Index - Posting 6 July 05 Vol:2.2
"…Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding…"
Proverbs 23:23 (NIV)
Last Saturday was a very busy day in London. It was the Grand Slam Tournament Finals in Wimbledon, the Pride London 2005 Parade in Park lane and the Live 8 Concert in Hyde Park. Having been away for nine consecutive weekends, I decided to take my own advice; recharge my depleted batteries and reacquaint myself with home!
Renewal began with Wimbledon. Prior to the tournament I had watched Paul McCartney open the Hyde Park Concert with a rendition of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, from the last century, that I recalled from my mid teens, I think! The audience seemed largely composed of people of European descent, as mirrored by the tennis television broadcast. Nevertheless, it was truly magnificent watching the centre court battle of the women’s finals between the African American, Venus Williams and the African-European (?) Lindsay Davenport. An excellent match and the longest on record of 2 hours and 45 minutes. Triumphant for the third time and the lowest seed (14th) ever to win the title, it was an absolute joy to witness her spontaneous elation at the trophy presentation. I felt good and my heart warmed.
Later, I was further inspired through watching the movie "Redemption" starring the African-American, Jamie Fox. This was the autobiography of the founder of the Crips gang, alleged to be "the most notorious gang leader in America" and the film dramatised "the true story of one man’s journey from damnation" to redemption. Whilst on death row for a series of brutal gang related murders, the inmate develops an increasing awareness of the destructive nature of gang affiliation and the overwhelming need to advocate the sanctity of black life. He achieves this through writing affirming stories for children & young people and consciousness raising television broadcasts from his cell to various gang related audiences. In recognition of his messages of affirmation and encouragement to thousands of people of African descent throughout the world, he received a visit from Winnie Mandela and a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. Then I tuned into our national black radio station, BBC’s 1xtra and caught some of the Live 8 concert being broadcast from Philadelphia, ironically hearing several artistes of African descent that I could relate too. I retired to bed feeling contented and positively recharged.
Needless to say, my buoyancy was slightly deflated the next day, when I scanned the various television news channels for reports of the other UK based Live 8 event, the African Concert, at the Eden Centre in Cornwall and found none. Hailed by some as an example of ‘cultural apartheid’ this hastily organised concert had been staged to counter the accusation of racism in the selection of primarily ‘white’ acts for the UK concert. Similarly I could not find any serious coverage of the Pride Parade apart from the prominence given to the founder of Live Aid giving the opening speech!
Selective and superficial reporting of current events seems to be a facet of daily life, despite several 24 hour "information" news channels. In-depth analysis seems to be only available through the writings of astute columnists in the daily newspapers. I was heartened to read the column of a respected journalist, who correctly, identified the lack of political analysis in the current campaigns. He wrote,
"Debt, unfair terms of and poverty are not causes of Africa’s problems but symptoms, the cause is power; the ability of the G8 nations and their corporations to run other people’s lives. Where, on the Live 8 stages and in Edinburgh, was the campaign against G8’s control of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UN? Where was the demand for binding global laws for multinational companies? At the Make Poverty History march, the speakers insisted that we are dragging the G8 leaders kicking and screaming towards our demands. It seems to me that the G8 leaders are dragging us dancing and cheering towards their".
There are differing opinions among Christian groups as to our relationship to the political process at a national level. For some, Christ’s life was a revolutionary statement on the political & religious abuse of power and the need to constantly work towards justice for the oppressed. As a denomination, with roots in liberation theology, it seems important that we continually reflect on our perspectives, roles and spheres of influence.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by people. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Parent in heaven". - Matthew 5:13-18 (NIV Inclusified)
And perhaps like me, you may need to reflect on your own degree of "saltiness", which incidentally can be restored through a good pinch from the Holy Spirit!
And finally, in this my last comment on the current anti poverty campaigns, the following statement has been accredited to Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer - "It is a lifetime’s work where we empower the people of Africa and the developing countries to make decisions for themselves". All I can say is - where is the recognition of how historically, Britain and others have systematically disempowered Africa and the so called "developing countries" ? I have the uneasy feeling that these campaigns are being tolerated and even supported because they pose no threat to the real causes of poverty and may even deflect from the real issues by fooling people into feeling their actions count.
We all have differing historical and contemporary ties to Africa, whether we are people of European or African descent. It is alleged that one in seven "white" Britons have "black" ancestry as a result of miscegenation from the slave trade. The current prosperity of the UK is largely based on the wealth accrued from slavery that fuelled the industrial expansion of these islands, centuries ago. Today’s lifestyles continue to be based on the exploitation of Africa’s natural and human resources, by western trans corporations. People may debate the value of foreign aid or reparations, I hope that the debate on ending poverty will be more analytical and educational; that it will raise the consciousness of those wanting to understand, the root causes of such inequalities. Only then will we be able to work together to eradicate such despair.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." - Isaiah 61 v1-3 (NIV)
May the Holy Spirit of God guide us in our understanding of how we can be more effective in this unjust world.
Be empowered in all you do!
Rev Caroline Redfearn ©blackpeoplesministries.com 2005