It's Time to Speak UP

For those of you who don't know me, I am a graduate of Morehouse College and I just returned from celebrating my 10 year class reunion. The older I get the more I have an appreciation for where I've come from. To see people that I haven't seen since the day we graduated which was May 19, 1996, lets just say I was overcome with much emotion. This reunion caused all of us to reflect on how far we've come on our individual journeys and it also helped a great many of us re-focus and re-position ourselves for the future.

I returned with more tenacity and fervor than ever before in regards to my dealings with the next generation! In this stage of the juncture, it's all about being an advocate and assisting them, the next generation, in addressing and dealing with their issues. There is so much anger, pain and hurt in the eyes of our young people that most people would like to ignore because of having NEVER dealt with their own issues, but if no one addresses the concerns of our young people then who will?

We have a generation of young people who would rather not speak up and say they're hurting or struggling with certain issues because when they have done so in the past, the "leaders" of our time have taken the information and have thrown it in their face and used it to manipulate. This is the main reason why generation "X" sits in silence going through the motions. They'd rather text message and play games on their cell phones than listen to the rhetoric that is coming from the pulpit. In order to change this diabolical situation, leadership is going to have to change and begin dealing, HEAD-ON, with the real LYFE issues that are plaguing our young people so that they can know how to successfully conquer the enemy within on a daily basis, not just on Sundays. We sugar coat everything when it comes to church but the world gives it RAW! This is what the next generation is used to and this is what they want.

Our whole quest is to bridge the gap between the civil rights generation and our present hip hop generation and to do this is going take energy, fortitude, vision, dedication, determination, and strength, and, above all else, PATIENCE. To do this, some people will be offended because most of the time we don't ever want to consider doing something new or different. Tradition generally dies screaming...NO! But it's no longer about the former things it's NOW about the new thing that God is ushering forth. It's time to speak up because our youth deserve better. Are you willing to speak UP or would you rather hold your peace?

Now that's straight up talk...