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Is your church a vacation island or a kitchen island?
By AISHIA LEVERETT
SEecial to August Focus
“Heal the sick, raise the dead to live
Zggjfl, beal those who q/rxwe skin diseases,
force demons out . 1 give you
these powers freeb, so mflfefwe people
Matthew 10:8 NCV
usfihlyenth wzle( thfink of a vacation islagd, lwe:
ink of a spot to get away and relax.
On the other hanpd), a l%iichen island is a
place of décor and purpose. Nonetheless,
we can be sure that in each perspective an
island has a function. As I look around in
various communities there seems to be a
church in almost every backyard. I contend
that if we are going to have a church on
each corner then we must not become a
vacation island.
The vacation island is the one that sits in
the middle of a body of water isolated. The
water that surrounds the island represents
Grass : Acquisition of a quality education should be the most important’
Continued from page 6
were very successful in schools long before
Brown and the licde daesregation that
has occurred. That should not be taken
to mean that Brown was a mistake. Itwas
good. It was actually better for America
than it was for the schooling of Blacks.
With schools segregated this country, the
home of the free, could no longer assert
any kind of world leadership while subju
gating a significant part ofP its people to
governmentally sanctioned second-class
citizenship. This would have given the
Soviet Union an undeserved advantage in
the quest for world dominance during the
cold war era following World War 11.
There are many insiders who believe that
the decision to desegregate the schools
cameasa resultofdicooc%;warsmxggleas
much as anything else. It is hard to
believe that it woiifi take nine bright men
(the Supreme Court of the United States
of America) fifty-eight years to realize that
separate but equal was inherently unequal
and amounta to an untenable farce — a
brutal scheme that retarded educational
opportunity for millions of Blacks. What
happened with the dual system since the
Plessey vs Ferguson decision, not to men
tion the deprivation preceding it, set
Blacks on a marginal course thar:ias been
devastating. The devastation came not
from who you sat by, but by the resources
that were robbed from Blacks. No supply
of books or even ragged books were all
that Blacks had to study from, by and
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the people who are drowning, Drowning in
poverty, drowning in sickness and di:cgse,
drowning in addiction, and just plain
drowning but are never rescued. Because
once the vacation is over you go back to the
same environment whether good or bad.
The Church cannot add to the brokenness.
There is no sense in being on the corner if
you are not ministering to the corner. Not
everyone that you nfiot that has needs is
:vh?ringas;lgit and a dress. The very ones
t need the message are not getting it
because they are expecting you to walk it.
They want results not just some words. You
cannot preach to them on Sunday and turn
your backs on them Monday through
Saturday. Matthew 5:16 tells us that you
should live so that they will see the good
things you do and will praise your Father in
Heaven. The vacation island has a place
however; the church should not represent
it.
The church should be more like a
large. Higher education, in particular,
was criminally (according to the US
Constitution) withheld from Blacks. The
same people who cried “taxation without
representation” prior to 1776, suddenly
forgot the inconsistency when it came to
people of color. The cumulative effects of
ted schooling are now, and have
gneg:hamefixl fo:lg America. You never
hear about historical deprivation when
SAT scores are discussed. Those in denial
just tuck their tails and run to the sub
urbs, escaping to freedom from those
with whom tiey dont feel comfortable.
The more social distance the better for the
white flight artists.
So then, what is the strategy for Blacks
to follow? It is not rocket science by any
stretch of the imagination. It is not about
who you sit by. They don't enhance your
learning, Good schools with good teach
ers do. Nevertheless, fiood schools with
good teachers are not the ‘begin all to end
all’. Proper attitudes toward schools and
seeing them as places for investment in
ones life are the Ecy Long before Brown,
Blacks were achieving at very, very high
levels. They qualified for a number of
prestigious colleges and universities,
mainly in the no:-i (Mercer was a south
ern exception). It is all about having the
proper attitude.
Sure enough, there are still slings and
arrows of misfortune targeted fo?glacks;
but that cannot be regarded as insur
mountable. It is not the direction of the
sail, but the artitude of the sail that gets
AUGUSTA FOCUS
kitchen island. The one that is easily acces
sible to every angle of the kitchen yer it cre
ates a presence in the room. The church
should be accessible to everyone. The
church should provide refugee, dependabil
ity; and guidance for those who are broken.
Sometimes, we turn away so many because
we lose our focus you must empower,
teach, anlccil nurture to maintain accessibility.
In a world where everything is given to the
haves, the church should toucE the haves
and have-nots. Never raise your vision
beyond the people. The church should
have the same presence as the kitchen island
there is nothing that can be done in the
kitchen without considering the island. We
should be showing the world how to do
things not letting ltgbe world show us.
?fise Church should serve as protection
to the hurting, You will always have to nur
ture the peopie and teach others to nurture.
Preachers should connect so that their con
gregations will connect. We cannot do any
one to his or her desired destination. Old
school Blacks were skillful at making
adjustments to lifes obstades. Where
there is a will there isaway. It can be done
in the neighborhoods of Blacks. All that it
takes is will. There is no alternative to the
prescription that we have submitted
before on schooling,
Parents should realize that the acquisi
tion of a quality education should be the
most important objective in the life of the
child. Everybody is better off when it
happens. It is the loftiest investment goal
that one can have. Education is the great
equalizer. High school graduates make
more money in a lifeime than mhlaf;
school dropouts. College graduates
more than high school graduates.
Masters recipients make more than bac
calaureates. Doctorates make more than
folk with masters. The more you invest,
the bigger the return.
Send the child to school as positively
motivated as possible.
Invest in your children by giving them
everything that is required to support
their education (computers, books,
INTERNET connections, and very
acceptable school clothing).
Instruct your child on how important it
is to be disciplined at home and the
school.
Make sure that Sunday school is the
most important school in the family.
Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters
have risen to the top of the world in their
respective sports, golf and tennis. Their
thing alone. When islands collide, network,
partner, they become a place of growth and
healing. If each church would come togeth
er, we could rock this city and nation. The
Black Church seems to be the only institu
tion that appears to have disbelief in the
concept of partnership. Yet we teach and
encourage individuals to partner for mar
riage and monetary gain and we cannot
partner visions. Do you always have to be
the alpha church? Just be apart. Come
together and help your people. Maybe if we
help those around us, the people in our
backyards will rise. I urge you to become
the kitchen island, use your accessibility for
good. Birth a community, a city, and a
nation of doers and givers. The Church can
no longer be takers.....
AND THAT IS LIFE ACCORDING
1O AISHIA LEVERETT
success in dominating two previously
white dominated sports had nothing to
do with who they were sitting by in
school. Instead, it had everything to do
with the exquisite parenting that they
received. Received is the key term. Not
only did their parents send positive and
motivating messages, the children
received them. Tigers daddy was not a
pro golfer at all, but he played a major role
in producing the best golfer who is alive
and competing today. Neither of the
Williams sisters’ parents played tennis at
any level. Today, they are Americas best
hope to have an American female finalist
in any major tennis competition. Itisalso
important to note that they perform at a
super championship level even when they
are booed. They-are simply blessed like
that. The point is that parents and coop
erative children are the key. Dont fret
who you sit by. Its should be clearly
understood that sitting by no one vali
dates you. More importandy, “No Child
Shall Be Left Behind” should put less
emphasis on fixing the schools — apart
from having good teachers. Far more of a
focus should be placed on fixing the par
ent-child connection. That crucial con
nection is the key. There is simply no
other way to approach quality schooling,
Remember, other folks grass often
seems to be greener when, in fact, it is
not. Just take care of your business in the
seat in which you are sitting. The power
is within you.
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