Clarifying Jena 6

Did you wear black yesterday to support the Jena 6? I bet I know why. You don't have all the facts about this case. And if you only read or listen to the news like I used to do, then my friends, you have been hoodwinked. As a former news writer, I was a bit miffed at the coverage of this case all year. Yesterday's reporting of the Jena 6 rally made my skin crawl. So here are the facts about the incidents, the case, and why you may want to support the Jena 6 in the future?

The incidents:
The Jena Times Newspaper has a succinct and concise timeline of all the incidents that happened surrounding this case.Why you should read it? It includes:

• August school assembly. Principal's racism free zone policy
  
• September noose hanging under tree and white student expulsion
  
• September 2006 sit-in protest of student expulsion turnover
  
• November arson of Principal's office
• December white students assault black students at party
  
• December retaliation assault on white students,
  
• Jena 6 charged for attempt of murder, whether they were involved or not.
  

Update: noose hanging from truck in Alexandria, VA. Two teenagers arrested for DUI and possibly intent to start a riot. CNN News 10:35 pm.
Update: Jena 6 news hearing within the hour.

The case
Mychal Bell's case hearing will be today. The hearing is determined whether he should be released on bail or grant the writ of habeas corpus. Since his charge has been reduced and he has already spent nine months in jail as well as the victim in this case was well enough to go to a school dance after the December 06 assault,seem as if he should be released despite his previous criminal record.

Why does the Jena 6 matter?
The dispense of justice should be equal for all citizens. Some members of the Jena 6 had no involvement in the assault, but were charged. The students who hung the noose in September were not expelled from school or charged with issuing a terrorist attack.

But most importantly, the Jena 6 case exemplifies the politics of our mass media. This mess should not have have went on this long. Not until BBC News reported about this case did our media jump on the bandwagon. Not until people from all over the country began to mobilize did the Louisian courts decide to lesser these student charges.

If we say we're Christian, then we can't be silent. I wonder what were we teaching Robert Bailey's friends and the Jena 6 prior to December about social nonviolent change, or more or less social violent change? We should have fought for those kids before this whole thing happened. We, as adults, should learn to step in and shield our children before something like this happens again. Robert Bailey should not have assaulted Mychal Bell; Mychal should not have assaulted Robert. Where were we? Worshiping God separately?

Jesus walks...

Friday Morning Quarterbacking: Jesse Jackson

Advisory:This post is off-topic and not about Christian Fiction. I was disappointed earlier this week when Jesse Jackson made a commenting negating Barack Obama's commitment to sound-boarding human rights issues. Christ died so that we could be free from our sins. Martin Luther King, Jr. died so that we may live free in this world. We are free. We don't need a spokesperson to declare our freedom. We are freedom. It's time that we start living a free life. No black person defines our thoughts, nor motivate us to act. Injustices does that. And that should be enough.

I understand Rev. Jacksons passion for the Jena 6, but stating that a black man is "acting white" belittles the Jena 6 case and the Civil Rights Movement( I will expound more in my next post.) Yesterday's protest wasn't about systemic racism against blacks, but injustice everywhere. Moreover, that comment--to me- stinks of prejudice. African-American people are not robots. We do not look, act, or think the same. Grant it, it is horrid that we do not know or understand American Immigration History, especially as it relates to the History of African-American Slavery, Native American Seminole dissidence,Creole Concubines, Sierra Leon Migration, Sugar Plantations and Caribbean Immigration of the 20th century and African exiles post 1990s.

Did Eve love Adam?

My friend, Manchild has raised a great discussion that has Christians and non-believers engaged in a great, provocative and cordial debate. One reason I think his discussion is going so well is because he has been very open about his own questions regarding this faith. Check it out.

But what about Eve? Here’s where this epic love story gets interesting because some traditional, long-standing assumptions have been made about the first family’s divinely ordained marriage. Has anybody else out there in the blogosphere ever ponder the possibility that Eve never felt the same way about Adam?

Nowhere in the Scriptures does it ever say that Eve “loved” Adam. But don’t take my word for it, take a look for yourself and tell me what you find. Can it be that Eve just wasn’t that into Adam? Maybe Adam didn’t “fit the profile,” didn’t “measure up,” didn’t meet her expectations.

But before you go I have a question for you. As a Christian writer my characters grapple with tragedy, life disappointments with humor and a whole lot of faith. The novel series I have been writing about for a while is this character that's borderline black sheep and hell-raiser. She has damaged her relationships. She doesn't believe that she can be good enough. She's a single mom and she doesn't think that she's good at that, either. Like me. She wonders if the good ol' faith of her grandmother's generation is still around.

Question: Are we different than the writers before us? If not, then why we do have so much questions? Are we losing our faith? Or are we moving to a new destiny?

Next Wednesday please join me on the Abundant Solutions Hour Radio Show, as I talk about these changes, writing trends, and the urban inspiration movement.

Jena 6 Rally Today

Thousands of protesters gathered in Jena, Louisiana, on Thursday to show support for the "Jena 6," six black teens charged in the beating of a white classmate.
Below is a video of the rally on 9/11.


Question: Do you understand why the Jena 6 incident has so many African-Americans outraged? Share. You can be anonymous. I really want to know your thoughts.

A Nobody of Great Significance

Gritty Novel Challenges Readers to see Beyond Church Doors

Creston Mapes is one of the most authentic writers in the Christian Fiction arena today, consistently delivering psychological thrillers with powerful messages that booklovers crave from cover to cover.

Creston’s latest tale is about a mysterious, rich, murdered homeless man, Nobody (Multnomah Books, Sept. 18, 2007)

An excerpt from Nobody…

I’d seen stiffs at crime scenes before, one flat on his back in the middle of his garage with a twelve-inch meat cleaver sticking straight up out of his rib cage like a Halloween prank: self-inflicted, to boot. But this one beat all.

Creston’s realistic tone is attributed to not only his contemporary writing style, but also to tons of research.

“My publisher sent me to Las Vegas to research this new story. Not only did I tour the casinos and clubs along Las Vegas Boulevard, but I canvassed the whole city researching the area and, especially, touring the enormous homeless community. There are 10,000 homeless people in Las Vegas. I saw the encampments where they live and went into the free clinics where they're treated for everything from spider bites and chronic colds to foot ulcers and hunger,” states Mapes.

When asked why is Nobody so important to his readers and the Body of Christ?

Creston states, “Nobody is written with the underlying message that Christians can become so involved in the works of the church, and in pleasing man, that they can forget the people outside the church, who still have not found God. I pray this novel will remind us all that we have been reconciled by God and we, in turn, are called to help lead others to be reconciled with Him as well.”

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Related topics: October's Celebration of Christian Fiction

Book Giveaway: When the Morning Comes

Today you have a chance to win an autographed copy of Cindy Woodsmall's when the Morning Comes. Click Here .

Monday News Update

Karen Kingsbury' Summer Hits NYT Bestseller's List
Karen Kingsbury's Summer(Tyndale) debuted at No. 14 on the New York Times Paperback Fiction list published Sept. 9.

Joyce Meyer's debut novel more than a Penny
Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford's novel, The Penny( FaithWord) sits No. 5 on the Hardback Bestseller's List , according to PW Religion Bookline.

Christian Fiction authors encourage reading in MississippiConversations Book Club has teamed up with two Christian fiction authors, Shelia E. Lipsey and Daphine Glenn Robinson, to showcase the importance of book with a reader series. .

ACFW Conference this week. Huge Book Signing
I went last year. Last minute tip: Wear your Brownie Smile. Click here to learn more about the massive free book signing