Trauma,.. again and again and again,.. When does it stop?

This masterpiece declaration and call to action was posted by a good friend of mine, Dr. Cameron Golden. I have known Dr. Golden to be a staunch advocate for public health issues. As a pharmacist, he is on the front-lines in the COVID-19 pandemic, but as a young African American healthcare professional, he and so many others are strong voices against the trauma being visited upon an entire generation. Please, read his post. These words should stand as an example of how we all need to unleash the pandemic of silence and then move to the direct action of advocacy. Evil does in fact prevail when good people do nothing.

"May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I feel it’s necessary for us to start speaking very plainly about an ongoing mental health crisis that’s not getting the recognition it deserves...the real-life trauma being experienced by Black men and women in this country. The trauma of having to witness the MURDER of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the ATTEMPTED MURDER of Christian Cooper (Yes, intentionally lying to police and falsely claiming a Black man is threatening your life is attempted murder. Just ask Emmett Till). The trauma of watching a nation be outraged at a Black man kneeling to bring awareness to police brutality, yet be deafeningly silent when an officer kneels on a Black man’s neck as he draws his final breaths. The trauma of raising young Black children to be all they can be, only to send them out into the world with no reassurance they will return home to you the same way they left.

"When do we start dedicating the much needed resources to addressing this crisis (money, research, etc.)? When does advocacy for "Black Lives Matter" become part of national conversation and not just spoken of within minority communities? When do the criminals taking innocent lives get convicted for their crimes? When do Black people stop becoming immortalized in the form of hashtags and on the lips of protestors? When is it our turn to revel in the "inalienable rights" we fought for?

"We are in desperate need of these answers because I am tired of watching this cycle of trauma be passed down from generation-to-generation and I cannot afford to watch my future child become yet another victim."

Everything my soul needs

6:26 on Saturday morning. Birds awake and talking, a bit cloudy and overcast, but strangely, with the weather makings of a good day. Its quiet , except for now fading bird chatter....very quiet. And still, very still.

Took my first sip of coffee. Thinking varied and polar thoughts. Family. Shelter. Food. a sense of security. clothing, health (and insurance,... bonus!!). And did I mention coffee. Oh yes,....and a deep, fathomless sense of gratitude.  Everything my soul needs.

But all of our souls need these things. Yet so many don't have them. I stand,... but at 6:30 on a Saturday morning, I'm actually sitting), in awe of a Universe, God, creator,...you get the picture,..that handles so many varieties of circumstances. People with plenty and people starving. People with financial resources and people without. People who are homeless and people in mansions. People who are sick and people who are well.  I'm really not sure what of the point of this diatriabe is,.. only to say that I am thankful and sad at the same time. May the point is to hold the contrast in y heart, knowing that there is mystery behind it all.

Botched execution?,....The least of these?... Anything in common??

I wrote this piece in 2014. Outraged at what was called a "botched" execution, I had to describe the brutality of a system that tries to "sanitize killing another human being.  There is no such thing as a "clean kill".  The very act of trying to make our language adapt to that nomenclature speaks to our dehumanization as a planet,.. well, at least in some countries,..or maybe just one.  The U.S. remains the only country in the Western "civilized" world that uses the retribution of capital punishment. Furthermore we cannot call ourselves Christian, and continue to use capital punishment as a tool for discouraging  murder,... doesn't work, never has.

Well its 2020 now. and the madness continues, only we've added murder on the streets of America, of innocent black men, by the police.  I'll write about that too. Can you say.. Ahmaud Arbery.  Well, that's the latest of names to remember. But read on about what I said in 2014.








Its very interesting to me that I haven't seen nor heard anything written or spoken from religious leaders on the matter of this execution. To call it "botched" is a mis-characterization of this method of punishment.  It was "botched" long before he was placed on the gurney.

And as for the matter of desiring a "Clean Kill", I think there's a bit more to be said about that. We, as a society are "troubled" because we were confronted by the accused. In his writhing, Clayton Lockett--- and we should not forget his name--, made us think about what we were doing. We, as a society, were forced to watch his suffering. We didn't like that.  Despite our vanity, we really don't like looking in mirrors. We don't like to see our ugliness. Clayton Lockett's last act was to make us think about, and see our ugliness as a society. He made us look in the mirror.  

The "Clean kill" we had hoped for, was to witness an accused gently falling asleep, begin to snore, ...with that snoring becoming less pronounced over the course of a few minutes until the accused was pronounced dead. Perhaps this would have eased our consciences and given us the "peace" we sought for humanely eliminating the life of another human being. This,.. is the "Clean-Kill".  Clayton Lockett's final ,yet lasting act, was to show us that we are not humane. His departure signaled to us, that our cruelty mirrors his.  And thus, we have not ended the cycle of human cruelty, just extended it.  This is what Clayton Lockett said to us.

I did a quick internet search this morning looking for perspectives on this issue from "religious' leaders (usually quite opinionated).  I couldn't find anything. I looked for opinions from the lay media,... they were everywhere.  We speak on so many issues,.. except those that really matter.  ("Lord you know all things,..You know that I love you"  Do you? ... Seriously??)

I'm reminded of what Jesus could have been saying when He talked about the "Least of These". Shouldn't we count Clayton Lockett among The Least of These... just as we count (or don't count, for that matter) ) those who are food insecure we pass on the streets daily; those who are unvisited in prison; or without health care in homeless shelters; or without decent housing or clothing. All of us are Jesus, all of us are "The Least of These".  "As you did it unto..... You did it unto me". Just as we continue to deny each other love .. could we be continuing the cycle of denial of that same love to Jesus?   

Violence in our cities,,.. Then and now.

In all of the insane violence in the U.S., I'm reminded of a post by a family member, a few years back (2016),  describing a situation in Milwaukee of a shooting,.. hence the image on this post. In the next paragraphs are the words of that post, followed by mine:

"You probably heard that a bunch of Black Lives Matter thugs rioted in Milwaukee last night, looting businesses, vandalizing vehicles, attacking cops, targeting white people, and setting random fires throughout the city.

"As we've learned, some members of the Black Lives Matter community think it a wise decision to destroy their own communities in order to protest "police brutality." Because nothing says "Black lives matter" more than burning a black neighbor to the ground.

"In any case, this "protest" erupted because a black suspect had been shot and killed by cops earlier in the day. The mob of fools took to the streets without waiting for a single solitary fact to be released. They knew, quite literally, nothing. They heard that a guy was black and he was shot. That's all.

"Well, now we know a little more. We know that the dead suspect is Syville Smith. You can see his picture here, peacefully pointing a gun at the camera. He was, as you can tell from the picture, a thug with a lengthy arrest record. He was shot because he fled from the police during a traffic stop, then when pursued, he turned and pointed a loaded firearm at an officer. The officer fired. Syville was killed. The officer, by the way, is black.

"So, a black cop killed a black gangbanger who tried to shoot him. And that was enough to prompt a night of chaos across another major American city, yet again necessitating the mobilization of the National Guard.

"This is just insane. There is no logic to any of this.

"Racism? The cop was black.

"Police brutality? The guy pointed a loaded gun at the cops.

"Systematic oppression? It wasn't the system that caused Syville Smith to raise a firearm against the police.

"No, you can't look for sanity or coherence here. These are just a bunch of imbeciles looking for an excuse to burn things. Nothing more. If they start up again tonight, I hope the police arrest every last one of them.

"Enough. We have laws in this country. You can't act like an animal without consequences. Syville Smith learned that lesson yesterday."

My response:

The problem with this post is that if you look closely, you clearly see someone's child, someone's brother, someone's friend. And if you listen carefully to posts from cousin's, etc. you hear their pain, expressed in the language they know, but pain none-the-less. There is no question this is a tragedy of society, and yes the system did put that gun in his hand.... a system that intentionally maintains poverty, a system that intentionally withholds education from the poor, or mental health counseling, a system intent on sustaining anger in the poor. If we are honest with ourselves, when we look in the mirror, we will see that we all exhibit "thuggish" behavior. We are thugs to our neighbors who need us, who desperately need us. The problem with this post is that we should see our brother,... someone who belongs to us.

A response to my response:

I agree Neil, but there are some people who a just plain old bad too - and they are bad regardless whether the "system" was good or bad. Society doesn't create all of the bad people, but a system that traps them in poverty doesn't help and leads many down a bad path. Bad circumstances lead to bad choices.

So, where do these sample opinions leave us? What do we do about bad circumstances knowing that they lead to bad choices?   Remember that these opinions were rendered in 2016.

We're in 2020. We are still talking about this and nothing has changed. In fact one might argue that circumstances have worsened. Shootings continue. Minorities are still in poverty. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on  our healthcare and revealed chasmic gaps in a system already rife with disparities between racies.  Can you complete this essay?  I can't! Perhaps a metaphor for, Where do we go next?

A message to Zion,,.. My home.

An interesting time,... I haven't posted much about COVID-19 here.. But I ahve posted in FB.. got to keep the people at home informed about the latest thinking o this pandemic thing.. Anyway,.. one of those posts follows:

"An update from Zion's Health Ministry.

"You've heard by now that there will soon be a re-opening of the economy in Pennsylvania.  Please do not take this as a signal that we've passed the point of caution for COVID-19. We have NOT. There is still caution to be taken because we are still uncertain about who has the disease and who does not.

"Even though testing is still being conducted in many places, it is still possible that some of us may be carriers without exhibiting symptoms. Therefore, wearing masks and having at least 6 feet between each other is critically important. If we do this, the rate of spread of the disease will be slowed.

"If you are considered at high risk---over the age of 60, have an underlying condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes, COPD or asthma----, wearing a mask is especially important if you go out doors for exercise or other essential reason. If you can stay home, however, please do.

"If you have an underlying condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes, COPD or asthma, please take your medication as directed without missing doses. If you have a prescription to be picked-up from your pharmacy, please ask them to deliver to you, if possible.

"Lastly, this is a time that is revealing many challenges for all of us. Whatever challenge is yours, please, PLEASE, do not hesitate to talk about it with someone else that you trust. Trustfully and prayerfully sharing your life's burdens with someone can be a sacred act. Likewise, carrying someone else's burdens, trustfully and prayerfully is also a sacred act. Remember that when the apostle Thomas put his finger into Jesus' wound, that sacred act called all of us to touch each other's wounds. There is healing in that.

"Be wrapped in His Love.

Y' see me now?

The face is the same. Creases, folds, softness, ruggedness, weathered, determined and certain. I'll let you pick them out.My Uncle Isaac, Uncle Griffin, My Dad and Me. I'm not sure what's behind those eyes, but I am sure that the genes are the same. Look at us, on the occasion of the first family reunion in Macon Georgia..  This is probably the only time the four of us were together. My Uncle Joe is missing as is aunt Sarah, but they had the same faces. So this is what I'm going to look like.  This is what they looked like. so many years ago, with pobably the same dreams and hopes for conquering.  Its almost 40 years since this picture was taken.  They're gone now. But they left me, my brothers, my cousins, and our families, and, our hopes and dreams. How do we honor them? How do we make sure those faces live forever?

I don't know the answers. I only know we kep seeking. We keep looking for their stories. What IS behind those eyes.  What is in those engineer brains... --All the Pitts men had technical brains... It was often said that they could tear apart anything and put it back together again.  I  knew that to be true

I didn';t know my Uncles well. But I knew their type: Strong. Defended. Wanting to proof themselves worthy. They were raised in a time that was difficult for Black Men, Particularly Black Men who suspected they had already conquered, but worked most of the time as if they hadn't.  They were raised by a strong father,.. a controlling, tall man.. a man who, by most accounts, commanded his children's respect,.... and fear.  But maybe it had to be that way. Maybe he knew that if he didn't make them fearful, then the world would. I can almost hear him saying in that southern drawl of his,.."Y'know ,..its tough out here,... Ya gotta be  a man, you gotta be strong.  Yes, I knew him too. He used to come to our house on Pacific Street in North Philadelphia, on a spring afternoon, sit in a big chair we had in the living room and tell story after story of growing up in the south, building railroads, building a life for him and his family.. He wanted to make sure we knew his stories well,, .so he'd always punctuate them with "Ya see me mow?,.. Ya see me now?" Yes, it was tough out there, and he wanted to make sure we knew it, and about his strength in overcoming,.. perhaps so that we would overcome too.

And so I'm left with these three men,, four, if you count Uncle Joe, who were raised by a tall, strong defiant man. And they were defiant and strong, too,...wanting us to follow in that strength and courage.  No, it hadn't been easy for them.. It was indeed tough out there. but maybe that's how we honor them! Maybe that's the message: To make sure we're defiant, strong and courageous as we meet adversity. Those carved lines and cheek folds are more than genetic, they're earned. But when I look closely, I also see gentleness in the eyes,... and for me, a combination of courage and defiance of heart, and gentlness of spirit is written all over those faces. They tell me its tough out there, but you can be gentle with the world, and, with yourself.  I understand.  "I see you now".

Each other's keepers?

So Yesterday, Miriam Clinic conducted health screenings of children and teenagers participating in the 2018 Annual Leon Sullivan Hoops Conference,... great job Shani Newton and team,.. a marvelous time, an excellent mission, honoring the historic legacy of a great man.

Two observations: Its noticeable, that when measuring blood pressures in children and teenagers,.. the elegance and beauty of their blood pressures, ...instructive to us all, of what our circulatory and cardiovascular systems should look like when we're active through exercise and before the ravages of unhealthy lifestyles has done its damage. I'm always reminded that the intricacies of our bodies are a manifestation of God's miracles, handiwork and goodness. The other observation is that doing health screenings at a community event can reveal some of the pain still suffered in our neighborhoods. A close friend of mine called my attention to one of the adult attendees, whom she had never met, who had obvious signs of such pain,... some serious life issues,.. revealed through the screenings,, but also through conversation.

 I'm reminded that our openness to relationships connects us to the force of life, which in turn forces us to pay attention to each other's pain (and joys). Accordingly, our natural instinct to relieve the hurt must be to offer an aspirin. Its the aspirin-- and the love that goes with it--- that leads, ultimately, to healing. Thank you, my good friend, for offering that sister an aspirin. We are, in fact, our brother's, and our sister's keepers.

A look back,.... a look forward

We get older, we get more reflective. Each death, each, loss, no matter how remote, is cause for taking time to look back at where we've been, where we are and where we may be going. I've done that a lot in recent years, and now in this period of COVID-19 quarantine, the cause rises again. 

A High School classmate of mine died awhile back and I found this reflection, written on the occasion of his passing. I remember feeling the nostalgia one feels when remember teenage years and contrasting those years with the certainty of one's mortality.  Made even more poignant in that we're in graduation season and what an unusual graduation season it is. Our graduates are doing virtual graduations,..no pomp and circumstance, except that played by our computers,.. no crawds of family and friends in cavernous auditoriums, no diplomas given on stage. No, this is a markedly different graduation season. But it remains immortal. It will live in memories forever as does my High School graduation from 1967. In my year book, I found this a note written by our Vice Principal. I think this is the very first time I've actually read this note, but looking in the rear view mirror, 50+ years, it caused me pause in its timeliness. Funny how statements that held little meaning carry such importance today.


Our graduating classes of 2020 have weathered the storm. They have endured and conquered, with frustration and persistence, with resignation, and diligence, with despair and hope. They have shown up in times when tghe paths grew dark and the hope seemed to evaporate in a whisper.  In this they have learned I hope they have learned that life can be uncertain. But I hope they have also learned that when you continue to show up, you'll surmount your obstacles.  

"Untold adventures" really do await them. If they continue to show up for the journey with the diligence, resilience and compassion they've shown through this period of uncertainty and confusion, the world will indeed be a better place.

Spread a little kindness somebody's way

***Breaking News****
Kindness is Alive.  That's Kindness with a capital 'K' that rhymes with 'A' that stands for  Absolutely,.. well you get the gist.

Dined at a restaurant last night in Narberth with Derrick, ---(we try to get caught up every so often, and he goes there frequently with Linda)---..It was my turn to pay. Went to pay our bill,, the staff person told me that the table across from us (they had already left), who DP knew and I had just met, had already paid our bill. The mayor of Narberth just happened to be seated at a nearby table....they paid her's too.

We had spoken briefly and I do remember that his name is Dan,. 

On a daily basis we bear witness to rudeness, discourteousies, maliciousness, etc. And then there's people like Dan and his wife, who I know are not unique, but it's a reminder that kindness should always be the agenda of the day. So Dan, if you happen to read this, thanks.