continue the preventive measures- masks, social distancing, washing hands, quarantine where required, and testing. The research for the cure and making it available to the public was done in record time, “historic speed”. It was done in eleven months and there will be enough vaccines for 2.9 million people delivered to the hospitals. Some say by the summer and others say by the fall, all Americans, 320 million will have availability of the vaccine if they so desire. However, the scientists want us to remember that this was not done overnight or in a year's time. They had been working on this for seventeen years. But it is generally agreed that the one thing President Trump can be given credit for is speeding up the process through what is called ‘warp speed’. But while he can take a bow in celebration, he must also bear the guilt for the devastation of the virus which at the point of this writing the virus to the U.S.A had reached over 300,000 deaths and over 17 million infections. He knew on January 28th that the unprecedented death and infections would invade America. In fact, he had said, “ the virus is dangerous, airborne, contagious and fatal.” He did nothing at one point, and later ridiculed and mocked those who were abiding by the preventive measures, then resisted or downplayed any attempt to eradicate the virus, even as deaths and infections were rising to staggering heights. It is unbelievable that at the beginning of the year over 300,000 people were alive and over 17 million were not infected but primarily because of Mr. Trump these people are no longer in the land of the living and the infections could’ve been substantially reduced. Let us hope and pray that the vaccine will be effective and by the end of 2021 covid-19 will be a thing of the past and gone the way other pandemic plagues or diseases have gone. The Electors have had their say. On December 14, 2020, at 5:38 pm California electors cast their final vote it was for Mr. Joseph Biden. All 55 California directors or electors gave Mr. Biden the final count of 306 to Mr. Trump’s at 232. Mr. Biden’s popular vote at 81.2 million and Mr. Trump at 74.2 million. It is now official- almost. Ordinarily, consistent with past times, for all intent and purpose the election process would be over. However, these are not normal times. These are political times unlike any that has gone before. We can give Mr. Trump credit for bringing to pass this unique period in America. The elector's votes now has to go to Congress. Congress will have its final say. Again, in normal times it was a formality, nothing really serious. But now we have to wait until January 6, 2021, when Congress will ratify the vote of the electors. History of the Electoral College “The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. However, the term “electoral college” does not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to “electors,” but not to the “electoral college.” Since the Electoral College process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution it would be necessary to pass a Constitutional amendment to change this system. The ratification of the 12th Amendment, the expansion of voting rights, and the State's use of the popular vote to determine who will be appointed as electors have each substantially changed the process. Many different proposals to alter the Presidential election process have been offered over the years, such as direct nationwide election by the eligible voters, but none has been passed by Congress and sent to the States for ratification as a Constitutional amendment. Under the most common method for amending the Constitution, an amendment must be proposed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the States.” Mr. Trump has refused to acknowledge Biden as President and will continue to call the election a fraud, a conspiracy that cheated him out of victory. He will continue in all probability after January 6th and who knows how long he will continue to claim that the election was stolen from him. What he plans to do next is anybody’s guess. But I would not be surprised if, in fact, he encouraged violent resistance. He has already, you remember, said to his followers – to the white supremacists, militia, and domestic terrorists to stand down and stand by. He has already said that Michigan needs to be liberated because of the tough policy of the Michigan governor on restrictions relative to Covid-19 and other statements that he has made which have been denounced by the majority of the media and practically all leading citizens except for Republicans. His remarks encouraged the wild statement made by his attorney Joseph DiGenova, he said, “Anybody who thinks the election went well,” he said, “like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity, that guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot” what we have seen is a rise of violence directly attributable to the inflammatory statements made by Mr. Trump and his supporters. Even black churches have been desecrated by pulling down signs. U.S. Attorney General William Barr Resigns. It is highly significant that 20 mins after the electors voted U.S. Attorney General William Barr resigned. It is believed that Mr. Trump insisted on his resignation at this time to distract or minimize Mr. Biden’s election by the electors. He refused to give Mr. Biden the whole stage for himself; something dramatic must enter the picture. Mr. Barr’s resignation letter some believe was written by Mr. Trump’s people. It gushes with praise for Mr. Trump’s accomplishments most of which were immediately denounced as false. After the vote by the electors, the overwhelming majority of Republican Party members did not publicly recognize Mr. Biden as President and the masses of Mr. Trump followers still believe that the election was stolen from Mr. Trump. What the future holds only God knows, what would happen to Mr. Trump or what decision Mr. Trump will make that too is in the knowledge of God. The rest of us will have to wait and see and hope and pray for the best. To be continued...

Returning home, I vowed that never again would I pour out my soul trying to make whites feel, identify or empathize, to understand that society has dehumanized both of us… whites by instilling a sense of somebodiness predicated upon an illusion of blacks’ nobodiness; and blacks by instilling a sense of inferiority built upon an illusion of whites’ superiority and mastery. The angry words and menacing decorum of blacks is another way of saying, “I’m hurting and I know it. You’re hurting and don’t know it. Both of us have been short-changed by society. My words and assertiveness are attempts to startle you to the reality of the situation. I’m trying to assert my new identity, show you my pain and scares, and hope that you get the message and join the search for new definitions of who we are; definitions that comport with unmanufactured and unmanipulated reality; definitions that comport with unmanufactured and unmanipulated reality; definitions rooted in the noble idea of “the brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God”. That is what blacks are really saying. Especially those who are trying to be disciples of Jesus and this is true of other blacks more than they like to admit. After all, even James Forman came to the churches with his reparation idea which seems to indicate a credence in the morality of American churches, and the eagerness with which blacks are quick to enter into raging rhetoric with whites again confirms the above. I say the same white reactions (or lack of reactions) in Bangkok that I saw in California and that I have seen thousand times over. Blacks angrily asserting themselves, candidly speaking their hearts, and whites were unable or unwilling to deal with it. It is really the black power issue all over again. There was a kind of “lovey-dovey” relationship between blacks and whites during the civil white, I mean civil rights days. Blacks, I mean Negroes (Blacks was a term used later as the need to define for us, to us, and to the world who we were) and whites stood with arms intertwined, marched, and sang together, “We Shall Overcome”. Whites were speaking for Negroes telling us, themselves, and the world who we were, what we wanted when we wanted it, and where we wanted it. Negroes were speaking to, whenever and whatever whites wanted them to. Dr. Ralph Bunch had said in the forties, “All Negro and white cooperation ended up with Negroes cooing and whites operating.” Shockingly, even that arrangement, most whites in America couldn’t accept. Remember the pious clergy of Birmingham, Alabama admonishing Martin Luther King, languishing in a jail cell “to wait”. Remember Eisenhower telling the N.A.A.C.P. Convention “to go slow” which elicited the reply from Roy Wilkins, the eternal moderate, “That’s startling advice”. Then suddenly, Black Power! Negroes started screaming, “I’m black and proud”. “We need to bring whitey to his knees”. “Burn baby burn”. Tough-talking, mean-looking blacks were everywhere talking about “getting our thing together”. Wide publicity was given to a religious group which called white people devils and elevated the virtues of blacks to the deity. Malcolm X and Stokley Carmichael, handsome, dashing, and articulate became the new heroes of young black people publicly and older blacks privately. What did it all mean? Whites were asking, “Who is this new nigger? So different from the nigger we once knew? These new niggers talking all that black power stuff were communists, hoodlums…etc.” And to the liberals – “they were ungrateful”. “After all we have done for them, and the legislation we got passed for them; and the jobs we got for them; and all the doors of restaurants, hotels, train stations, and buses that we opened for them; and now they are talking about black power and self-determination and empowerment. Now they are telling us to participate on their terms. What’s gotten into them? Don’t they remember Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, the abolitionist movement, J.F.K., and all the rest of us noble whites who did so much for them?”

Mr. Trump Psychologically Unfit Increasingly, Mr. Trump’s words and actions are being defined in unflattering names. Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) says “Mr. Trump was never the President of America…..but the president of the Trump organizations.” She said this reacting to Mr. Trump’s dismissing Russia as the culprit for the hacking and blaming China. According to the report, there has been unprecedented hacking of U.S companies and governmental agencies. It was one of the major news stories of the last several days. Practically everybody in America blames Russia for the hacking. Even William Barr, U.S. Attorney General (Mr. Barr resigned on December 23rd), and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agree with the prevailing opinion. For months Russian hackers have been working at perfecting the infiltration. It is significant that Mr. Trump refuses to blame Russia. Throughout his administration if there is one thing in which he has been consistent it is his support for the Russians. It has already been stated that: In Helsinki, in a press conference, the question arose as to Russia’s interference in the 2016 election which accusations were made by the U.S. Intelligence Community. Trump chose to believe Mr. Putin and dismissed the report of his Intelligence Community. When all evidence pointed to the Russians being guilty to have American soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Mr. Trump admitted to never saying a word to Mr. Putin about it. He admitted to having multiple conversations with Mr. Putin but never raised the issue. There have been other instances where clearly Mr. Trump showed admiration and support for Mr. Putin beyond the norm. His decorum in the presence of the Russian President is far different than his usual swaggering arrogance. This has caused his severest critics to call Trump, “Putin’s little puppy.” Surely, it must be crystal clear to anyone who has followed this President in the last four years that there is a strange and unusual relationship that Mr. Trump has with Mr. Putin. I wonder why the critics have never accused him of being a Russian traitor or Asset. It seems that they come to the edge of the water as did Representative Speier but refused to take the next step. There was at one point talk of a dossier in which Mr. Trump had been compromised regarding sexual activity and financial dealings. It has been reported that Russia is one of Mr. Trump’s major financial backers makes a persuasive case for Mr. Trump’s being a Russian asset. Mr. Trump psychologically unfit John Harwood, White House correspondent for CNN said that, Mr. Trump is “psychologically unhealthy”. This he said because of a report that there was a heated debate in the White House whether Mr. Trump could use martial law to overturn the election. Mr. Michael Flynn, former U.S. National Security Advisor was one who argued that Mr. Trump as President would be within his legal right to do so. Also joining Mr. Flynn was Attorney Sidney Powell, one of the lawyers on Trump’s legal team which sought to overturn the election via the court system. They went to court across the country many times losing every step of the way, even being ridiculed. Ms. Powell was the ring leader in the conspiracy theory that foreign countries through their flawed computer systems had created a mess in the American electoral machinery. Mr. Barr, a star Trump supporter indicated that he opposed seizing election machines and reaffirmed that there was no voter fraud which, by the way, is one of the reasons that got him fired. It was not stated whether Mr. Trump went along with the argument of martial law. I for one would not be surprised even if he hinted at or encouraged an American militia to engage in some form of intimidation or violence. I have stated in my article published September 4th on Trump’s options should he lose the 2020 Election. Among the things that Mr. Trump would do should he lose the election was he might seek political asylum in Russia and, also, I raised the possibility of him using violent resistance to overturn the election. It is believed that multiple lawsuits await Mr. Trump when he is no longer President and as stated huge debts will be due following the end of his presidency. It is important to note that Mr. Trump has been called many names related to his abnormal behavior. As I have pointed out increasingly, his behavior was brought under scrutiny by many credible observers. They are using terms that suggest that Mr. Trump is not mentally and emotionally well. I remind my readers that long ago, in fact, I was one of the first, if not the first to recognize Mr. Trump’s behavior revealed that he was becoming “unhinged”. I even quoted the ancient saying, “ the gods first make mad those that they are about to destroy.” In my last article published on December 4th, I suggested a team of scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and sociologists reconvene to evaluate the behavior of Mr. Trump and make a public report. My evaluation of Mr. Trump’s behavior was informed by my theological interpretation. Narcissism or the ultimate self-aggrandizement is a manifestation of Luciferianism. According to the Bible story Lucifer, an angel that was created by God wanted to be like God and eventually sought to usurp the throne of God. So self-centeredness is attempt to be like God or to be more than God ultimately the guilty party is destroyed but first made mad or insane. an Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned All the while the furor around hacking was going on and debate regarding overturning the election was happening, the country was spiraling towards destruction as a result of covid-19. In some cases, the President was discussing election fraud, resistance, and conspiracy theories. It calls to mind what was written about Nero, emperor of Rome. It is said that he fiddled while Rome was burning. Well, it can be said by this President while Mr. Trump was golfing, gawking, and tweeting the nation was starving, dying, and downward reeling. In one state, doctors were considering a plan for rationing care. They indicated that they may have to ration ventilators and who will receive certain services. It has been estimated that 27+ million Americans are without enough food and 85+ million are struggling to pay their bills. If covid -19 wasn’t enough the report comes from Britain that there is another virus or a strain of covid-19 that is even more contagious. Some nations have closed their countries to Great Britain. It is indeed the worst of times and in some sense the best of times in that we celebrate the hope of Christmas and vaccines being circulated. In addition to Pfizer developing a vaccine now, Moderna has also discovered a vaccine. To be continued...

February 3, 2022 Whites, for the most part, confessed confusion about black power. Perhaps they understood too well what it meant for it was a declaration of independence: an affirmation of new manhood and the burden was on whites to deal with it. When any oppressed group stands up and begins to assert themselves the oppressor class must react in one of four ways. 1. Attempt to run away; move to another community or city or country or leave the room or group. How often have we seen that? 2. Ignore. Pretend that it is not really there or isn’t happening. This reaction of course is close to the first. Instead of quitting the scene as in the first, the person stays but just ignores everything, and ignoring blacks is a skill whites have honed to the finest edge. How else can whites talk about discovering a land when millions of people are present; except that they ignore them or treat them as though they didn’t exist? How else can whites boast about holding a homerun record in baseball – or any record in anything – when 1/10 of the population is denied participation? How else can whites talk about “All men are created equal…” while holding 4 million blacks in slavery except that the slaves were not considered men? 3. Fight back. While this reaction might be more desirable than the first two, it at least is a response. It recognizes the “other”. But it still manifests an inability to accept the “other”. But it still manifests an inability to accept the “other” on the “other’s” terms. All three of the above reactions demonstrate a need to have the oppressed kept in a non-person status. Sambo must remain Sambo. To me, this speaks of a kind of sickness. For one to insist upon another human being maintaining an inferior state can only mean that there is an acute disorder within the personality so desirous of that state. James Baldwin once said, “Whites need to ask themselves why they needed a nigger in the first place.” I remember watching Jim Nabors, the funny man of the Gomer Pyle show, doing a straight appearance. He was called on to sing a song but first, there was an interview. I was startled and uneasy when I saw him in this new role. I kept waiting for him to crack a joke or droop his shoulders over and get a funny look on his face. But he didn’t. The interview continued and I kept waiting for Jim to assume his real self. What had gotten into him anyway? How dare he keep composed this long! Now he was singing. Surely it would come. I knew he was going to do something funny in the song. I waited but nothing. He had the audacity to sing the song through with no so much as a silly expression or goofed word. He was serious all the way through. When he was finished, he was thanked profusely and walked away. I sat in my chair stunned. I remembered how I enjoyed and loved him when he played in Andy of Mayberry and in Gomer Pyle. My what a change! I found myself becoming angry. Angry at Jim because he wasn’t what I wanted him to be. Angry because he denied me a few laughs. Angry because he confused me with his change. I wanted the old Jim. I understood him better and as a result, understood my role better. When I saw him it was time to laugh. Now I wouldn’t know what to do when I saw him again. Maybe I would just steer clear of him. Not only that, I would tell my friends about what happened. That I assure you is a true story. Now I believe whites who react in the aforementioned ways are going through the changes I experienced – far more dramatically, of course. Former docile Negroes and Africans and Asians, now asserting themselves forced whites into all kinds of psychological and physiological changes. Whites are compelled to ask, “If you are not what I think you are, then I am not what I think I am” or “ If you were really never what I thought you were then it means that my father and I before were never what we thought we were which means that we have lived a lie” or “If you have changed it means I must change.” That is a hard saying. No wonder whites react in the above ways or as in the case of Jesus, many walk no more with us. 4. The fourth reaction is to rejoice in the new day. That is to understand and accept the assertion of the oppressed as the dawning of a new day in which the truth of the old identities and relationships are seen for what they were (as painful as that may be) and the possibility of new identities and relationships ensuing far more meaningful and exciting than could ever possibly be under the old arrangements. To understand the rage as the expulsion of long-held resentments and the ambivalence of love and hate, created and sustained by years of subjugation and that health and growth require that ventilation occurs and that the cry for separation is but the natural desire for momentary distance while the new man looks at himself and his world in the light of his new discovery. That is the fourth reaction. So minimal, so trite! Yet, alas, how many whites can be found in the number even at this late date? It is the reason for the continued hostility and polarization between blacks and whites. Whites, by and large, have never been able or willing to accept “the otherness” of blacks and blacks are not about to look backward. So here we are. Those whites who met in Bangkok to discuss salvation today for the most part can still be located somewhere stumbling around in the first three, clinging to Sambo. Now what would have happened had the process continued? Who knows? Perhaps it would have torn up the Council beyond repair. Perhaps men claiming allegiance to the same God would have parted company forever. Who knows? Maybe after all the hatred, resentment, love, and fear of both blacks and whites were out in the open, real reconciliation would have followed and from that, an old-fashioned revival might have started. Perhaps that is the greatest fear of all. The End.

Chairman Clyburn Releases Memo With New Evidence Of Political Interference In Pandemic Response Back on September 30th, 2020 I did some writing on herd immunity. I tried to inform and warn the public that the Trump administration had instituted a policy called “herd immunity” however, at the time Mr. Trump and his staff denied the allegations. Now we know, that in fact, there was a policy of “herd immunity”. During the month of December, there was a Select Subcommittee that held a hearing on the Coronavirus crisis. It was revealed that evidence was submitted that showed conclusively that there was a policy regarding herd immunity. Representative James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Committee released a press statement on December 16th capturing highlights of the hearing. I am taking the liberty to include his full statement. All of it is too important for me to tamper with or exclude any part of it. Following is Mr. Clyburn’s press statement: I am deeply troubled that, instead of promoting the best available science needed to keep Americans safe, the Trump Administration has played politics with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 of our fellow Americans,” the Chairman stated. “The documents obtained by the Select Subcommittee show a pernicious pattern of political interference by Administration officials. As the virus spread through the country, these officials callously wrote, ‘who cares’ and ‘we want them infected.’ They privately admitted they ‘always knew’ the President’s policies would cause a ‘rise’ in cases, and they plotted to blame the spread of the virus on career scientists.” “The documents released today reinforce the need for HHS to end its obstruction of the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the political meddling that has hindered the nation’s response to this deadly virus. HHS must produce the critical documents and witnesses it is withholding, and CDC Director Robert Redfield must appear for an interview regarding evidence that he ordered CDC staff to delete a key email. Unless the Administration abandons this flagrant obstruction, I will be forced to start issuing subpoenas,” added the Chair. HHS Official Promoted Spreading the Virus to Americans to Achieve Herd Immunity. HHS Senior Advisor Paul Alexander strategized with other top officials from HHS, CDC, and FDA about pursuing a herd immunity strategy in response to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, on July 3, 2020, Dr. Alexander wrote: “So the bottom line is if it is more infectiousness [sic] now, the issue is who cares? If it is causing more cases in young, my word is who cares…as long as we make sensible decisions, and protect the elderly [sic] and nursing homes, we must go on with life….who cares if we test more and get more positive tests…” On July 4, 2020, Dr. Alexander wrote: “There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high-risk groups to expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD.” Also on July 4, 2020, Dr. Alexander stated: “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle-aged with no conditions, etc. have zero to little risk….so we use them to develop herd… want them infected…” On July 24, 2020, Dr. Alexander wrote to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo: “it may be that it will be best if we open up and flood the zone and let the kids and young folk get infected” as a strategy to get “natural immunity…natural exposure.” Administration Officials Knew the President’s Policies Would Increase Spread of the Virus. Contradicting the rosy public statements from the White House and HHS, Dr. Alexander admitted privately that the Administration was aware its policies would not only fail to stop the spread of the virus but would lead to an increase in cases. For example, on June 24, 2020, Dr. Alexander wrote: “There is a rise in cases due to testing and also simultaneously due to the relaxing of restrictions, less social distancing. We always knew as you relax and open up, cases will rise…” Appointees Sought to Downplay the Virus Threat to Help President Trump Win Reelection. On May 30, 2020, Dr. Alexander urged colleagues to suppress CDC hospitalization data showing the risk posed by the virus to minority communities, because it could hurt President Trump in the 2020 election. He wrote: “if the communication is left with just the statement that minoring [sic] groups are at higher risk then on its face this is very accurate, however, in this election cycle that is the kind of statement coming from CDC that the media and Democrat [sic] antagonists will use against the president.” On June 24, 2020, Dr. Alexander discussed the “key message” to communicate to the public regarding the pandemic, noting: “We need also to tout the good stories as we know of elderly with serious conditions who get it and survive…this is key to tell…” Administration Officials Tried to Discredit Scientists Who Provided Truthful Public Information. Dr. Alexander attempted to blame public health officials for the pandemic and tried to discredit scientists such as Dr. Anthony Fauci. For example, on June 29, 2020, Dr. Alexander baselessly accused scientists of trying to “destroy the nation and people’s lives just to make the President look bad…saving lives is not their aim…” On July 3, 2020, Dr. Alexander complained that Dr. Fauci had warned the public to “expect a dramatic increase in spread.” Dr. Alexander wrote: “He just won't stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He can't keep quiet….and he is not on the same page as the government….does he think he is the President???” One week later, President Trump and other White House officials publicly attacked Dr. Fauci. On September 14, 2020, the Select Subcommittee launched an investigation into political interference by senior Trump administration officials with the scientific reports and guidance issued by the CDC during the coronavirus crisis. On December 10, 2020, Chairman Clyburn wrote to HHS Secretary Azar and CDC Director Redfield seeking immediate compliance with the Select Subcommittee’s investigation after a witness revealed that career CDC officials were directed to destroy evidence of political interference in the CDC’s work, and HHS canceled four other witness interviews. Chairman Clyburn requested a transcribed interview with Director Redfield and warned that failure to make a complete production of all remaining responsive documents by December 15, 2020, would force the Select Subcommittee to issue subpoenas to compel production. Once again, Mr. Trump and his staff have been caught in a falsehood which of course is nothing new. To be continued...

Christ and Culture (Kwanzaa) There is Hope Looking back on the last days of December 2020, we see two celebrations that give us hope as we enter the New Year, Christmas and Kwanzaa (Christ and Culture). The year 2020 will long be remembered as the year of unprecedented global suffering. With the exception of World War II, the world has never experienced such worldwide pain and uncertainty. Although there are those who claimed that the 1918 flu pandemic was worse however, because this pandemic has other major problems which makes it more devastating than the Spanish flu of 1918. They discovered at least two variants to Covid-19 and finally there were at least three other factors. The three main monsters I will call the Vicious V’s: Global Violence The global violence manifested itself in many ways.There were the usual nation against nation which carried the potential for wider conflict with the possibility of leading to another World War. And then there was the violence of terrorism. There was street violence in the U.S.A in particular there was gun violence, police violence, racist, sexist or mysogynistic, xenophobic violence, religious violence, political violence, etc. also there was violence in our speech; hostility manifested itself in hurtful verbal communication. Venality: the quality of being open to bribery or overly motivated by money. I am expanding the use of venality to include incompetence and self-serving leadership. In America, Mr. Trump and his administration will go down in history as one of the most inept, corrupt, self-serving administrations. His attempts to diminish and or destroy America’s institutions ie: courts, police, media, the various governmental agencies was particularly reprehensible. Perhaps the worst of all was his attempt to corrupt or discredit the election system. To the very end he has tried to discredit all of the systems, which will exert influence for years to come. The Virus COVID-19 COVID-19 as stated will surpass the horrors of all other pandemics. As of this writing 86.4 million coronavirus cases and 1.9 million deaths globally and in the USA 21,045,468 cases and 357,166 deaths. With the virus comes different forms of disasters ie; joblessness (at 19.6 million filed as of December 12); the emotional and mental breakdown and suicidal increase. Looking back it is no wonder many lost hope and despair was pervasive. However, there were at least two celebrations which emphasized Hope- Christmas and Kwanzaa. The Story of Christmas The Scripture says “God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son.” John 3:16. This son was born in a manger, a stable and though we see pictures of golden straw and cleanliness everywhere but a stable is a stable. Perhaps God was sending a message to those who are destitute, even homeless, that though God had created the universe when his son was born there was no room for him. The message of Christmas is a message of hope, of love, of salvation. Kwanzaa Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the department of Africana Studies at California State University. He created Kwanzaa, responding to the rebellion that took place in Watts. He wanted to find a project or some way to bring people, particularly people of African Ancestry together in respect, peace and prosperity. I’ve known Dr. Karenga for many years. He is a brilliant, creative, committed brother. Other organizations he created was Us and the Kawaida project. He was a key supporter of our organizing the National Black United Front in 1980. In our organizing efforts there was some tension between the veterans of the movement and some of the new converts. I felt that if we were ever going to create a National Black United Front it had to become the dream of every credible Pan-Africanist leader. The leadership would have to come from the newer members of the movement with the veterans teaching and advising and sharing their experiences. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI had created and spread hostility among political activists at the time. He sowed seeds of discord among the leaders and instigated conflict among themselves and the police. Thus, the suspicion was deep and pervasive. new leadership didn’t bring those scars and distrust to the movement. Dr. Karenga gave his blessing to our organizing efforts, when we explained to him and to the other veterans that we wanted them to be Advisors to our organizing for the National Black United Front.The message of Kwanzaa to repeat is a message primarily of the love, respect, unity and building community together: Umoja (Unity): maintaining unity as a family, community, and race of people. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): defining, naming, creating, and speaking for ourselves. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): building and maintaining our community—solving problems together. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics: building and maintaining retail stores and other businesses and to profit from these ventures. Nia (Purpose): work collectively to build communities that will restore the greatness of African people. Kuumba (Creativity): to find new, innovative ways to leave communities of African descent in more beautiful and beneficial ways than the community inherited. Imani (Faith): the belief in God, family, heritage, leaders, and others that will leave to the victory of Africans around the world. Heeding the message of these two celebrations let us manifest in our lives the words of Jesus, “Love God with all our hearts, soul mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.” And if the religious reference bothers you then let the Golden rule suffice “Do unto others and you would have others do unto you.” Keeping the message of these two celebrations, Christ and Kwanzaa, ever before us, let us hold fast to hope, and join our hands and hearts together and work to build a better world. To be continued...

History Making Senatorial Democratic Victory in Georgia Well, I feel like singing with Ray Charles “Georgia on my Mind” and with Gladys Knight and the Pips that I’m taking a “Midnight Train to Georgia”. Hallelujah! Praise God history was made in Georgia on January 6, 2021. Around 3:30 a.m I had another unbelievable experience related to political elections, that took place in the State of Georgia. This time it was the victory of the Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia senatorial race. He defeated a White woman, Kelly Lynn Loeffler, in a run-off election. He became the first Black Senator from Georgia. There have been only eleven Black senators since Reconstruction. The first two were Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche K. Bruce, both from Mississippi. Rev. Warnock spent time in New York studying at Union Theological Seminary and was a student minister at Abyssinian Baptist Church under the leadership of the Pastor, Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts. The Reverend, pastors Ebenezer Baptist Church, the family church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., where Dr. King did his first pastoral work. Also, it was the church of the late, legendary Congressman John Lewis. While I can’t recall having any personal, civil rights, or Seminary connection with Rev. Warnock, I’m sure if he were in New York at any period of time and was active in any of the above circles – we would have had to make contact. I am sure that we were in some church-related meetings. However, even more, touching for me is that Rev. Warnock was born in Savannah, Georgia, and lived in public housing approximately a half mile from where I was born on Victory Drive (43rd Street). He was the eleventh child of twelve and the first generation in his family to go to college-Morehouse. In the early morning, as I reflected on his victory, my mind went back to my childhood years growing up in Savannah. Rev. Warnock and I share another similar experience. His father was a minister. My grandfather pastored Asbury Methodist Church in Savannah Georgia. I remember going to school for the first time, Florence Street School, and playing in Cans Park on 45th Street, not far from where I lived on the corner of 44th and Florence Street. Vivid in my recollection was the rigid segregation laws. The constant humiliation to which black people were subjected, the fear that seemed so pervasive. Where we lived, with my grandfather and mother, aunt and uncle, cousin and brother during the early years of my life on said streets was the dividing line 44th Street going East was where the White folks lived in beautiful white houses, tree-lined streets, and manicured lawns. Traveling West on 44th where Black folks lived. There were a few well-kept houses along the street but most of the dwellings deteriorated. There were fields between the houses and the streets were unpaved and it seemed there were little puddles of water all the time. Before the age of eight, I would stand in the middle of the street and study the difference and wonder why. I know it was before I was eight as I am eight years older than my baby brother and he was not yet born. My father has become a minister and was sent to Augusta to pastor a small congregation that Bishop Marcelino Manuel da Graça also known as Bishop Grace had started, I found the same cruelties of the segregation system. The Chinese owned almost all the Bodegas or the “Mom and Pop” grocery stores. On one of my stays in Augusta Georgia, before I was ten years of age, I was hired as a grocery boy delivering groceries and working around the store. This time I observed the economic disparities. Black people were impoverished, scraping up money to buy inferior products- paying more and getting less! I began to practice the Robin Hood principles before I knew the story. I tried to even the playing field in some way by giving the people more than what they were paying for. I knew I was going to get caught but I tried to do as much as I could before my termination. I was about eleven or twelve when my father expanded our church to Brooklyn, NY. I would go back to Savannah and Augusta occasionally as my grandparents still lived in Savannah; later they moved to Jersey City, NJ where my mother lived and had separated from my father. He lived in Brooklyn, NY. When I became a Minister, Pastor, and later National Bishop of The House of the Lord Churches, I would return to Augusta and Savannah frequently. Each time, observing the snail pace progress of the South. My civil right and political struggles eventually brought me into contact with Reverend Jesse Jackson. We became great friends starting with Operation Breadbasket, which was the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) – the organization that Dr. King established. When Rev. Jackson decided to run for the presidency in 1983, he asked me and Assemblyman Al Vann to convene Black leaders to help him decide whether he should run. When he put his hat in the ring, I was with him from the very beginning. In fact, it was at our church in September 1987 at Jackson’s request we convened the Black leadership of New York which helped him make the decision to run. One of the most memorable times of the campaign was when we decided that I should go back to Savannah to campaign. I remember the days and nights walking the streets campaigning in Savannah. I lived with my mother who had moved back to Savannah and I remembered how I tossed and turned throughout the night in disbelief that I was actually campaigning for a brother that I knew so well- we were really running for the President of the United States. Savannah Georgia had changed as had the old South. Gone were the White only signs and other conspicuous manifestations of racist institutions, and for the most part behavior and it seemed that some Whites were changed. But racism was still there. A few years before racism was blatant and blazingly cruel. And now, we were actually going through the town campaigning. I was out early in the morning observing on the day of the election and I was so ecstatic; everywhere I went, lines of people were waiting to vote. Unfortunately, we lost the race but we won the masses of people who were later to be encouraged to become politically, and socially involved and would win political elections in every sector of society. In 2008 President Obama threw his hat in the ring. I went back to Georgia to campaign for him. See my book In My Lifetime. Again, the overwhelming emotional experience was even more intense. But equally important was our daughter, the Reverend Leah Daughtry, who was the CEO of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), having served for six years as the Chief of Staff for the Democratic Party. She made history when Hillary Clinton ran in 2016, she was asked to be the CEO of the DNC again. And again, she did a magnificent job as attested to by all. In 2003, I went back to Savannah and Augusta to campaign for Charles Champ Walker Jr. who was running for Congress. Interestingly enough, earlier on the day of the 2020 Senatorial runoff election, I found an old poster that had been produced by the Walker campaign. He was not successful. Watching the Biden and Harris Presidential/Vice Presidential returns on election night, I went back through the emotional experience of campaigning in Georgia. And now, here I was, once again watching, studying, experiencing, and hoping for victories in another campaign. Thank God, this time we won! How sweet it is! As I have stated it is hard to comprehend, to really believe it has happened, a Black man has won the senatorial race in Georgia. Rev.Warnock was not the only one who made history in the senatorial race, his running partner Jon Ossoff, also won the other senatorial seat. He is only thirty-three years old which makes him the youngest senator elected from Georgia. The victory of the Democratic Senators is super important for it evens the number of Senators between the Democrats and Republicans which means that the Vice President casts the deciding vote and since Kamala Harris is now the Vice President she will cast the final vote should there be a tie. This gives Democrats a majority vote in both houses and also the White House. It should make it much easier for Mr. Biden to get his agenda implemented. Already the President-elect has laid out an ambitious 100-day plan which includes Covid-19, an increased stimulus package, international changes, etc. I hope that Mr. Biden will achieve his goal. What we, all of us can do immediately is implement the preventive measures as it relates to Covid-19. It is even more critically important that we obey because Covid-19 has mutated or there are various strands and we are told it is more contagious than the original Covid-19. To be continued...