Dr. Charles W. Ferguson

One of the greatest challenges for an athlete is finding the positive in a loss. Playing sports, I fed the idea that you must always gain something from every victory and defeat. However, the 16-year old me could not stand the thought of losing. Winning became part of my DNA. I had to become the best student. My team needed a winning record. Losing was not a part of my road map to success.

The years have taught me that you can learn much from a defeat. Difficulty can be an unbelievable professor. Challenge works your mental, emotional, and spiritual endurance. Yet, I believe that we are in a day and season where people are beginning to settle for way too many moral victories. Let me explain.

Starbucks, Roseanne Barr, “BBQ Becky”, the NFL and countless other social media captured personalities have what in common? They are the manifestations of the symptoms of racism in America. Notice, I said symptoms. They are not the roots. They are the fruit. They are not live-givers to hatred. They are the benefactors of supremacist ideology.

When ABC cancelled Roseanne this week, way too many people were excited about the move. I submitted to you that for every show cancelled in the name of promoting values of equality for a company, there are multiple programs that still promote the ideas of devaluing people.

If we push this thought further beyond just the specific scope of race in America, consider many maligned individuals among us. Every time a major figure faces judgment for sexual assault, thousands of victims wait to see when their time for justice will come. Every school shooting is met with gun enthusiasts stating that more weaponry is necessary. For every LGBT individual who seeks basic equity as a human being in this continuous life experiment, we uncover continued oppressive activity in various arenas in the name of profitability.

In 2018, more people willing to settle for the moral victory than fight for the justice that will ultimately build, enhance, and revive our communities. A few bad cops being brought to justice will never substitute for the elimination of systematic bigotry, classism, and misuse of power within police departments across the country. Canceling a few shows, publicly shaming people, or any other method of exposure does not replace doing work on every level to reach the goal equality, equity, and justice for all.

The prophet Amos declared a simple phase that rings true to transitioning context–“Woe to those at ease in Zion”. For a period of time, we became so consumed with the gains made and peace that appeared to exist that we forget that enemies regroup. Silent racists were waiting for a time to return to an open platform. Bigoted ideology was creating strategy for the next move. While we rested in moral victories, others plotted. While we said, “we can finally live”, enemies looked for new ways to silence the oppressed again.  Moral victories do not produce ultimate change. Moral victories should incite within us the necessity to not rest or accept scraps.

We are in the midst of a wake up call, brothers and sisters. It is not the time to attempt to prove who is more “woke” than the rest. It is time to consolidate our power to move the atmosphere in the proper direction. We must do as the saints of the past declared “watch, fight, and pray”. Anything less than that mentality is a defeat.

Please take the opportunity to check out my first published work, Led to the Stream: Refreshing in Life’s Valley available on my online store: squareup.com/store/ledtothestream

I did not think the day would come that I would sit down to a computer and commiserate about the realities of being demeaned and dehumanized as a part of a community. My upbringing afforded me opportunities to be in psuedo-diverse settings that lied about me having equal standing with my counterparts. Truthfully, I thought that the concept was true until many experiences proved that it was a well-thought out lie.

As I am now a husband and father, I have two distinct responsibilities to accomplish daily. One, I must teach my son a complete scope of the world at large. Two, come home in one piece every night. With the continued exposure of brutality, political abuse, and lack of decency, my wife deals with the worry of me being caught in the cross hairs of unsavory people called to protect and serve. My son is now aware that some police officers do mean harm to the innocent. My mind is always considering what might occur if I am compliant with no cameras to prove my innocence.

Many people in our American context have taken to heart the need to fashion this country according to a convoluted perspective of greatness. Greatness for this nation is not measured by the ability to differ in thoughts or ideas with the goal of reaching balance, equality, and equity. However, people believe that the greatness of this nation is rooted in the disenfranchisement of groups of people.

The United States of America, in general, is the most proficient country in deflecting important issues in the world. We have entities that refuse to address the problems that are presented in our society. We have individuals who drink the punch that contains misinformation, lies, and manipulation. We are exposed to people who refuse to use love as a guidepost to treat their neighbor with respect and dignity.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are existing in a world that calls the teaching and works of Jesus socialist and leftest, while attempting to establish capitalism, wealth, and bigotry as the Trinity. It amazes me that we have become a community of people unwilling to address the issues that divide and extract the root cause of the division. We would rather find ways to get rid of the conversation than tell the truth. The truth is maligned people are not valued in this construct of a country.

Consider history for a moment. People with an immigration problem should take a step back and consider that this country was established with an immigration issue. Native people welcomed strangers from a foreign land. The foreigner only knowing imperial rule did not have the capacity to understand that being welcomed did not mean overtaking or gentrifying a land that was not their own. However, a nation of Native Americans have now been confined to small pieces of a country that they respected and cherished.

Consider the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. The wealth of the nation was not established by sheer determination. Wealth was built on the lack of labor overhead for the Southern economic strategy. Slavery was the most profitable enterprise in the country. An initial investment of a male and female slave could potential produce a supply of new slaves with no extra cost and possible financial gain down the line. Establishing that the C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) Principle outweighs the physical, mental, and emotional anguish of families being compromised on every level.

For all the surface gains that have been made, this nation has devolved into the foundation that made it horrific for so many years. People in this nation have had to yell, scream, record, and stream evidence that inequity is still present. We have scraped in order for people to acknowledge our existence as a whole person not just 3/5th or non existent (read the constitution). Now people want to prove that white supremacy, classism, sexism, and bigotry will be the formula to propel our republic into a new era of enlightenment and prosperity.

So here we are. Sports leagues willing to take away pay from players if they do not stand at attention for a flag that was not involved in the life of the game accept for the last decade at the expense of the Department of Defense. A league continues to monetize an issue at the expense of soldiers who fight for the country and players who desire to see the nation achieve the greatest form of its potential.

Here we are. Black men and women regardless of socio-economic class are still being shown that melaninized skin is a sign of evil. We cannot sleep in a study room because our intelligence causes fear. We cannot eat in certain establishments because it ruins the class of clientele that show up (even though Waffle House is definitely not IHOP). We can not worship God in the beauty of holiness because people have made the Gospel a suggestion, Jesus a symbol of colonizers, and Bible a weapon oppression.

The Bible I read promotes people of color as significant to the story line of redemption. The Gospel I preach addresses the empowerment of the maligned, the dismantling of injustice, and the welcoming of all to encounter the love of God. The Christ I serve is concerned with the wealth of the soul, strength of the spirit, and the efficient management of every blessing given.

But you know something? I get it. My worth to you is only about profit. Our worth to you is only about profit. So, I suggest that all who have faced the difficulty and challenges of being dehumanized and devalued reclaim the value of your dignity. Do not give anyone room to meet the “profit margin” on the back of your existence. Bankrupt the cycle by reclaiming your integrity and value.

One of the hardest things to ever admit to myself is small my thinking was for many years. I’m not saying that I have not had progressive thoughts or dealt with people from the baseline basic humanity. No. I lived in this rigid bubble that was way to tight for my existence and too small for my vision, imagination, or purpose.

As a child, I wanted to play sports. At different points of my journey, I had different people tell me that I was too fat, too big, or not athletic enough to tryout for the teams. That type of negativity turned into fuel rooted in anger that anyone would tell me that I was not good enough. That negative based drive led to MVP trophies, championships, great grades, and other achievements. Yet, I still did not get what I really wanted. I wanted the haters and discounters to just say, “You were right. I was wrong about you.”

As much as I wanted that satisfaction, life taught me that you can not always rely on people to change their minds even with concrete evidence before them (sounds like many people in this world today). I am now 36 years old and realize that my concept of sticking it to people with success was way too small.

My greatest issue was not believing in the power of being unique as God created. Yes, I was told what the Bible said. “You are fearfully, wonderfully made.” I got it cognitively. However, my heart was attempting to interpret head knowledge with environmental circumstances. The two did not reconcile. I proved the gifts of God within me daily. Yet, people that are supposed to be close to me stated my best was not good enough for them.

Here comes the rub. My best was not there best. My God-given personality was not enough for them. My being was not acceptable to them. What a tension to believe that your whole life would be under subjection. Many people live in that place. We have governed our existence by the timing and rhythm of people who deal with the same level of insecurity. That is small thinking. It’s time to think big.

God is so vast that the Universal Monarch’s presence can not be contained. Therefore, being created in said image and likeness gives us the freedom and nature to expand beyond the limiting views of limited people. For many years, people could only see the preacher. Many people still can not conceive the idea that I write poetry, books, and blog posts. It took writing a book for some people to realize that my thoughts were deeper than a shouting close of a sermon.

Today, I want you to take a moment to declare who you really are. Do not attempt to fit it within the confines of environmental group think. Take a moment to take stock in what God has create you to be in this world. I am a husband, father, son, grandson, son-in-love (my in-laws love me), scholar, preacher, pastor, friend, brother, sports enthusiast, and food lover. That list is only the tip of the ice burg of my complete existence. You are more than the limitations. You are powerful beyond measure.