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opinions
by Rev. Dr. C.E. McAdoo
May 10, 2025
How do we find our best in today’s world, where we have the internet and AI and numerous other sources? What happens when it’s not about you, but about something else?
This week’s article is inner-speculatively and I think so much of this was auto-speculatively. That may be a good dictionary word, and it may not be, but daddy said I need to make one up. So, outer-speculatively we are always looking for something about something else or somebody. I hope today’s article will help us all in Finding your Best, as we become more inner-speculatively! I know the title says finding your best, but I am including myself in this also. In my pastoral work, when I preach a sermon, I am also preaching it to myself, because I’m trying to find my best.
So, how do we find our best? I’ve got a couple of questions here and of course I will also be asking them of myself.
What do we like to do that we would call a skill?
I guess part of this question is a two-way street. Remember, it could be what we feel is what we do best, and also it could be what others have observed us doing well. I won’t get into anything physical because some of us were inherently born with good athletic skills, such as good eye and hand coordination, and were able to catch the ball to throw the ball. We’ve been blessed with bodies that could run a 100-yard dash between 10 -15 seconds. We’ve been blessed with lungs to run a mile between 4 – 4 ½ minutes, so I won’t get into the athletic part of the best that we could be. I want to talk about those skills we have demonstrated, and preferably this article will be intergenerational for young folks that may read this article.
You are developing skills that others have already noticed about you. For many of us like myself, I’m over 50. I’ll just say, those of us who are over 50, we’ve been observed and also noted what skills we have. So, what is it that you ask yourself? What is it that people say your best might be? This article is going to a general audience and it may touch all kind of things.
When I was growing up, I guess what I saw was what I wanted to be. I used to see Louis Armstrong, and I would say I wanted to be a trumpet player! So, I joined a band and did play lots of music, and ended up being 2nd trumpet. The funny thing is, I did not play a trumpet, I played a cornet. I don’t know the difference between the two, but there is a difference in the sound between a trumpet and a cornet. You have to “buzz” your lips into the trumpet mouthpiece, I got tired of all that “buzzing,” so, the trumpet didn’t work!
O man, I loved all those old blues singers, like John Lee Hopkins and Albert King! So, I wanted to be a guitar player when I got older. Praise the Lord, my daughter and I went to the guitar shop and the man played the guitar and had me to “finger” a little bit and I bought a guitar for my daughter and myself. My wife said, “I don’t know why you bought a dust-keeper,” and I said “what is a dust-keeper?” She said, “go ahead, y’all aren’t going to play that thing!” I think my daughter put it down after about a week, and I still tried. I wish I had it today. It still has a lot of dust on it, and it’s still in the closet today. However, I found out one of my skills was talking, so I made a living down through the years,… talking!
I have a friend at home who was a Tool-and-Dye person, and I remember when we were growing up, he was very athletic. So some of us are really good with our hands. I’ve decided that after I finish my article today, I am going to finish digging up a spot in our yard where my wife wants to plant some tomatoes, so we’re going to work on that. Some people have the skill of a “green thumb,” and are able to plant flowers and other plants.
I just went through a little scenario/self-inventory of sorts. I went through and found out what my skills are. So just ask yourself, what do I really like to do, and what other people may call your “skill.”
The next question is:
What is this skill compared to?”
That’s an easy one, you can look at my example of the trumpet and guitar, and once I compared myself to those who really did it, I found out a couple of things: First, You’ve got to practice, and Second, there was a lot more to “fingering” the guitar that I realized!
When I was blessed to go to Hot Spring Village, one of my members played the guitar. We had to do some fingering, and I’ll tell you what! When you see those people playing the guitar, it takes strength to put that left hand up there and hit those notes! It’s a blessing when I see people who have those skills. I complement them because I can compare that to someone who really does not understand the whole dynamic of practicing. What’s the other thing you can compare it to - how much it takes to get those skills together and like I said, not mathematically, but I have to go back to the hand and eye coordination.
You may recall I wrote an article about our getting older and our hands don’t have the reflex-ability they had when we were younger. While I am sitting here, I don’t know what it’s called, but I have a little ball with a smiley face on it, and I squeeze it to stretch my hand. I have to stretch my hands to keep my writing skills together, and it also has something to do with keeping your brain together in order to have proper coordination. So, that’s the comparison level.
The third thing:
Deep down, why do you lack what you call your skill?
I guess I couldn’t help it, I think I was born talking! For those of you with all kind of skills that you developed down through the years, maybe you just saw the grass and you liked to cut it or you sold the flowers? It was just part of what you liked, and you wanted to make sure it happened. There are some with arithmetic skills and others who have algebraic skills. I grew up with “arithmetic mentality” and I was pretty good on the basics which are, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. When you have algebraic skills, that is finding the unknown. Then you move up to geometry and that’s another kind of skill, then you go to physics, and I don’t know if that’s the top of the lot or not! However, when you leave arithmetic the other skill for me is finding the unknown. In arithmetic, I can add it up and it’s going to be the same, or I can subtract, multiply or divide, so there are persons who grew up that are just good with numbers. So that’s how you find your best.
The last Question is:
How can you improve your skills?
My son is a registered speaker, and he listens to other motivational speakers and watches them on YouTube. Knowing that my skill is in speaking, I try to listen to some of the best speakers per se. I’m trying to say this is the most positive way I can, sometimes when I hear other people speaking in public, I try to use the skills I have developed to avoid making the mistakes I see others making. Anytime I get up to speak, unless something has just happened, I never have anything in my pocket. There are certain people that get up to speak and they are rattling their change. I was so glad in the Probationary process in the United Methodist Church, they required us to have a video of our sermons. I did not know that I was a “glasses-taker-offer,” but when I looked at my video, I think I took my glasses off 7 or 8 times! Then, in voice notation speaking directly into the mic, articulating well, I don’t know what some of the technical stuff should be for great speakers. However I recommend speaking directly to the audience and don’t have your back to folks. There are a lot of ways for someone with other skills in other areas, and for me, to look at what the best are doing. Even at our age, and even though you may be retired or you don’t consider that you need any additional skills, it’s always good to look at who was the best in your field and when you do that you are able to find your best!
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Rev. Dr. C.E. McAdoo is a retired District Superintendent with the United Methodist Church
opinions
I Will Never Settle for the Path of Least Resistance
by Deborah Suttlar
May 2, 2025
My Opinion relates to the lack of allegiance Black people have toward one another as we confront racist hate, inequality, and injustice exacerbated by the recent election of Donald Trump and those of like minds. I am mystified by the recent camaraderie of Black people with those who are plotting to annihilate us, eliminate our educational/economic opportunities, dismissive of our concerns and are erasing our culture. It is both insulting and disheartening. I will never settle for the path of least resistance.
Let me expound on the situations at hand. On Saturday, April 26, 2025, First Missionary Baptist church, located at 701 Gaines in Little Rock, celebrated the 180th Anniversary of their existence. The history of this church includes the fact that slaves founded this church after asking for permission from the slave master to build a place of worship. The current governor of Arkansas was invited to be the honorary chairperson. Sarah Sanders Huckabee addressed the congregation during the worship service and commented on the issue of civil rights. The other guest was Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde. I am stunned these two were invited considering their reputations and negative rapport with the Black community. The news report referenced the church history regarding civil rights activities. Neither Sarah Huckabee Sanders nor Judge Barry Hyde have any civil rights record or a positive reputation within the Black community. Therefore, I could not imagine any Black congregation who would want either of them to attend their church because of that reason. Besides, the sacredness of the Black church remains our havens from racial violence and racist. It’s where we feel safe from the troubles of this world. Unless of course, they come to make atonements or an exorcism. (I am serious about that).
The other situation is the issue of Saquon Barkley, the Eagles teammate who played golf with Trump prior to his team meeting the president as the winners of the Superbowl. Saquon stated he has no issue playing golf with Trump because he is the president. The fact is, Trump as president, has inflicted record breaking harm against Black people in his first 100 days. Speaking of a president inflicting harm, this hate is historic. President Franklin D. Roosevelt refused to support anti-lynching legislation. Trump is playing us, by playing with Saquon. Saquon did not go to the Oval Office to address Trump’s position on Anti- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He only went to play golf with the magnified racist who is defunding our Historically Black Colleges and Universities, dismantling diversity programs, and stealing our artifacts from the African American History Museum, among other dastardly deeds. Saquon is playing around with Trump while Trump is scheming to annihilate Black people. Saquon would not be near Trump if he issued an anti-diversity for professional sports. And he won’t do that because white team owners make too much money off Black players. Saquon was there only for himself and apparently, cares nothing about the suffering being inflicted on the Black community right now. If we do not resist the racist haters, then you accept them. I will never settle for the path to least resistance.
Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it.” I agree with Dr. King, and I refuse to pretend that this behavior by some of us does not hurt all of us. Associations do matter and it matters when those associations have no intentions of doing good for “all” of us.
1 Corinthians 15:33. Do not be deceived; Bad company corrupts good morals.
“Ubuntu” – “I am because we are.” It signifies a sense of interconnectedness and community, and compassion, emphasizing that one’s humanity is defined by their relationships with others.
Zora Neale Hurston, “If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
Amina (Amen in Swahili)
Deborah Springer Suttlar is a community activist and longtime supporter of public schools.
opinions
Coming out of the Shadows
by Rev. Dr. C.E. McAdoo
May 2, 2025
I live in a community where, when I get to the end of my street and look to the right, I have clear visibility. However, when I look to the left because of the trees, I’ve had to catch myself to be aware of cars coming out of the shadows. This can happen at various times throughout the day and I thought about that, and how it affects our lives so many times when things come out of the shadows.
In one sense, we walk this earth in a very normal way but in all our lives there are some things that come at us out of the shadows. So, I just want to talk about three or four things I think will help us when things do come out of the shadows. This may not be happening in your neighborhood, but I think this has a generalness to it, that no matter where you are, hopefully this article will help us to be aware of things coming out of the shadows.
The Lord has blessed me with being in a lot of cities, but to drive in them, sometimes things come out of the shadows because we really don’t look close enough to where we are. I’ve driven in some cities where I thought I was going a certain way, only to discover I was on a one-way street, going the wrong way! You automatically go on your way and there are no cars coming, and then the next thing you know you are on a one-way street and not know it! That’s like coming out of the shadows sometimes. One of the things that helps us to maintain our life-ability, is that we can keep ourselves from getting injured.
I had a neighbor, bless his soul, who had a bad accident. It was similar to coming out of the shadows, but the concept we have to be aware of is when we are driving east or west. If we are going east, it’s possible the sunlight can affect us in such a way that we could miss a vehicle coming out of the shadows so I do know that’s another way we can protect ourselves from injury.
I’m not big on wearing sunglasses, but I do keep some with me. I keep those you get when you go to the eye doctor and they dilate your eyes, those are easy to keep in your vehicle. So, coming out of the shadows it’s important to be mindful and aware, that will help you in keeping yourself safe.
Another thing about coming out of the shadows is to help us have a safety attitude. I’m not the most expert driver, but the Lord blessed me to have gone through certified Police training. I was deputized as a policeman in Lenoir City, Tennessee many years ago. One thing they always taught us was safe driving. One thing I tried to teach my kids was to have a “360 attitude” when it comes to driving. You’ve got to be able to look all the way around in every direction. You have to look at all three mirrors. There’s a center mirror and a mirror on both sides. They’ve also got the fancy little mirrors that fit in the bigger one, that also helps.
When we think about step-toeing out of the shadows, that should give us a safety attitude about how we are driving. It also enables us to have a conversation when we are riding with someone, and if they are doing something that’s a little unsafe, we can bring up a conversation and say, “you know it’s like coming out of the shadows, maybe you should not be doing this or that” (I won’t say what this or that is!).
Thirdly, another thing about coming out of the shadows, it may let us know we need our eyes checked. I’m over 70 years old and I’m glad to be here, but sometimes I think we take our eyesight for granted. We can go a year or two and not get our eyes checked. I think it’s very important that we do go in for those eye exams. If we need an upgrade in our lens, it will make a difference! Sometimes I’ve forgotten my glasses, and even though it’s a short trip, I go back home and get them, because it’s on my license that I am supposed to be wearing glasses.
The last thing I want to ask about is the family history, in terms of people with certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma. The best way to accomplish this, is to just ask your family members about their history with eye health.
I was doing a study with our skin, and my daughter-in-law said, maybe you need to get DNA on that to see if it is going to affect the grandkids. So, it’s good to have a family history! The way the insurance companies are today, they like to dig deep into our lives. They want to know every little bit about us, but you don’t want to tell them everything.
Basically, this is not a long article this week, it’s about coming out of the shadows, and when we think about it that gives us a more precise perspective of how we look, not at life, but at how we look at the things around us.
I won’t get into the personal part, but there are all kinds of stuff that come at us out of the shadows, but that’s an article for another day. I did today’s article more on a physical piece. However, for now let’s just drive safely, and when we are in those driving situations where something may be coming out of the shadows, we will be able to deal with it properly!
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Dr. C.E. McAdoo is a retired district Superintendent in the United Methodist Church.
opinions
THE UNHEEDED, TRAGIC, AND INESCAPABLE TRUTH ABOUT THE USA
by Wendell Griffen
April 11, 2025
We are witnessing a political march and mass suicide of our society into the graveyard of history.
I was a state court trial judge in Arkansas from January 2011 until I retired at the end of December 2022. During the last years of my tenure, I began court sessions by reading about racial injustice from a calendar published by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. If I were still on the bench, this is what I would be reading this month.
April 1, 1807 – Ohio enacts a law banning Black witnesses from testifying in court against white people.
April 2, 1802 – State of Georgia cedes land to create Alabama and Mississippi, adding two states where slavery is legal in order to ensure that “slave states” outnumber free states in the U.S. Senate.
April 3, 1911 – President William Howard Taft expels an all-Black calvary unit from San Antonio for protesting racial segregation.
April 4, 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
April 5, 1880 – Johnson Whittaker, one of West Point’s first Black cadets, is brutally beaten by his white classmates; he is later accused of faking the attack and expelled.
April 6, 1892 – A mob of 80 white men seize Issac Brandon from a Virginia jail and lynches him on the courthouse lawn while his young son pleads for his life.
April 7, 1927 – The Ku Klux Klan kicks off a 10-day series of revival events at a white Presbyterian church in Evergreen, Alabama, and recruits 600 new members.
April 8, 1911 – Banner Mine near Birmingham, Alabama, explodes, killing 128 people, nearly all of whom were Black men leased to the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company as convict laborers.
April 9, 1939 – Banned from every indoor venue in Washington, D.C. due to her race, Black opera singer Marian Anderson performs for 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
April 10, 1956 – Four white men attack Black singer Nat King Cole while he is performing for an all-white audience in Birmingham, Alabama.
April 11, 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson’s cabinet implements a government-wide segregation policy in workplaces, restrooms, and lunchrooms.
April 12, 1963 – Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene “Bull” Connor orders violent arrests of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and dozens of civil rights activists in Birmingham, Alabama.
April 13, 1873 – An armed white mob kills 150 Black people following a contested election in Colfax, Louisiana.
April 14, 1906 – On the town square in Springfield, Missouri, a white lynch mob hangs and shoots to death Fred Coker and Horace Duncan, two Black men, before thousands of spectators.
April 15, 1903 – Several thousand white people in Joplin, Missouri, lynch a Black man named Thomas Gilyard and attack Black neighborhoods, burning homes, shooting Black people, and forcing every Black resident to flee the city.
April 16, 1945 – At a tryout for Black ballplayers from the Negro Leagues, Boston Red Cox fans taunt and abuse Black players, including Jackie Robinson, and Red Sox managers send them home without a contract.
April 17, 1915 – A white Georgia mob lynches Caesar Sheffield, a Black man, after he is accused of stealing meat.
April 18, 1846 – New Jersey enacts a law to bind enslaved Black people to indefinite servitude as “apprentices for life” who cannot leave the state or their jobs without written permission from their “masters or mistresses.”
April 19, 1989 – Five Black and Latino teenagers are arrested for raping a jogger in New York City’s Central Park and are incarcerated for years before being exonerated.
April 20, 1965 – Georgia business owner Lester Maddox threatens three Black seminary students at gunpoint for trying to eat in his segregated restaurant; he is acquitted of all charges and later elected governor.
April 21, 2007 – White parents in Turner County, Georgia protest a high school’s decision to hold its first racially integrated prom; previously, parents had organized private, racially segregated proms for students.
April 22, 1987 – The Supreme Court upholds the death penalty in McCleskey v. Kemp despite proof that it is racially biased, reasoning that racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is “inevitable.”
April 23, 1963 – During a one-man civil rights march to Jackson, Mississippi, a white activist named William L. Moore is found dead from a gunshot to the head on U.S. Highway 11 near Attalia, Alabama.
April 24, 1877 – Federal troops withdraw from Louisiana, marking the end of Reconstruction.
April 25, 1959 – A white mob beats, shoots, and throws the chained body of Mack Charles Parker, a Black man, into the Pearl River after he is accused of raping a white woman in Poplarville, Mississippi.
April 26, 1862 – California lawmakers ratify new law “To Protect Free White Labor Against Competition with Chinese Coolie Labor, and to Discourage the Immigration of Chinese into the State of California.
April 27, 1899 – Black community leader Michael Daniel is lynched in Georgia for “talking too much” about the recent lynching of another Black man, Sam Hose.
April 28, 1936 – A mob of white men in Colbert, Georgia, seizes Lint Shaw, a Black farmer, from police custody and shoots him to death hours before his trial on allegations of attempting to assault two white women.
April 29, 1992 – An all-white jury acquits the officers who violently beat Rodney King, a young Black man in Los Angeles, sparking an uprising in which more than 50 people die and over 2,000 are injured.
April 30, 1866 – White police in Memphis attack Black soldiers, triggering a wave of violence by white police and mobs who kill nearly 50 Black people, rape at least five Black women, and burn 100 Black homes and businesses.[1]
I would be reading these entries this month, as I did at the beginning of most court sessions during the first Trump presidency and the first half of the Biden presidency. Now, as I did then, I would confront lawyers, clients, and the visiting public with the unheeded, tragic, and inescapable truth about how racialized injustice, violence, and bigotry has been committed, excused, licensed, sacralized, commercialized, capitalized, commodified, merchandized, glorified, and embraced throughout U.S. history.
That is why I was saddened, but not surprised, when the right-wing Heritage Foundation issued its Project 2025 manifesto.
That is why I was saddened, but not surprised, when the Hateful Faithful clan of Southern (Slaveholder) Baptists, gangster capitalists, neofascists, imperialists, pro-zionist colonizers, kleptocrats, misogynists, war mongers, folks who despise LGBTQ people, and anti-Black and Brown immigrant haters bet the future of the United Staes on a vicious sociopath, Donald Trump, in 2024.
I was saddened, but not surprised, when other pro-zionist colonizers, gangster capitalists, and political speculators who have used Indigenous people, Blacks, Latinos, women, LGBTQ people, workers who are and are not immigrants, teachers, people with physical and/or mental differences, and senior citizens for photo ops and talking points while disregarding the truths we spoke and lived bet the future of the United States on Joe Biden, and then on Kamala Harris, knowing that Biden and Harris enabled, financed, counseled, and outfitted the racist, land stealing, genocidal Israeli apartheid regime of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Because I grew up with, experienced, and vividly recall the inequities of Jim Crow education, I was saddened, but not surprised, when voters elected politicians who openly called for banning books, prosecuting librarians, firing teachers, and taking tax dollars from public education.
I opposed Clarence Thomas’ confirmation when George H. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court. I opposed John Roberts when George W. Bush nominated him to succeed William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. So, I was saddened, but not surprised, when Roberts led the Supreme Court to gut the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Thomas voted with him.
Roberts led the Supreme Court to invalidate admission policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that included consideration of racial diversity. Thomas voted with him.
Roberts, Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2023.
Roberts led the Court to declare Donald Trump and any other president absolutely immune from prosecution for criminal conduct last July. Thomas voted with him.
Now, rather than upholding due process of law as a fundamental right guaranteed to all people, the Roberts Court – with Thomas as its senior member – has reduced due process of law to whatever falsehood or fiction government agents and officers spin to kidnap, detain, and violently remove international students who protest genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza from the United States.
And now, instead of using their law licenses, wealth, and prestige to protect and preserve due process, democracy, public health and safety, and fight bigotry, corruption, and governmental hatefulness, some of the nation’s biggest law firms and richest lawyers are cutting deals with a neofascist regime headed by a vicious sociopath (Donald Trump), the world’s richest gangster capitalist (Elon Musk), and people Kurt Vonnegut accurately termed “not-so-closeted white supremacists” in his final book, A Man Without A Country.
The unheeded, tragic, and inescapable truth is that politicians and voters have supported racist, sexist, anti-worker, anti-immigrant, authoritarian, deadly military adventures since the founding of the United States.
The unheeded, tragic, and inescapable truth is that politicians and voters who know better continue to support racist, sexist, anti-worker, anti-immigrant, authoritarian gangster capitalism and imperialism.
The unheeded, tragic, and inescapable truth is that millions of people in this society believe the lie that doing this is right, and that doing it more forcefully and violently to other people will make their lives better.
And the unheeded, tragic, and inescapable truth is that every society of people across history who thought that way – and the graveyard of history is full of examples – was damnably wrong.
Historians will write, philosophers will ponder, and prophets will preach about how our generation whistled, disregarded truth, dismantled democracy, rejected liberty, and profaned justice as we marched into that graveyard. And our descendants will curse, lament, and struggle with the consequences of our political suicide, for countless generations.
[1] Equal Justice Initiative, A History of Racial Injustice 2025 Calendar, © 2024 Equal Justice Initiative.
Wendell Griffen is the author of Parables, Politics, and Prophetic Faith published by (Nurturing Faith, (2023) and
The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope (Judson Press, (2017). He is also an ordained minister and former elected judge.
www.fierceprophetichope.blogspot.com
www.wendellgriffen.blogspot.com
Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
pastorgriffen@newmillenniumchurch.us
CEO, Griffen Strategic Consulting, PLLC
www.griffenstrategicconsulting.com
griffenstrategicconsulting@gmail.com
Co-Chair, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
opinions
THE VALUE OF EXERCISE
by Dr. C.E. McAdoo
April 27, 2025
“Once upon a time” . . . I’m jumping back about eight years ago and the reason is because I was with my niece this weekend. For some reason she claims I pilfered one of her orange eggs. She said “He got it!” and really got onto me. She said I did this and I did that, and she wrote a story about what was going on in her life at that time. She started her story with “Once upon a time, he stole my egg!” I will get to my article in a moment, but I want this to be part of it! She had me to stand up and to turn, and this does lead into my article for this week.
My sister-in-law called my wife, and my niece said to her grandmother, “I’ve got two of the best friends in the world,” and her grandmother said, “Who are they baby?” My niece said, it’s you grandmother and my mother, that’s my female friends, and I’ve got two male friends, and she said that’s my daddy and Uncle Mac!” Lord, have mercy! I said part of the reason I think life is about the value of exercise, is because I want to be healthy enough to be that baby’s best friend! There are some pre-concepts I want to talk about. There are three questions I want to talk about.
The first one is, Why is exercise important? The reason exercise is important is because it’s personal. Particularly in this day and age, many of us grew up in an era where there was no conversation about exercise, per se, because since we didn’t have access to vehicles like we do now, we just naturally got our exercise by walking everywhere. So, why is exercise important? It’s a personal thing for me. I’m writing these articles every week, and I want to continue to have the strength in my body and air in my lungs to be able to continue to write them. So, once upon a time, about eight years ago, I started going to exercise at the Reynolds Center in Little Rock at UAMS. I go every Tuesday and Thursday and exercise for an hour. I used to go on Mondays and Wednesday for an hour, and walk nine flights of steps, but I don’t do that as often now. Everyone has a certain amount that they may want to consider, and while that is not THE answer to “Why is exercise important?” it is AN answer for me.
The next question is, What is the best type of exercise? That answer has a lot to do with your history and how active you are already. You may be hooking up with your friends and shooting hoops or something, and you don’t need to work on your legs because you’re already building up stamina. But the best type of exercise is the one where you take a look at your own body and decide what you need to work on and you start exercising for that. So, that’s the second question.
The third question is, How much exercise do you need? As I said, I exercise twice a week. Some people exercise more. My sister is a walker, and she is always talking about having to walk at least 20 minutes to get some cardio in. Cardio is exercising to get your heart to a certain rate. She said she had a route she went on, and she knew one was about 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back, and she did that year ‘round.
Now I want to talk about the benefits of exercise. The first benefit you may or may not realize is that it causes us less depression. My exercise guru talks about the chemical serotonin and dopamine. When we exercise, we get them up to a certain level and they lift our mood. And I said, “Wow! Exercise does that for us?” Now, you can get online and research it for yourself, but exercise is good for lifting our mood and causing us to have less depression.
The second benefit exercise has is, and this could happen to me and I think it has happened to a lot of us, is that is we could have a heart attack. One way to help the heart is to keep the blood pressure low and that’s what exercise does. It helps the heart muscle. Our heart beats a lot every year, and exercise helps keep our heart muscle strong and working better. Since this article is for “Black Talk Arkansas,” I want to point out that one of the conditions that African Americans deal with so much is sugar diabetes and heart trouble. My daddy died of a heart attack and my brother also, so I have to be mindful myself. I try to keep my blood pressure to a certain level. I don’t know if you keep up with your numbers, but I’m an old medic and so when I go to any doctor I say, “120 over 80.” Now, they’ve changed the numbers some, and the numbers are different for older people, but you want to be in that area and your respirations around 16 or so and your pulse around 72. When I was a medic in the military, that is what we looked for when we took people’s pressure, and so I had to learn how to do that. And so, keeping your heart healthy is the second benefit of exercise.
The third benefit is kind of controversial. I’ve written about this, but the third benefit is weight loss. I say it is controversial because all of our bodies are different. Some of our bodies are set to have a certain number of pounds on them and other bodies are set for a different a number of pounds. But people do exercise for weight loss. Do you know how you can get ‘caught’ in the internet? Well, I got caught last week reading an article about how you can lose weight just by drinking cold water. Well, it was cold water with another ingredient in it, but for 30 minutes all they talked about was losing weight by drinking cold water. As I said, man, I got caught up in this article and all they are talking about is drinking cold water! Also, maybe baking soda, but don’t go out and start drinking cold water and baking soda because C.E. McAdoo said he read it in an article. You do your own research. God gave us a great body, and there are many things we can do to help it.
The last benefit of exercise I want to talk about is strength. The class I’m attending at UAMS is not a weight loss class, it is a strength class. Our instructor, and I’m not being mean—she knows this and thinks it is funny—we call her ‘Atilla the Hun.’ She tells us that we need to exercise muscles that we don’t think about all the time. She has us exercise our necks, and tells us to do this, and to do that, and if we do these things, it helps us keep our heads up. She tells us to keep our shoulder blades together to keep us erect as we walk. She talks about the heel-toe concept of walking, and about those parts that we stretch when we walk. If you exercise, then you may have heard of the plank. That’s an exercise that helps the whole body.
When we do the plank, she wants us to do it to where our whole body is shaking. And then we have the weighted ball. When we use it with certain exercises, she wants us to exercise until our body tells us it has done enough. She tells us that this is an area where failure is success. On Tuesdays we usually go through a certain routine and use cardio machines. On Thursdays we lift heavy weights.
If you can visualize sitting in a chair and lifting those heavy weights very slowly a certain number of times, and you get to the point where you can’t lift them anymore and you fail, that is where failure is success. You are strengthening yourself, she talks about how this will tear the muscles, and where they heal back, they are stronger. Now some of you are going to read this article and say how I didn’t do too good in biology, but I want you to know I can still do good in strength, so don’t mess with me!
So, anyway, that’s the last part of the “Value of Exercise.”
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Rev. Dr. C.E. McAdoo is a retired District Superintendent with the United Methodist Church.
opinions
Lead by Lent
By Rev. Dr. C.E. McAdoo
March 12, 2025
A Salaam Alaikum, Shalom! All common welcome statements of hello, as well as what I will be writing about this week for my article. I do this in the name of Jesus.
I proceeded this way in such a general manner, because everyone that reads the article may not be a Christian. I want to make sure that my statements about Lent, basically for Christians, but also for anyone who might look at some of this may be able to get some nuggets from it. For Christians, Lent started at Genesis 1:1, you say, wait, wait! No, I say that because for me, that’s when the Godhead, (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) called the world into being. Then, for Christians we go back to that song, and we move through a whole lot of stuff, but we go back to that song we loved to sing, “Tell me the Stories of Jesus, I Love to Hear.”
We know that basically what we are referring to when we talk about those stories, are the three years that Jesus walked on this land and did what He had to do in the midst of saving us. So, at the cross, and I’m not going through all the other stuff that Jesus went through, but on the cross was a pointed reminder of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Now we fast forward to Lent. I’ve not skipped anything that I thought might lead up to this, because it’s so much, there’s no way I could bring us from Gensis 1:1 up to the Lenten period. I would ask that you do that on your own.
Lent as I look at it, leads me into a spiritual journey, and as we start on this journey, we must be in a period of prayer. This prayer can be for various things, but it can be for seeking, accepting, repentance and those things that God has worked with us in the name of Jesus.
So, Lent leads me first to the spiritual meaning of self. During this Lent period those who may or may not be Christians, we try to focus on a timeliness; and that timeliness is Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday in many churches, ashes are put on your head, and you are asked to observe this 40-day period. Remember I talked about Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection? Now we are leading into “Ash Wednesday,” which is the English word. However, it really refers to listing of the seasons from Spring to the longer days. The length of Lent represents the 40 days Jesus spent in fasting in the wilderness before He began His ministry.
Lent is a time of spiritual renewal and reflection through prayer and fasting for observing Good Friday, the death of Jesus, the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus! I do want to say, our Pastor has been very open. Reverend Hargraves talks about, if you gave up something, when you do that, think about using that time and mentality to thank the Lord for giving you this time! It’s no big deal what I gave up, it was not eating after 8’O’clock, and I do have to ask for forgiveness because I slipped one or two nights and ate a bag of peanuts. Well, I believe it was Cashews, but it doesn’t make any difference. That was what I did.
As I have grown in my spirituality and faith, it’s not always about what you give up, it might be what you add. You may say, I’m going to read more scriptures. I may have certain periods of prayer. So, we think about that moment in Ash Wednesday when some pastors will place ashes on your forehead and will say, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It is a reminder of our need for God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus. When we think about that, it leads me down a prayer road, a forgiveness road, an understanding road, and an open road. The open road is where you are hopefully open to learning something new every day. I pray that during Lent, when 8:00 comes, and I want to eat something, I stop and remember why I am not eating. I want to be led by Lent. Lent leads us on.
Through the years, scholars have studied this 40-day period. (Note: Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent, they are always Feast days. That is why the time from Ash Wednesday to Easter is longer on the calendar than 40 days, even though we talk about the 40 days of Lent.) The scholars have reminded us that 40 days was the time of Christ’s temptation, so when we give up things, we are sometimes tempted. I’m not like Jesus. Those cashews looked so good that I ate them after 8:00. If you are giving up something, that may happen to you too!
However, I’m led by Lent and other encouraging Christian traditions. It could be focusing on Lent or a lot of other things.
I remember that I started preaching May 20, 1980. I had just gone through Lent in the local church I served. I do believe God knew I was ready for that. So, we don’t jump, but we go through these days of being led by Lent. When we do, we have a greater understanding of self.
The second thing is that it gives us understanding of others. I say that to say this. During that 40-day period, seek out where you may have been unkind or said unkind things because you were not understanding. They key to understanding others is by being a great listener. During these forty days, be a great listener. I know we said this didn’t include Sunday, but if you don’t listen to your loved ones on Sunday, you’re in trouble anyway.
Understanding self, understanding others, and now we consider understanding the historical period we are in. I say that, not necessarily because of President Trump in office and what’s going on in the world, but this isn’t the first Lent I’ve gone through and Praise the Lord! I hope it isn’t the last Lent I have. But you need to have some understanding of your historical surroundings.
I know some people say, “I can’t watch the news anymore.” But remember, what goes on around you does affect you. You can isolate yourself, but you still have to do those things where you have some sort of an idea of what is going on historically around you.
I said a few notes about understanding self and understanding others, but this whole thing about understanding historical perspective is like this. My heart just breaks when I hear of some of the stories, not just in the news, but maybe on Facebook or scrolling somewhere else. Let us during this time (going back to understanding others) remember that sometimes people just need a ‘hello’ or a smile, or just an acknowledgment. Those three things that lead me to Lent in my own personal introspection, understanding others and understanding historical situation that we are in, I think it gives us an opportunity to really have a note on what Lent really is.
Jump from that to Palm Sunday. Many of the churches that I attend now call it Palm/Passion Sunday. It is basically the Sunday before Easter. And when we say Passion Sunday, it is because this is the day Jesus came into Jerusalem. For those of you who want to go back and read about it in the Bible, I think it would be helpful to know that Palm Sunday leads us into Holy Week. And when we think of that, it makes a big difference. When you go back and think of all Jesus went through, he had to be passionate for us. I won’t go into the story now, but if you want to go back and read it for yourself, go back and read it.
When I did start preaching, my pastor at the time told me to go back and read the four gospels. I did, and the first sermon I preached was “In Search of a Cross-Bearer.” It had something to do with Jesus in our life. That whole week leads us into an area that helps us, I’ll use an example. One year I gave up all carbonated drinks. I don’t do that every year, but I found out I could do it. And that’s how Lent leads us. It lets us know some of those things we want to do, we can do them, and I did it. That was a good exercise for me to know I had the mentality to get that done.
During that week there is Maundy Thursday, the day before Jesus is crucified. And then we have Good Friday. Good Friday is a very special day because that is the day of the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross. It is called “good” because it is part of God’s plan for our salvation. God’s good plan is redemption for us, which includes, as Jesus said on the cross, forgiving us for our sins. That lets all of know that we sinned and fallen short of the mark.
After Good Friday, there’s Holy Saturday. Now, this is not a controversial day, but some say that Jesus lay in the tomb, and some say that Jesus went down to hell and preached down there and saved all the souls that were in hell. However, it is one of the days we look at in Holy Week, and it is a day to reflect on what is coming on Easter.
Easter is, for many of us, the most important Sunday in Christian history, because it is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. So, I am led by Lent to do self-reflection, to do self-observation with others, and to do self-analyzation of what is going on around me. Those three things help. Theologically, through Jesus we have an opportunity for eternal forgiveness for our sins and a relation with God in eternity, but in the resurrection of Jesus, He rose from the dead! For me personally, the only way we can equalize death in life is love.
My Administrative Assistant loves her family, but she loves her dog too! And that is the whole concept of, when bad things happen, love is the equalizer. I am led through this Lenten period to learn how to cultivate my love.
Love,
I Am
Charlie Edward McAdoo
Dr. McAdoo is a retired district superintendent in the United Methodist Church
opinions
Where is the Black Church?
by Deborah Springer Suttlar
April 4, 2025
Zora Neale Hurston, “if you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.
During times such as these, “Where is the Black Church?” I grew up in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Little Rock. My grandfather, Rev. Horace Lloyd Springer, Sr., was an AME minister who died prior to my birth. I was told that he was an activist in the community who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of African Americans.
As a child, my parents nurtured my faith in the AME Church and my activism was emboldened by the stories of my grandfather’s zeal for justice and equality. My other muse was Harriett Tubman, who along with others, rose up with God’s help to fight against oppression. However, I am concerned with the lack of social activism not only within the AME Church, but all churches in the African American community. It is times like these that we need the “church” to rise for strong activism regarding the godless, racism and unethical acts inflicted on the people of America by this new administration.
The African Methodist Church was founded by Richard Allen, along with others who focused on organizing a denomination in which free Black people worshiped without racial oppression and those enslaved could worship freely and with dignity. This denomination also worked to address the social issues of the day which included the abolishment of slavery, addressing the unequal social status of Black people, literacy, and strategizing for political power. I question where is the Black Church involvement regarding the current crisis that is unfolding in America today? Why is the Black Church not vocal or active in protesting the inhumane treatment of citizens, the outright racism of Anti- DEI, loss of employment of Federal workers, and all the other atrocities which we face under this Republican Regime which has taken over our country? Oh, I know about the boycotts. But what about conducting Town Halls, present for protest, educating our communities about voting rights and voter education about the issues? Where is this activism? The issues we are facing are larger than a mere boycott of purchasing power. We are facing genocide.
Let me be specific, Black people have always been a people with faith in God which led us to not only trust God but fight for our civil rights and the human rights God gave us. God is not a white man! As followers of God, we must fight against evil, and what we are experiencing is evil. The Black Church was once that beacon of spiritual enlightenment which was not afraid to “call out” the evil and racism which is systemic in American Society. Where is that zeal, we once had to address the evils that work against the “Word” of God? We must revive it.
I often wonder if we have become too comfortable with our lives and don’t know how to fight anymore? We must rise as people of God who know right from wrong. What we are witnessing is wrong! Let me be clear, the church has a responsibility to God to do what is right. If we don’t, then we are not of God. We honor our Lord and Savior by doing as he asks, feed my sheep. This means more than food and clothing, it means helping those who are in need and addressing their concerns. People are suffering, people are angry, people are lost, people need to know that God is with them, and he will save us, if we walk with Him. What we truly need are spiritual leaders who lead us against this evil. Those who say that they were called as God’s servants, need to step up and step out. Remember the three (3) boys who were pushed into the fiery furnace because they rebelled and refuse to honor an evil “King” who wanted them to obey his laws and serve his god. Do I need to remind everyone that this current president has committed sacrilege? He has misrepresented God’s Word (bible) by making his own, among other atrocities. Think about that? We have a heathen as president, and he is evil to the core. He promotes racism and racism is a sin!
We need to see and hear from the leaders of the “Black Church” and any church which follows the word of God and are true followers of Jesus Christ. God expects us to confront this evil and we must do that by “showing up for our God.” We are the children of God, and he expects us to deny actions of evil against His children. All we must do is stand up and God will do the rest. He always has. This is not the time to be fearful of evil, when we have a Sovereign God who cannot be defeated.
Rise people of God, speak up and represent the God we say we serve.
Micah 2:1 “Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds.”
Harriett Tubman said, “I said to the Lord, I’m going to hold steady on to you, and I know you will see me through.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
I am personally grateful for Dr. Nellums and all the writers of Talk Black Arkansas, who use their “pens” to express our stories and the issues which affect our lives. The Pen is our sword and God is our shield.
Deborah Springer Suttlar is a social and community advocate, and a long-time supporter of public schools.
opinions
EDUCATIONAL EMERGENCY: 13th Week- 95th General Assembly
by Joy C. Springer
April 11, 2025
EDUCATIONAL EMERGENCY CONTINUES …… April 11, 2025
Today marks the end of Week 13 of the 2025 Regular Session of the Arkansas House of
Representatives. A group of us remain focused on passing legislation that will have a lasting impact on the lives of Arkansans. It is anticipated that the session will adjourn on April 16, 2025.
This week, the Arkansas House of Representatives passed FB1685, a bill designed to
eliminate the state’s 0.125% sales tax on groceries, effective January 1, 2026. This
effort continues our work to reduce the tax burden on Arkansas families. In addition,
HB1312, amending public school funding to provide an increase of 5% in per pupil
funding, raising the per pupil amount being paid to $8162.00 for the 2025-26 school
year. This amount includes the cost of health insurance. For the 2026-27 school
year, the per pupil amount is set at $8,037, with the $333.00 for insurance costs
being paid directly for the Employee Benefits Division. The House also adopted
House Joint Resolution 1018 (HJR 1018), a proposed constitutional amendment entitled “The Citizens Only Voting Amendment.” This proposed amendment, if adopted by the Senate, will appear on the November 2026 ballot. It proposes that
only United States citizens who meet voter qualifications may vote in state and local elections. I have repeatedly asked the question why do we need to pass such a Resolution when it is already a part of the state’s law, i.e., the Arkansas Constitution. The Arkansas Constitution states the following:
Qualifications for electors:
(a) except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, any
person may vote in an election in the state who is
1) a citizen of the United States
2) a resident of the state of Arkansas
3) at least eighteen (18) years of age; and
4) lawfully registered to vote in the election.
(b) Valid identification
No data presented that there were citizens in the state of Arkansas who did not meet these qualifications.
A number of additional bills also passed the House including House Bill 1732
(HB1732) that increases the income tax deduction for teachers purchasing
classroom supplies from $500 to $1000. House Bill 1485 creates a new sales
and use tax exemption for organizations supporting veterans’ facilities. House
Bill 1922(HB1922) establishes an income tax credit for companies that relocate
their corporate headquarters to Arkansas, a further step to enhance our state’s
economic competitiveness. Finally, the proposed Revenue Stabilization Act (RSA)
for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year was distributed to members on Friday. This document
outlines our state’s spending priorities. You may view the document using the link below:
https://arkansashouse.org/assets/uploads/2025/04/20250411093155-fy2026-rsa-sb637-hb2003pdf.pdf
Public School Funding remains at the top of the list as it should be with an allocation of approximately 2.5 billion dollars (2,484,597,398). In addition, the General Education Fund is approximately 76 million dollars (75,752,342). Further review indicates that
the Division of Corrections, including the medical contract and the Division of Community Corrections funding totals approximately $562,000,000. I now ask you to contrast these figures. Our budget Chair communicated that the average annual pay for an inmate in Arkansas is $44,659 per year while we only propose to pay $8162 per year for each public-school student. You tell me!!
The Educational Emergency continues…
State Representative Joy C. Springer represents District 76 in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Representative Springer previously served on the Little Rock School Board and is a long-time civil rights activist and supporter of equity in public education. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee and House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs committees. Additionally, she serves on the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) and the JBC Employee Benefits Division Oversight committee and as a 1st Alternate on the Legislative Joint Auditing committee.
opinions
TRUMP FASCISM IS THE HATEFUL FAITHFUL CURSE ON THE UNITED STATES
by Wendell Griffen
March 29, 2025
Hateful Faithful theology and politics are the software of Republican Party fascism since 1968, but began a generation earlier with gangster capitalist support for Billy Graham.
In chapter 2 of his 2021 book, Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers, Miguel De La Torre, professor of ethics and Latinix Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, traced the recent history behind the threat to democracy and justice in the United States. De La Torre observed that proponents of the Social Gospel told the nation and business leaders that the 1929 economic collapse that produced the Great Depression was caused by capitalist greed. President Franklin Roosevelt used “religious jargon to sell his New Deal, which was picked up by liberal ministers throughout the nation and preached from their pulpits.”
But business leaders were inspired by Rev. James W. Fifield during the 1940 National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Fifield preached against the sins of the New Deal and countered that salvation from the collapse could be found through free enterprise and deregulation.
According to Fifield, business leaders were not responsible for the Great Depression, but were the nation’s saviors.
Miguel De La Torre then added the following historical perspective.
During his talk, Fifield – nicknamed “The Apostle to Millionaires” – suggested clergy would be the key to regaining the upper hand in the capitalist struggle against Roosevelt’s liberal policies and dictatorial tendencies. This watershed moment made Christianity and capitalism soulmates in white America’s imagination under the phrase “under God,” which they then set out to popularize. Moving forward, the United States would henceforth be known as a Christian nation.
“J. Howard Pew, president of Sun Oil, along with his brother Joseph N., despised Roosevelt and their former business competitor John D. Rockefeller, whose brand of ecumenism, interdenominationalism, and internationalist Protestantism that prioritized science and reform, was leading the nation, they believed, toward secularism. Committed to Fitfield’s work by the mid-1940’s, outsourcing the task of persuading citizens to embrace capitalist ideology to the church. Later, they would back an obscure tent-revivalist preacher and fiercely pro-capitalist named Billy Graham. Called by Pew, not God, Graham railed against all liberal social programs – the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society – during his crusades. Social ills such as racism would not be remedied by government, Graham preached. Their solution could be manifested only with the second coming of Christ.”[1]
De La Torre writes that Graham and other white Christian nationalist “visionaries” “cemented a nationalist Christianity that merged the state with the growing power of a group of wealthy white male capitalists who were steadfastly opposed to the Social Gospel” and whose goal “was the Christianization of government, business, education, media, family, entertainment, and religion through the creation of a quasi-democratic theocracy.”[2]
The result of their efforts to achieve that goal is shown by the events of the final decades of the 20th Century.
“The 1950s until the start of the new millennium was the golden age of white Christianity within the United States. The tentacles of nationalist Christianity spread and flourished under the tutelage of Billy Graham, Abraham Vereide, and Doug Coe – avatars for white capitalist men. These early religious superstars were called to strengthen a quasi-religious ideology that ensured the profit, power, and privilege of the few. With the Nixon administration of the early 1970s, a move away from Eisenhower’s civil religion was in full force. Nixon, with Billy Graham’s support, used Christian nationalism to divide rather than unite people by branding antagonists to his war in Vietnam or his administration as foes to Christian values. The cultural wars that would consume the 1980s, bringing about national discord still being felt today, found their footing when Nixon and Graham separated the faithful (those committed to their cause) from the ungodly, secular unfaithful. Basically, white conservative Christians began to flex their political muscles to ensure the phrase “under God” referred only to them.”[3]
The present state of the United States and the world is the result of the unholy union between the free-market fundamentalism and Christian nationalism mentioned by Miguel De LaTorre and the “giant triplets” of racism, materialism, and militarism that Martin Luther King Jr. denounced as heresies to divine imperatives of love and justice. That unholy union has driven U.S. politics and policies for the past three generations. For example, the twenty-year U.S. military misadventure in Afghanistan – the longest war in U.S. history – resulted from bloodlust, Western hubris, white supremacy and racism, conservative pseudo-Christian nationalist imperialism, and capitalist greed.
Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, Phyllis Schlafly, Richard Land, Paige Patterson, Robert Jeffress, Albert Mohler, James Dobson, Franklin Graham, and Mike Huckabee have been the leaders of what I term the Hateful Faithful. They did not challenge the war in Afghanistan, but cheered and counseled politicians to support it. Instead of denouncing capitalist greed, they courted its perpetrators and held them up as examples of piety and virtue.
And as the world watches an ongoing genocide by Israel of Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, violence, and land theft in the Occupied West Bank, and Israeli military aggression against Lebanon and Syria, the Hateful Faithful are cheering fascist actions to stifle protests by students, academicians, and other people. “Good evangelical Christians” who support and are complicit in zionist racism and support the Israeli regime are part of a long and bitter history of white evangelical devotion to injustice.
Hateful Faithful theology is the moral and political software for the Republican Party. Hateful Faithful pietists provided the votes that elected Ronald Reagan (twice), George H. Bush, George W. Bush (twice), and Donald Trump (twice in separate decades). Hateful Faithful capitalists sacralized Donald Trump’s sociopathy, greed, racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia, commercial fraud, Islamophobia, and bigotry against immigrants. Hateful Faithful pietists worship in the virtual temple of Rubert Murdoch’s Fox News enterprise.
Hateful Faithful people who crow about “family values” are the biggest political supporters of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. They opposed vaccination mandates that saved the lives of millions in the United States during the worst period of the Covid pandemic. The Hateful Faithful disparage critical thinking and support suppressing dissent. They unfailingly endorse gangster capitalism, militarism, imperialism, glorification of technocentrism (and the uber-wealthy capitalists who finance it), fear-mongering, bigotry, the politics of bullying women and girls, indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latino people, and injustice against workers.
Hateful Faithful hypocrisy is exceeded only by Hateful Faithful ruthlessness. So, people who claim to follow the Biblical obligation to love God with all their minds, souls, bodies, and strength have no qualms about stifling critical thinking about history, law, economics, and sociology.
They have no qualms about closing the federal Department of Education, and no qualms about defunding public education.
They supported installing a vaccine denier (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
They backed installing someone with no formal education, professional experience, or demonstrated competence in educational pedagogy, administration, or policy (Linda McMahon) as Secretary of Education.
People who profess to follow the Palestinian Jewish rabbi named Jesus - who taught that knowing the truth makes one free - support bombing Palestinian schools, culture centers, mosques, and health services buildings.
And people who claim to believe that justice involves caring for vulnerable people, as Jesus did, blatantly support defunding domestic and global governmental efforts to fight hunger, eliminate diseases, and protect the climate.
Hateful Faithful fascism curses the United States economy, disrespects the rule of law domestically and globally, terrorizes people who want peace, and now poisons the entire world. If anyone thinks this will make the United States more powerful, let alone peaceful, that person is probably part of the Hateful Faithful.
They are Hateful, Faithful, proud, ruthless, committed to overthrowing democracy, and will succeed in doing so, unless we stop them.
[1] De La Torre, supra, pp. 28-29.
[2] De La Torre, p. 30.
[3] De La Torre, pp. 31-32.I
www.fierceprophetichope.blogspot.com
www.wendellgriffen.blogspot.com
Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
pastorgriffen@newmillenniumchurch.us
CEO, Griffen Strategic Consulting, PLLC
www.griffenstrategicconsulting.com
griffenstrategicconsulting@gmail.com
Co-Chair, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
Hope fiercely. Love boldly.
Love one another. Jesus of Galilee, Palestine
We will find a way or make one. Hannibal of Carthage
Writing is how I fight. James H. Cone.
The time for pious words is over. Allan Aubrey Boesak
Justice is a verb!
https://fierceprohetichope.blogspot.com/2024/01/this-is-why-donald-trump-is-barred-from.html
opinions
FROM BAD TO WORSE OR ELSE
by Wendell Griffen
March 22, 2025
The United States experience with Donald Trump’s second term as president is almost 60 days old. In two months, the nation under Trump’s leadership has alienated, threatened, and is now in a trade war with Canada and Mexico. We are estranged from our nearest neighbors and economic allies.
In two months, our nation has alienated and isolated itself from other nations in the North America Treaty Organization (NATO). Our nation has withdrawn its military and intelligence support to Ukraine. Instead, Trump has aligned the United States with Russia, the chief military and political threat to Europe and Ukraine.
In two months, our nation has threatened the sovereignty of Greenland and Panama. Those nations provide vital transportation (shipping) and other services for the Western Hemisphere.
In two months, the United States has experienced the worst outbreak of measles in decades. The stock markets have suffered heavy losses. Prices of household items and food have risen.
In two months, the United States has become more of a pariah than a partner concerning human rights, global security, environmental protection, and goodwill.
In two months, federal workers who protect public health, enforce federal laws on education, justice, defense, the arts, labor relations, and administering global aid and anti-poverty efforts have been summarily fired or furloughed, without cause and contrary to federal laws. Trump’s cabinet Secretary for Education has no prior education or experience in education policy and administration. His Justice Department leadership are loyal to him, not the Constitution of the United States.
Federal judges have blocked or overturned some of Trump’s actions, such as his attempts to fire everyone employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As you read this essay, Trump has already demanded the impeachment of a federal judge who ordered the administration to not remove immigrants from the country without court orders.
By the way, Trump officials removed the immigrants anyway, claiming that they are members of a criminal gang. That allegation has not been supported by proof in any court proceeding that I know about. Have you seen it? Nor has any judge.
The Trump administration claims that deportation of the Venezuelan immigrants was done for national security reasons supported by classified evidence. But the federal courts have procedures for reviewing sensitive and classified material. Trump officials are more interesting in impeaching federal judges who interpret the Constitution according to the rule of law than in producing any evidence - classified or not - that proves any of the Venezuelan immigrants - not to mention hundreds of them - have done anything wrong.
Things will get worse. Eventually, innocent people will die from Trump’s policies and malicious leadership. Correction: more innocent people will die. We should never forget that millions of people were infected by the Covid virus during Trump’s first term as president. More than 400,000 people died in less than a year before voters fired Trump and Joe Biden became president.
Eventually more people will lose their jobs. More children and adults will die from preventable illnesses. Other people who protest Trump will be assaulted, detained, and removed from their families, neighborhoods, and confined in U.S. prisons and places of detention outside the U.S. The Trump administration will pay private prison contractors to house, clothe, feed, and mistreat then.
Trump now threatens the lives, liberty, and peace of millions of people across the United States and elsewhere. He will not voluntarily stop doing so. Instead, he will become more menacing, hateful, and vicious. Why? He is a sociopath.
The United States is at war with itself. Trump’s presidency is the worst threat to democracy and national security since the Civil War ended in 1865. Over 600,000 people died in that war.
How many people will die this time? How many others will be forever scarred? How many people will lose their homes, life savings, and their hope for justice?
What will you do about what is happening to our nation and the world because of Donald Trump’s Republican Party regime, which Baptist historian Bill Leonard has accurately dubbed “the Southern Baptist Convention at prayer”?
Will you oppose this fascist, racist, gangster capitalist, imperialist, techno-centrist, sexist, violent threat to our country, the world, and our posterity? Will you resist it? Will you defy Trump’s cruel aim to become a king? Or will you watch the death of democracy in the United States?
Trump’s war on democracy and our nation is not imminent. It is underway! It will not end until his political and capitalist gangsters have been ousted and replaced by people who love democracy, justice, liberty, truth, and peace. Expect resistance from fake Christians, so-called Christian and Jewish zionists, billionaire gangsters (Elon Musk, his technocratic buddies, Heritage Foundation funders), and other “hateful faithful” people of all stripes, income categories, and locations.
We must do that hard work. We need to do it with all our powers. Fear is not an excuse. Failure is not an option. We must fight for democracy or we will lose it.
From bad to worse is up to you and me, not Trump. The “or else” involves our fight to save democracy, and the future of the United States. Get accustomed to seeing, hearing, and repeating those words. Fight, organize, agitate, dissent, and resist however you can, all the time, with as many others as you can find.
We’re in a fight against people who have railed for generations against democracy, inclusion, justice, liberty, peace, and truth. This is no time for faint hearts, weak minds, timid actions, and pious words.
Wendell Griffen is the author of Parables, Politics, and Prophetic Faith published by (Nurturing Faith, (2023) and
The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope (Judson Press, (2017). He is also an ordained minister and former elected judge.
www.fierceprophetichope.blogspot.com
www.wendellgriffen.blogspot.com
Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
pastorgriffen@newmillenniumchurch.us
CEO, Griffen Strategic Consulting, PLLC
www.griffenstrategicconsulting.com
griffenstrategicconsulting@gmail.com
Co-Chair, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
opinions
Now It’s Everybody Because No One Spoke Up
by Deborah Springer Suttlar
March 22, 2025
My opinion for this week is to reflect on this famous saying listed below by pastor Martin Niemoller.
First, they came for the Communists.
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a Jew
These next verses reflect the times:
Then they came for the Palestinians
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a Palestinian.
Then they came for People of color
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not a person of color.
Then they came for the immigrants/migrants
And I did not speak out.
Because I was not an immigrant or migrant
And then they came for me
And there was no one left.
To speak out for me
Today, silence is not an option. Resistance is necessary. We must speak up and show up. We cannot sit or wait for others to fight against this ungodliness, lawlessness, fascism, and this economic systemic assault on the American people. This fight belongs to all of us. This administration is controlled by a vindictive maniac who is destroying the government of the United States of America. Trump and the Republicans have lost their concept of democracy, justice and are now making “Hate Great Again.” This Anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion propaganda campaign is nothing but Racism and Segregation Project 2025. Rise up! Make a difference by contacting your representatives to voice your disdain, attend Town Hall meetings and participate in demonstrations. The fight is real! We can not afford to become victims of this racist lunacy; we must be the “change agents.”
We all must remain in prayer for God to give us the victory over this ungodliness. These actions of this Trumpian Racist, Bigoted Regime is all against the words and life of Jesus Christ. It is evil and they reflect the absence of love for people. Trump is the new Hitler!
“Love thy neighbor as thy self.” This scripture remains God’s command, and the Church is ignoring it. There are only two choices, good or evil. Evil is clearly defined, something that is morally bad, wicked, or harmful, causing suffering or misfortune, a force that opposes good.
Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of the evil in the heavenly realms.”
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Deborah Springer Suttlar is a community activist and longtime supporter of public schools.
opinions
EDUCATIONAL EMERGENCY: 10th Week- 95thGeneral Assembly
By Joy C. Springer
March 22, 2025
As the 2025 Regular Session of the Arkansas General Assembly ends its 10th week, the House has been advancing legislation designed to address infrastructure, election processes, and public health. One of the bills to pass this week was HB1681, which establishes the Water and Sewer Treatment Facilities Grant Program. This initiative creates a $50 million matching grant system aimed at improving water and sewer infrastructure across the state. With 80% of the funding allocated to "shovel-ready" projects, and the remaining 20% directed towards small towns and rural systems serving fewer than 1,200 customers, the program seeks to ensure that communities have the resources needed to address critical water and sewer needs.
The grants will be funded by interest earnings from state funds. Another piece of legislation approved was SB307. It is entitled as an Act to amend the law concerning public utilities designed to generate jobs for Arkansans thus increasing economic development. In my opinion, it is needed to replace the loss of power supply in Arkansas as two major power plants are closing in Pine Bluff and Newark, Arkansas. We learned during committee meetings that several companies have opted not to relocate in Arkansas due to the lack of power supply. Passing this bill will not cause your utility rates to go up, they were going to go up anyway due to the closing of the plants previously mentioned.
This bill allows utility companies to implement incremental rate adjustments as they begin construction on investments aimed at increasing the state’s generation capacity. The House also passed several bills regarding the state's election processes. Among them was HB1574, which requires paid canvassers for statewide initiative or referendum petitions to be residents of Arkansas.
Another bill, in my opinion, designed to limit voting in our communities. In addition, HB1693 directs the State Board of Election Commissioners to establish rules for duplicating damaged or defective ballots. Additionally, SB304 passed, allowing voters to cast a ballot after changing their county of residence—provided their updated registration is received by the county clerk before polls close on election day. SB304, on its face, appears to be a reasonable piece of legislation.
HB1713 mandates that the Attorney General cannot certify a proposed ballot title if its reading level exceeds eighth grade, according to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula? This method determines the readability of the ballot title text. Once again, another measure designed to limit voting in our communities. In response to growing concerns about the impact of social media on minors, HB1726 created the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act. This bill requires technology platforms to take reasonable measures to protect minors from harmful content that could contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. I did agree to sign on as a co-sponsor of this bill. Finally, Senate Bill 246 (SB246), the companion bill to House Bill 1512 (ARKANSAS ACESS) was heard on the floor of the House this past Monday (March 17th). As previously stated, it is legislation, in my opinion, designed to afford more opportunities for those students who already have, thus limiting those students who do not have as much separate educational opportunities between students that in Arkansas.
The Educational Emergency continues
State Representative Joy C. Springer represents District 76 in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Representative Springer previously served on the Little Rock School Board and is a long-time civil rights activist and supporter of equity in public education. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee and House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs committees. Additionally, she serves on the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) and the JBC Employee Benefits Division Oversight committee and as a 1st Alternate on the Legislative Joint Auditing committee.
opinions
EDUCATIONAL EMERGENCY: 9th Week- 95th General Assembly
By Joy C. Springer
March 16, 2025
As the Arkansas House of Representatives entered the 9th week of the 2025 Regular Session, we once again ended the week with not so good news….
House Bill 1512 (HB1512)! Another bill designed, in my opinion, to separate the “haves” from the “have nots.” Two years ago, Arkansas Learns started this trend at the elementary and secondary levels of Arkansas’educational system and now we have Arkansas ACCESS for the state’s higher education levels. ACCESS, claiming to reform Arkansas' higher education system, the House once again overwhelmingly passed HB1512. For the record, I voted NO on HB 1512!
As a reminder, Arkansas ranks 38th in education, 37th in literacy, 41st in high school completion and 39th in college enrollment rates compared to states across the country. Yet, “the powers that be” have ignored our status by the introduction of new legislation that now attempts to censor student voices and eliminate every ounce of representation from our local communities and school districts.
HB1512 is allegedly designed to address critical issues surrounding access to education, affordability, and student success across the state, with its principles summarized in the acronym ACCESS: Acceleration, Common Sense, Cost, Eligibility, Scholarships, and Standardization as the core principles of the alleged higher education reform legislation. A summary of ACCESS as presented by its progenitors follows:
The Acceleration component of the ACCESS focuses on enhancing the readiness of high school students for higher education and future careers.
It aims to broaden accelerated coursework options in Arkansas high schools.
The Common-Sense provisions of the bill seek to foster unbiased learning environments in higher education. The bill also introduces the "Purple Star Campus" designation, recognizing institutions that support service members and military families.
Addressing Cost concerns, the ACCESS proposes reforming the funding model to encourage diverse educational pathways, including non-degree credentials. The bill introduces a new productivity-based funding model that factors in the return on investment for students.
The Eligibility section of the bill works toward creating uniformity and efficiency in college admissions. It expands the types of exams that can be used for college admissions. In terms of Scholarships, the ACCESS Act expands the Workforce Challenge Scholarship and increases the Arkansas Academic Challenge first-year award from $1,000 to $2,000.
However, in my opinion, ACCESS infringes upon students’ First Amendment Rights. It prohibits students from getting excused absences for advocating by appearing at the Legislature, protesting, or conducting walkouts. Students will be penalized for exercising their right to protest harmful bills such as ACCESS. In addition, college students could have
their degrees put on hold if they choose to speak out. Some amendments were made to this provision of the ACCESS; however, they were still met with much opposition, particularly from students, themselves. ACCESS jeopardizes equity programs for ALL students.
ACCESS prohibits nearly all DEI programs. A provision in the legislation that could potentially adversely impact student organizations, scholarships, and support centers for marginalized Arkansans including women, minority students and
international students.
ACCESS is gambling with our students' futures. Based upon the way that the legislation is written, schools would no longer be required to offer Advanced Placement classes—that help students get a head start on college material—most heavily impacting access to opportunity and mobility for our rural communities.
Finally, ACESS eliminates the seventeen member School Leadership Council that previously had representation from stakeholders across the state. ACCESS now proposed a five-member board that includes the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Commissioner of the Division of Higher Education, Commissioner of the Division of Career and Technical Education and finally the Chairmen of the House and Senate Education committees.
The Educational Emergency continues….
Rep. Joy C. Springer represents District 76 in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Mrs. Springer previously served on the Little Rock School Board and is a long-time civil rights activist and supporter of equality in public education. She currently serves on the House Public Transportation and House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs committees. Additionally, she serves on the Performance Review committee, and Joint Budget committee as a 1st alternate including Personnel and Special Language, and as a 2nd alternative on the Legislative Auditing committee.
About Us
Why we must create our own narratives
Perception is reality. How we are viewed and what is said about us matters. It is abundantly clear that here in Arkansas, we as African-Americans don't control many, if any, statewide media groups. On any given day, COUNT the number of positive stories reported by print and television stations KATV, KARK/KLRT-FOX-TV, and KTHV, about African Americans in Arkansas.
In Arkansas, with the exception of KTHV, the media groups and their ownerships are conservative and often often distort people of color and specifically, BLACK families. As black consumers of the news, "that's the part we miss." How on the "regular" we are portrayed by white media groups and their local news stations and print media.
A study from the University of Illinois concluded that at best media outlets (a) promoted racially biased portrayals and myths that pathologize black families and idealize white families with respect to poverty and crime (b) play a dangerous role in spreading debunked stereotypes about black families and (c) at worst, amplify those inaccurate depictions for political and financial gain. We've all seen that type of behavior before.
When media outlets examined in the study reported stories about poor families, they chose to feature black families in their coverage 59 percent of the time, even though only 27 percent of families living below the poverty line are black.
Similarly, in coverage of welfare, 60 percent of families portrayed were black, even though only 42 percent of families receiving welfare are black.
Finally, the article addresses the real-life consequences of the continued distortion of black life by the media. "When the news media constantly associates black people with crime, it increases racial stereotypes among viewers, leading the public including liberal and conservative Arkansan's to disproportionately favor punitive criminal justice policies." As a collateral damage piece, when the poor are depicted as overwhelmingly black, it leads the public to support heavier restrictions on welfare because of a perception that undeserving black people benefit from it. Backers of corporate and right-wing policies gain when the news media blames black families for social conditions, while their own role in destabilizing society remains invisible.
This online publication exists to counter the narrative that constantly depicts African Americans as "less than." It exists to balance the negative view of African American life that is constantly depicted in the local news and information outlets in this state. We are so much more than the lip-service paid to us by those that control the news cycle. It's not about the reporting of the news, it's about the process of manufacturing the news. There is a saying that goes something like this. "If you control the messenger, then you control the message." Let's take some of that control back. As African Americans in Arkansas, let us create our own narratives. Most importantly, let us report and talk about the real issues.................. with our own voices,.... and our own opinions.
meet our contributors
opinion
opinion
opinion
Deborah Suttlar
Deborah is a longtime Community and Civil Rights Activist. Her column appears in the Opinion Section.
Click the link below to read read Deborah Suttlar's column.
https://talkblackarkansas.com/opinion
opinion
opinion
opinion
The Honorable Wendell Griffen
Judge Griffen will comment on the law and its impact on Black Arkansans. He will also discuss and legal and social issues on a state and national level impacting Black Arkansans and Black Americans.
Click the link below to read Judge Griffens column.
Finance
opinion
Religion
Gaining generational wealth is the key to Black economic family wealth and security. We will share strategies from the Association of African American Financial Advisors to help you and your family get there. We will inform you about managing your finances so that you can start your path to financial freedom.
Religion
Religion
Rev. C.E. McAdoo
Rev. McAdoo is a retired District Superintendent with the United Methodist Church. He will provide a weekly column on Religion and Black Arkansas.
Click the link below to read Rev. McAdoo's column.
https://talkblackarkansas.com/opinion .
At the State Capitol
State Representative Joy C. Springer
State Representative Joy Springer is a veteran school an civil rights advocate for African-American children and their families. She will provide a weekly column on state legislative and educational concerns affecting African -Americans .
Click the link below to read Representative Springer's column.
Medicine and health
This weekly column features a listing of top African-American doctors in Arkansas, and their areas of expertise. We will try to connect you with physicians who understand your physical, cultural and mental health needs. One study suggests that African American male patients who meet with black physicians often ask to receive more preventive services than patients who met with nonblack physicians. This study also suggested that black doctors are more likely to provide a comfortable settings to black patients, perhaps because of shared experiences or backgrounds. The study concluded that increasing the amount of black physicians could lead to a 19 percent reduction in the black-white male cardiovascular mortality gap and an 8 percent decline in the black-white male life expectancy gap.
Education
Who to call
Who to call
This weekly column will focus on educational happenings in the state including news from local school districts and the Arkansas Department of Education.
Who to call
Who to call
Who to call
People always have "who to contact questions." Whether it is a local city government office or a state government office, we will try to steer you in the right direction.