answer; a day that reveals to him, more
than all other days in the year, the gross
injustice and cruelty to which he is the
constant victim. To him, your celebra-
tion is a sham; your boasted liberty, an
unholy license; your national greatness,
swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing
are empty and heartless; your denuncia-
tion of tyrants brass fronted impudence;
your shout of liberty and equality, hol-
low mockery; your prayers and hymns,
your sermons and thanks-givings, with
all your religious parade and solemnity,
are to him, mere bombast, fraud, decep-
tion, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil
to cover up crimes which would disgrace
a nation of savages. There is not a nation
on the earth guilty of practices more
shocking and bloody than are the people
of the United States, at this very hour.”
To now see us now celebrating the 4th
by shooting guns into the air without re-
gard of where bullets would land, “What
would they say?” What would Stokely
Carmichael say about the gun violence
that plagues the black community after
he declared in his speech on Black Power,
October 29, 1966 that “Black people cut
themselves every night in the ghetto–
don’t anybody talk about nonviolence.”
What would W.E.B. DuBois say about
our lack of participation in voting or not
even exercising the right to vote after
having declared in his Niagara Move-
ment speech, “In detail our demands are
clear and unequivocal. First, we would
vote; with the right to vote goes every-
thing: Freedom, manhood, the honor of
your wives, the chastity of your daugh-
ters, the right to work, and the chance to
rise, and let no man listen to those who
deny this.” When we witness what some
call “Wheels up Guns down” where bik-
ers wreak havoc upon the streets of South
Florida causing unsafe travel upon com-
muters. “What would they say?” When
there is apathy and insensitivity among
African Americans. What are we shout-
ing back to those who died for our free-
dom? The Bible clearly states, “look not
only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4).
As we celebrate Black History month
there is a grave need to not only remem-
ber the expensive sacrifices that have af-
forded us the rights, freedoms and privi-
leges that we enjoy today, (though we
have yet a long way to go) but to build
upon those sacrifices. We have to shape
our efforts, lifestyles and mentality after
the models and examples given us by the
freedom fighters of our past. Doing this
will begin to cultivate greater opportu-
nities, eradicate injustices, establish a
promising future and restore a dignity
among African Americans! What would
they say?
Follow Moderator Barber on
social media
@PastorBarber2
@PastorBarber2
johnnybarber2.wordpress.com
facebook.com/johnnybarber2
-Rev. Johnny L. Barber, II
Moderator Johnny L. Barber, II
is the youngest elected Modera-
tor in the history of the Florida
East Coast Baptist Association.
He humbly serves as Pastor
to the Mount Sinai Mission-
ary Baptist Church in Miami,
Florida.
1. The past cannot be changed.
2. Opinions don’t
define your reality
3. Everyone’s journey is
different.
4. Things always get better with time.
5. Judgments are a
confession of character.
6. Over thinking will lead to sadness.
7. Happiness is found within.
8. Positive thoughts create positive things.