By O’Neal Small
EDITORIAL And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Mark, Chapter 3, Verse 25.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that we as a people would get to the Promised Land. He was right! While there is still more work to do, we are living in that Promised Land! The gentleman we honor today with our Martin Luther King, Jr. Medallion, Colonel Christopher Williamson, is clear evidence of that. African Americans have served and are serving in all levels of government, local, state and federal. We are serving in the military, in businesses and schools all across the land. Yes, we are living in that Promised Land!
But you know, we have been here before! We lived in the Promised Land before! During the period called
Reconstruction, following the Civil War, Black Americans served in the Congress of the United States. We served in all levels of local and state government. We owned businesses—yes, we even had a Wall Street!
What happened… how did all of that changed? There was a lot of anger and racism! But it was the election of a President that unleased real racial hostility. Yes, the election of a President of the United States. And what followed was almost a century of racial discrimination, lynching, riding in the back of the bus and racial oppression.
The Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others brought that era to an end; yes, they led us to the Mountain Top we enjoy today.
Now today, in 2024, the
question before us is can that Born Again nation endure? We face another Presidential election that is raising haunting questions. Perhaps, we face an even bigger challenge this time. At the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1789, someone asked Benjamin Franklyn: What did you fellows do in there? His response: We created a Republic, if you can keep it. If you can keep it! The question we must answer today is: Can we keep that Republic; can we preserve it? Is there no balm in America?
The Brothers continues to be concerned about assault weapons and gun violence involving teenagers. There is far too much of it in our communities. Our Manhood Training Program has shown great promise. In so far as we have been able to determine, not a single young man who went through our Program has been involved in any serious criminal offense. We recommend that all churches give serious consideration to sponsoring our Manhood Training Program.
A House divided! Is there no Balm in America?