EMBRACING CHANGE CONFRONTING THE FEAR - LIVING AND BEYOND

This Week our Blog will be dedicated to the Memory of Richard Pryor. A phenomenal entertainer and black activist. Mr Pryor was a pioneer of uncensored black comedy. He has gone on to join all of the great ones before him Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, and countless others who never lived to achieve the type of respect which Richard Pryor had received.

He faced down many demons, with humiliation and then humbly accepting his drug problem making a film about his life Jo Jo Dancer Your Life is calling later to find out that he had developed Multiple Sclerosis, in my opinion he was a GIANT. Well respected in the black community and crossed over with many fans in mainstream who loved his comedic genius too. With this year winding down in 2005 we watched many great ones leaders and legends pass away and we honor them all; Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, and Ossie Davis just to name a few. The beautiful and graceful Ms Rosa Parks. We should pause and honor those who paved the way for many of us in all venues of the spectrum.

A special prayer goes out because at midnight as this blog is being published we also will lose another brother a different type of leader. His acclaim to fame was being a Crip. A gang leader, a teacher and a man who clung to hope beyond hope. Inspite of alot of best efforts clemency was denied Tookie Williams. May they all rest peacefully with GOD Almighty because they truly all fought the good fight. Right or wrong I say well done.

moderator's comments by: Shelle'

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Daily Christian Wisdom

Let everyone understand that the real love of God does not consist in tear-shedding...but in serving God by serving those around us, in justice, fortitude of soul, and humility.













Submitted by: Robyn from Calli

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Updated: 2005-12-11 22:55:44
Remembering Richard Pryor: A True Friend And Comic Genius
By Cecil Brown, Special to AOL Black Voices

Richard Pryor 1940 - 2005

In 1971, Richard Pryor was already a legend. It was his outrageous humor, his satire, that one heard about. But nobody I knew had actually seen him. There was a rumor that he was going to appear at the Mandrake. After being an hour late he strolled across the dim stage. He was of average height, almost skinny, in a green sweater, grinning, holding a cigarette. His face was open, sincere, and genuine.

In 1966, when critic Phil Elwood (San Francisco Examiner) saw him he thought he was "unfunny and not original." Pryor had already been on at least three major TV shows, but despite such exposure, Richard appeared to be "insecure and ill at ease, despite his projected hipness." But that night when I saw him he was able to handle his nervousness -- and he was very hip.
He stood, looking out, his eyes moving over the audience, stopping at me. I was one of the few blacks in the place. Pryor had already been discovered by a black audience, and now it was the hip white youth's turn to discover this comic genius. "I used to smoke weed, but I gave that up," he said, "it made me paranoid. Then I snorted cocaine. I had to give that up too. 'Cause I got so paranoid, I used to wake up my wife in the middle of the night and ask, you f----g the paper boy?'"

He told jokes about Richard Nixon who loomed in our minds like Bush does today -- "I think President Nixon's a lesbian! And Agnew is his man!" He told jokes about police brutality. He told jokes about show business. The audience easily fell under the spell of Richard's voices. Next he added the Wino "who knew Jesus personally."
"Jesus Christ? That boy ain't shit. He lives right down here on 3rd street. She was carrying that boy. She carried him low, that's how we knew she had a boy."

for more on this article
Whoopi Goldberg & Others on Pryor's Passing
Photos from Pryor's Life Work
See 1995 Interview With Richard Pryor
Share Your Favorite Pryor Moments
Condolences For the Pryor Family
go to www.aol.com - see black voices

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EMBRACING CHANGE CONFRONTING THE FEAR - LIVING AND BEYOND

Key Scripture: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7) Key Thought: Fear knocked at the door Faith answered. No one was there.

Many years ago I listened as a friend of mine shared in a anonymous meeting he was very articulate and said that prior to getting clean the one thing he feared most was change, but being a man meant standing perpendicular before GOD and when he had made a decision to turn his will and life over to the care of GOD that replaced all of his fear. Then he said something that most people don't say in those closed meetings instead using the term "God of my understanding" or "Higher Power" he said the name of Jesus Christ. The room was quiet as he spoke loudly, boldy and later those comments were made people refer to him as a spiritual giant he begged to differ by responding to them by simply saying "I'm no spiritual giant but there is a GIANT in my spirit."
That takes a lot of courage for anyone to admit to have any fears at all publicly, but many of us do. We often become complacent or get comfortable with our lives then don't realize that when we aren't challenging ourselves often we become stale, stagnate, and we stunt our growth. It's like eating the same thing for dinner every other day because it's routine quick and easy then on Saturday you treat yourself to fast food at McDonald's at the same spot order the same thing and every time it tastes good until one day it loses the appeal and taste. 
Change comes often and people evolve just as quickly as the seasons change. We work hard at perfecting a routine with our friends, lovers, or spouses only to look up one day and find that they have drifted off in another direction and many times instead of accepting the fact we either run or walk quickly in the opposite direction because we lose the stamina to embrace them where they are at and the same thing holds true when we experience changes in our lives a need to shift gears or do something different to improve ourselves. We can also shift into reverse gear and do some things that destroy our character and ruin relationships.

But one thing that is constant in change, if nothing changes, nothing changes. As the saying goes where ever you go there you are. So you can't be afraid of what we understand or don't understand in life or death, sometimes it has no explanation. So many of us are never prepared financially, mentally, or spiritually and the end result is devastation.

When we are young their is a feeling that we will live forever or are invincible, can leap tall buildings in a single bound. As we mature and experience life we get some hard knocks and realize that some of those buildings just a tad to steep to leap across. That's when we become more practical in some cases people just ignore the facts. Some die young or live miserably because they foolishly believe they can trick life and end up the trick. Pay now or pay later the bill is always in the mail and one day you have to pay. So if you living in a comfort zone, maybe it's time to raise the bar a little, you can always become better - strive for change. Remain teachable, humble, and lovable. Don't be afraid to embrace change - because if you living a fruitful life you can surely count on an eternal peace when you exit the building (your body) a living temple.

We never know what God's plan is for us - remember that it's okay to make the plan but you can never plan the outcome. Faith and hope is your best weapon to overcoming fear. Prayer is your insurance policy. Love is unconditional keep an open heart and willing mind. Even when it seems like your down you might be down but not out. Like my friend said look straight up stand perpendicular to GOD. Fear not. As Human beings we fall short and have many shortcomings but GOD has never failed or come up short. Fact we can count on the sunrise and sunset. Fact we know that there is a moon and will always come out in a way shape or form. We know that the seasons will change and we always prepare for those changes. Just like us we go through many seasons in life, but If we can trust GOD to do all of that, we can trust Him with our own changes that affect our lives today. Just for today, we can hope for a tomorrow and plan ahead. But no matter how it all turns out we embrace it with humility without beating our chest in vain glory.

Our faith shows us what we cannot see.

An idea begins with a thought and then is brought forward into reality. An artist sees the painting in his mind before it ever touches the canvas. He touches the canvas until what was inside of his mind sets before him and the passion makes him more eager to bring it forth. Imagination is just an image in our mind we decide when begin - to make it a reality. Most of us go to bed at night convinced that surely they are waking up in the morning and that's okay too. That's called having faith.

Faith without works is dead being alone - change should not be feared but reverenced. It takes courage to color outside the lines step outside the box- change is an inside job with you the individual and often has a ripple effect on others. If Hallie Berry wakes up in the morning and decided to go long, blond, and curly. Just by changing her mind she will influence females to go blond, long, and curly too because it looks so good on her, they are convinced that look surely will look good on me too.

Change allows you the luxury of knowing who really is for you and whoever stays around to see that person evolve til the end are the ones you come to love and trust. These are the people who are not afraid to be honest with you right or wrong, good or bad. They are your mirror, mirror on the wall. Always have one friend that won't lie to you even when it hurts and you can be reciprocal in love, spirit, and truth. Nine times out of ten this is the person you probably have even taken for granted along the way. Embracing Change brings you face to face with love, love of self, life, and GOD.

submitted by: Shelle

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Updated: 03:47 PM EST
Governor Refuses to Stay Gang Leader's ExecutionBy DAVID KRAVETS

SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 12) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday refused to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution after midnight in a case that stirred debate over capital punishment and the possibility of redemption on death row.
Schwarzenegger was unswayed by pleas from Hollywood stars and petitions from more than 50,000 people who said that Williams had made amends during more than two decades in prison by writing a memoir and children's books about the dangers of gangs.

"After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency," Schwarzenegger said, less than 12 hours before the execution. "The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case."
Schwarzenegger could have commuted the death sentence to life in prison without parole.
With a reprieve from the federal courts considered unlikely, Williams, 51, was set to die by injection at San Quentin State Prison early Tuesday for murdering four people in two 1979 holdups.




Williams became one of the nation's biggest death-row cause celeb's in decades.
Prosecutors and victims' advocates contended Williams was undeserving of clemency from the governor because he did not own up to his crimes and refused to inform on fellow gang members. They also argued that the Crips gang that Williams co-founded in Los Angeles in 1971 is responsible for hundreds of deaths, many of them in battles with the rival Bloods for turf and control of the drug trade.
Williams stood to become the 12th California condemned inmate executed since lawmakers reinstated the death penalty in 1977 after a brief hiatus.
Williams was condemned in 1981 for gunning down a clerk in a convenience store holdup and a mother, father and daughter in a motel robbery weeks later. Williams claimed he was innocent.
The last time a California governor granted clemency was in 1967, when Ronald Reagan spared a mentally infirm killer. Schwarzenegger - a Republican who has come under fire from members of his own party as too accommodating to liberals - rejected clemency twice before during his two years in office.
Just before the governor announced his decision on clemency, the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals denied Williams' request for a reprieve, saying among other things that there was no "clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence."
In his last-ditch appeal, Williams claimed that he should have been allowed to argue at his trial that someone else killed one of the four victims, and that shoddy forensics connected him to the other killings.
Williams was convicted of killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, and Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at a Los Angeles motel the family owned, and Albert Owens, 26, a 7-Eleven clerk gunned down in Whittier.
Among the celebrities who took up Williams' cause were Jamie Foxx, who played the gang leader in a cable movie about Williams; rapper Snoop Dogg, himself a former Crip; Sister Helen Prejean, the nun depicted in "Dead Man Walking"; Bianca Jagger; and former "M*A*S*H" star Mike Farrell. During Williams' 24 years on death row, a Swiss legislator, college professors and others nominated him for the Nobel Prizes in peace and literature.
"If Stanley Williams does not merit clemency," defense attorney Peter Fleming Jr. asked, "what meaning does clemency retain in this state?"
The impending execution resulted in feverish preparations over the weekend by those on both sides of the debate, with the California Highway Patrol planning to tighten security outside the prison, where hundreds of protesters were expected.
A group of about three dozen death penalty protesters were joined by the Rev. Jesse Jackson as they marched across the Golden Gate Bridge after dawn Monday en route to the gates of San Quentin, where they were expected to rally with hundreds of people.
At least publicly, the person apparently least occupied with his fate seemed to be Williams himself.
"Me fearing what I'm facing, what possible good is it going to do for me? How is that going to benefit me?" Williams said in a recent interview. "If it's my time to be executed, what's all the ranting and raving going to do?"
article courtesy of www.aol.com12-12-05 15:43 EST
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Understanding Black Manhood in America
This subject matter of this book seems interesting and a must especially to those of us with young black boys and in light of the current situation all across this country with respect to our young African-American men killing one another. I thought I would pass it along. I love the Diversity Inc. Bookstore. I think one of the most powerful things that one can do is give someone a book to read. A book is something I always give my children for Christmas. The struggle is getting them to read it. It’s hard to instill the love of reading into children or into anyone for that matter. I must admit as I get older my concentration is not as good as it use to be, but reading is one of the most powerful things one can do. Over 50% of African-Americans do not read as much as they should and it greatly impacts their awareness and their role in society. However, we can work to change that.
What is Cool?
Understanding Black Manhood in America
Marlene Kim Connor’s anatomy of cool reveals it as a vital code of behaviors and attitudes that plays an often disregarded role in shaping the conception of manhood among young black boys. Connor uncovers cool’s history, explores its essence, and explains why, even though it deserves praise, cool often becomes an insidious force affecting black American life today.
For More Information www.diversityinc.com
Submitted by: Robyn from Calli
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Updated: 2005-12-12 05:42:36
Florida Woman Offers Help, Holiday CheerBy Stacy Gilliam, Special to AOL Black Voices

Desrene Williams-Allen
For Christmas, Desrene Williams-Allen's organization, Compassion Connection, will buy toys for 150 Florida kids with imprisoned parents.
The world is full of givers. Yet some possess a special dedication that makes them continue even after going the extra mile.
Desrene Williams-Allen belongs in that group.
That altruism has her playing Mrs. Santa and collecting toys for needy kids this holiday season. For the third year in a row, her non-profit Compassion Connection International (CCI), whose mission, among many, is to support at-risk families and individuals, will help provide Christmas presents to kids of incarcerated men and women. This year, she expanded the program to include children of families displaced by Hurricane Wilma. Allen and her volunteers delivered gifts to about 50 kids at a Red Cross shelter last weekend. She'll also support families in the Caribbean by sending toys to Kingston, Jamaica.
"I have a tender heart for the unfortunate," says Allen, a native of Jamaica, who in 1994 started CCI based in Coral Springs, Fla. "God has blessed me and it's time to give back."
She gives back and then some. In addition to the holiday gift-giving program, Allen has led projects to feed and clothe hundreds of homeless people. The group aids Florida's Broward County by cleaning up local neighborhoods. They provide back-to-school items for children locally and abroad to the Caribbean. Allen has organized missions to transport much-needed hospital supplies, including a donation of 100 hospital beds, food, and clothing back to Jamaica. And this time of year, CCI partners with Angel Tree Network, the Christian-based group that provides them with the names of children of imprisoned parents.
"I normally have 50 kids on my list. But their caretakers will recommend other kids whose parents are in jail. I usually end up with between 100 and 150 kids," says Allen, also a foster mom of two. CCI gets a wish list of items from each child. Many are requesting jackets, but others ask for toys, electronics, stuffed animals or jewelry. The group will then look for sponsors for the children or hunt for toy donations from the public to assist them. On Dec. 16, the gifts will be wrapped and waiting for pick-up by the guardians. Allen makes sure to send parents who are in prison Christmas cards.
"She's just got a heart for people," says Sharnette Cherrington, a volunteer for four-and-a-half years with CCI, who plans to go back to her home in Jamaica to work as a liaison for the organization. "She opens her home. She's self-sacrificing. It's just in her heart to see people do better than they are."
article courtesy of aol black voices
submitted by: Shelle
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