CHAPTER
9
INCARNATION
By: Mike Furches
James didn't
normally mind mowing the church property on the riding tractor mower the church
had. It was an opportunity to catch up on his community service hours requirements
and pick up a few extra dollars the church paid him for the work above and
beyond the community service. Today was different though. James was frustrated
to the point of getting angry at the smallest things and it wasn't even noon
yet. It was hot at 102 degrees despite James mowing early in the day to escape
the even hotter temperatures expected during the afternoon. It wasn't the temperature
that was causing him to have a tough morning thought, it was the news reports
he was listening to through his headphones as he mowed.
"A New York
City Grand Jury has refused to place formal charges against the city police
department in the death of New York
City resident James McKnight, an African American male
in his late 50's. McKnight was choked to death while being subdued by 5 NYPD
police officers after a dispute where he, McKnight, was accused of selling
unlicensed and untaxed cigarettes. Witnesses on the scene recorded the tragic
event with cell phones. The videos show McKnight pleading his case, stating
that he had done nothing wrong. It also shows one officers taking McKnight
down, placing him in a choke hold to the point he was claiming he couldn't
breathe. At least 2 other officers initially held McKnight down, additional
officers arriving moments later also lay over McKnight. The officers on the
scene also tased McKnight after he was apparently unconscious. The hold in
question is disallowed in many police departments around the country and was
under dispute within the NYPD which claimed the hold was not a choke hold.
Others on scene and investigating the video disputed that claim."
"Witnesses on
the scene claimed that over the last months McKnight had been harassed by the
police department and that he had done nothing to bring about the actions of
the police during this particular situation. This incident has brought about national
concern as numerous civil rights leaders were still fresh on the heals of
protesting the failure to indict a police officer in Memphis Tennessee who had
shot and killed an unarmed man who he claimed attacked him. Unlike the case in New York there was no police footage of the incident in Memphis, thus having
police forces across the country being urged to provide body cameras for police
officers which would record the police actions. While cost has been a factor as
to why many forces have not provided cameras, other forces say the savings from
various litigated cases justify the cost not to mention the insurance that the
public is served and placed in no danger."
The more James listened,
the angrier he got. It seemed as if society didn't understand the plight of blacks.
Many blacks were becoming more and more convinced that it was open season on
blacks in America.
While Sergeant Mike Jackson was right in previous conversations with James, a
lot of people had sacrificed a great deal to bring about changes for Blacks, it
seemed to James as if at times, there would be 2 or 3 steps forward only to be
jerked back 2 or 3 more steps. While there was progress, there were always
those ignorant people who kept that progress from proceeding at any appropriate
pace, at least that is how many Blacks saw it. There was a belief from many
Blacks that yes indeed, many Whites were offended, afraid, and prejudiced
towards them. It didn't take much of an effort in most of the communities
surrounding Tulsa to see that while there was
some progress in better jobs, careers and so forth, Tulsa like many other communities still had a
dividing line that separated the races, certainly the financial classes of
people. While economics played a part in it, James couldn't help but wonder if
there wasn't more to the problem.
It was approaching
the lunch hour and Charlie and Tayra would be arriving soon to take James out
to one of his favorite barbeque joints in North Tulsa,
Stuts. After the morning James was having he was praying the radio in the car
wouldn't be tuned onto one of those conservative talk shows that Charlie liked
to listen to. James never listened to the programs much due to his work
schedule but what he had heard infuriated him. It seemed as if many of the
right wingers had little concern and compassion for the poor, especially poor
blacks. Despite what many said, based on what he had heard from others, there
were some who were racists.
Charlie and Tayra arrived
a little early to pick James up from the church. He was putting the lawnmower
into the churches garage and was wiping it down when Charlie walked in,
"Hey there youngster you ready for lunch?"
"Sure!"
James responded, not showing much, if any, emotion.
Charlie knew
something was eating at James by his demeanor and brief response. Charlie chose
not to push it though and simply asked, "Well how does some Barbeque
sound? I was thinking of going to Trails End in Owasso. I know it is the stuff
made by White folks and won't be as good as Stuts but it is still pretty good,
how does that sound?"
James gave a look
as he thought to himself, 'There you go, making everything about race like
Blacks are supposed to be all about real Barbeque comes from Blacks or
something like that.' While James didn't say it, he certainly thought it. He
did respond in a somewhat confrontational tone, "Well if that's what you
want, I guess it will be fine with me."
Charlie, not sure
of what was going on, but knowing something was bothering James simply said,
'Well," after a brief pause, "I guess it's Trails End then."
As the two got in
the car Tayra was sitting there listening to the radio, shaking her head.
"What's up
honey?" Charlie asked.
"It's all
those darned protests going on regarding the recent shooting and choking deaths
of those Black guys. I don't know how it is that people can't sometimes give
the police a break. Rush Limbaugh was just talking about it and one of the
callers really got me ticked off blasting the police." Tayra responded
with some agitation.
"Yeah, it's
crazy isn't it." Charlie responded, "I wonder what Sergeant Jackson
would say about all of this with him being Black and all."
Meanwhile in the
back seat James sat there thinking to himself while listening to the sounds of
Limbaugh go on all around him through the car speakers, 'give me a break, like
you know what it is like just to be suspected of something because of the color
of your skin. If you only knew.' While he was thinking this, he knew he wasn't
at the place where he could say it without causing all kinds of problems.
James blocked out
the conversation going on between Charlie and Tayra. It was something he knew
better than to engage in. Charlie and Tayra were certainly aware of James in
the back seat but assumed he saw and thought about the recent news events the
way they did, after all, James had become friends with both a White police
officer, Detective Hay and a Black policeman, Sergeant Jackson. Becoming to
some extent friends with these two didn't change reality for James though. He
had seen and heard the police numerous times in his part of town. The sirens
blaring and the use of the N word by so many White policemen was something that
disturbed him. It seemed like fewer and fewer Whites understood the conditions
that put Blacks into so many of the situations they were in.
Poor paying jobs,
the influx of gangs and the lack of development in black communities among many
other social economic reasons were things that many people didn't take
seriously when looking at the plight of Blacks and poor Whites in many
communities. People seemed to look at the end results but didn't take seriously
how to change the situations that put them into the places to often make poor
or bad decisions. It was easy for example to speak out against abortion but was
done with an attitude that seemed to refuse to address issues that ignored
children raising children, raising children in poverty situations and on top of
that making it almost impossible for single parents to provide and get the
appropriate care needed for a child in its early developmental stages. Many in
the Black community knew that even the roads in their neighborhoods were among
the last to get treated in the ice and snow storms.
It was clear that
what development that had come into the Black community came at the expense of
saving money and making sacrifices. When it came to the economic development so
easily seen in the South Tulsa and Broken
Arrow communities, the Black communities North of the
railroad tracks and Turley had not been seen by those living in those
communities. James was convinced this was because of the racial prejudice that
still existed. Much of America
didn't like a Black president, and they didn't care about helping the Black
community. While this wasn't the case for all Whites, it was the view many in
the predominantly Black communities, including many poor Whites had seen.
Unfortunately, the
opinion of The Hamm's had been influenced by the discussions on Talk Radio. It
seemed as if the overwhelming majority of times in the car to James and others
that they were listening to political talk, often times addressed and targeting
anyone who wanted to see some change come about for those in poorer situations.
James had heard the discussion on talk radio talk so much about God, even at
times having the hosts trying to promote what they stated was Christian
concepts. James as a young Black man had noticeably experienced this even from
the Hamm's. It
was like they were talking to him and presenting ideas like the radio talk show
hosts had done to their audiences. James could see the influences though that
had mixed a faith which on the surface looked good to intertwining politics
which seemed to not be consistent with the faith being stated. James wasn't a
Biblical scholar though, all he knew was what he had seen. What he had seen was
something he didn't like. It didn't take him or his friends, family, or
community seriously.
James knew though,
if it wasn't talk radio for The Hamm's and others he had heard, it was watching
Fox News and the Right leaning aspect of some of the programs there or
politically slanted newspapers, magazines or other sources of information. It
was one of the reasons James chose to spend more time, what little time he had,
playing games with Sammy instead of sitting in front of the television with the
family where it seemed Charlie and Tayra watched political programming more
than any other form of programming. While he was appreciative of what The
Hamm's were doing for him, there were still more times than not that he felt
like a fish out of water. It seemed as if it was his responsibility to fit in
and he thought, that if anything, those who were trying to help him, should at
least try to be like Jesus and try to find ways they could fit in with him, his
culture, and his surroundings. There were too many token references made by
Whites, like Blacks liking and preferring Barbeque made by other Blacks. They
also likely thought he wanted watermelon with every meal. He wasn't an old southern
slave, wasn't a boy, didn't have a Mammy and didn't eat finger licking fried
chicken all of the time. He was his own unique individual whose opinions were
based more on his experiences than they were the color of his skin.
The three of them
finally arrived at the barbeque joint. Truth is while it wasn't as good as
Stuts, it was still pretty good barbeque, especially the potato salad and
chopped beef sandwich and a side of ribs. There was one difference though,
here, James was the only Black person in the restaurant, it would have likely
been that Charlie and Tayra were the only white people in the place if they had
gone to Stuts. Both places had good barbeque but there was no denying, even in
the case of good food, segregation and lack of understanding existed.
******
Sammy, Charlie and
James were going out for a guys night out. They were going to take a drive out
in the country, take some photos, which is something they had come to enjoy
doing together and spend time talking. As was normally the case, Charlie went
to turn on the radio, it wasn't long before he turned it off of the talk radio
station to another radio station playing music. Some of the late night talk radio
hosts were too much for Charlie. While he leaned to the right of center, some
of those late night hosts were extreme whackos as far as Charlie was concerned.
At first James was pleased that Charlie was changing the station but it wasn't
long before Charlie, trying to understand Blacks more and showing his empathy turned
the station to a Hip Hop station. Charlie thought it was a station James would
like mainly because he was Black.
After a song or
two James asked, "Could you please change the station? I hate this
stuff."
"You hate it?
I thought this was your kind of music." Charlie responded as Sammy rolled
his eyes, knowing that James actually preferred Country Music.
James became a
little confrontational and replied, "Yeah I hate it, not all Blacks are
alike just as not all White's are alike. I have a ton of friends who hate this
stuff."
Trying to be nice
and break the attitude Charlie responded, "Well excuuuusssseeeeee me! What would you prefer to listen to Mr.
Briscoe?"
While Charlie may
have been surprised, Sammy wasn't, when James responded somewhat sarcastically
"Well Sir, I would prefer Big Country Radio 99.5! After all I know all of
you White folks around here seem to love Country."
Sammy sitting back
trying to prevent a possible argument that he could sense was happening
responded, "Hey, I have an idea, I've been listening to this program on a
streaming station that plays a little bit of everything and is pretty good, can
we listen to that?" Sammy in his wisdom, not saying anything prior to this
was received well by Charlie and James at his request.
"Sure,"
Charlie responded.
"I don't have
a problem with it." James replied.
"Hook it up
and go to your station." Charlie said to Sammy.
Sammy quickly set
the cars radio settings to auxiliary and hooked up his phone to the sound
system. After pushing a few buttons the program started playing on the cars
stereo system.
"You're
listening to Mike Furches and the Lightshine program here at Bacon Rock. That
last song was Faces in Cabs by the late, great, Mark Heard. I had the honor of
getting to know Mark a little back in college and it was tragic that he died so
young. It was right after performing at the Cornerstone Festival in Chicago some years ago
now that he passed. I especially enjoyed the fact that Mark understood the
importance of getting to know people, knowing where they came from. Mark
understood incarnation of Christ we read about in scripture. It is a concept Mark
understood quite well. We have to be around others, share in life with them to
get to know them and them us. People are more than just faces in cabs, they
have issues and experiences that we may not be aware of when we make the
judgments we often make." The radio host Mike Furches continued.
"Up next is a
song from one of my favorite Canadians that kind of follows up on the themes of
the Mark Heard song Faces in Cabs. The artist is Bruce Cockburn and the song is
'The Trouble with Normal.'
Listen to the lyrics as Bruce sings about how the trouble with normal is it
always seems right. The reality is, our expectations and views are often not
reality. Certainly not on a world wide political front. Certainly not on an
even more complicated individual and personal point. Think about all of that as
the song starts up and remember, it really is hard to understand another's life
unless we have walked in their shoes. Until you have done that, stop, listen,
respect, and above all, love. Again, thanks for listening to Mike Furches and
Lightshine here on the Bacon Rock Network and now let's let the music do the
preaching." The song in a rhythmic rock and roll form started its haunting
tune, reflecting in large on much of what the host had just stated but in a way
that had the listener thinking about its meaning consciously and for some, even
subconsciously but all the time, none the less, listening to a specific point
of thought that had to do with listening and understanding another, despite
what differences there may be
Charlie, Sammy and
James continued on their night listening to the radio and the message being
presented on the program much more than normal. The program had a way of
addressing themes, preaching if you will in a format they enjoyed, using all
kinds of music, from all kinds of artists, some Christian some not to address
various points that were clearly designed to get one to think. Charlie could
see why Sammy knew of the program and liked it. Charlie and James thought about
the content of the dialog and as fascinating as it was, the subtle hints as to
the meanings of the songs in a teaching, seed, thought provoking kind of way
from the dialog of the shows host.
As the radio
program came to an end, the host said something that resonated with everyone in
the car, especially, James. "In
closing tonight's program I want you to think about something. It is something
we try to get you to think about through the show but I wrap on at the end of
it. You know, it really is all about Jesus. It is sad that some who say they
are his followers and others who are openly not his followers get so caught up
in judging the actions of those who say they are followers of Jesus. They
making the judgments like to often point to how many Christians don't live up
to the expectations they expect. Each of us making those judgments needs to
make sure that if judging Christianity, that we look to the person of Jesus,
nothing else. We need to see the Son of God who loved the world so much that He
gave up His life so that we may find our lives and a place of peace, purpose
and meaning. Thankfully Jesus rose from the dead and those who have committed
to Him as Forgiver and Leader or Lord and Savior can rediscover life not from
just a Heavenly perspective but a life that begins to experience aspects of
Heaven now. Jesus chose to incarnate to get to know us so that we could better
get to know Him. Remember that as you get to know those around you and the
people you come into contact with, whether they be, Red or Yellow, Black or
White or any combination thereof, we are all precious in God's sight. This is
your humble host saying good night and God bless."
James and Charles
were reminded of a conversation they had earlier with Detective Hay and
Sergeant Jackson. A conversation where the four of them spoke about the
importance of spending time together, getting to know each others culture, not
just each other. Detective Hay and Sergeant Jackson, especially Sergeant
Jackson made it clear that ones environment played a huge part in who each
person was. Who had raised them, friends and the community all played a part of
each persons identity. If you grew up in an environment where your family had
money for video games, you would be different in many ways than a family with
no money. The one with no money was often molded by the community; so if
basketball was all there was to do, it would be a part of who a person was.
Then again, if your friends did drugs, that would be a part of who you were.
The programs one watched on television, listened to on the radio had more of an
impact on ones identity than most realized.
This was an issue
Sergeant Jackson and Detective Hay understood all too well because their work helped
them to understand it as they dealt with cultures from various places and had learned
to be cautious of the judgments of the individuals they worked with. There was
often far more to the story than one realized and they had seen this far too
often. They also understood that with the differences between The Hamm's and
James there would ultimately be some issues. It was clear in the minds of both
James and Charles, that some of those issues were not only now occurring, they
had been happening for some time. It was inevitable there would be conflict,
the seriousness of the conflict was yet to be determined.
Even with the
discussions and advice from Detective Hay and Sergeant Jackson in the minds of
Charlie, Tayra and James, things would get worse before they got better. James continued
meeting his obligations to the church, living with the Hamm's through the week,
going to church, spending time with his brothers and sisters on weekends with
Sergeant Jackson and being as nice as possible but the relationship and
understanding needed between a Black young man and a White family required more
than a desire to get along and understand each other, James just didn't know
exactly how to get there and unfortunately, neither did the Hamm's.
Several months had
passed since the victim restitution plan had gone into effect. While there was
only 2 months left for James in the program, there were still questions. What
would happen with his brothers and sisters when the whole process was over?
What would happen to him? He knew he was still a minor and the state of Oklahoma would not let
him remain in charge of his family in any way. He also knew a state hearing
would be taking place the week after his time was up for serving out the
punishment he was serving. These thoughts, on top of everything else only
caused James to be under more duress. While Thanksgiving was soon approaching,
James seemed to have more questions than reasons to be thankful. That attitude
would come to full head later on. James would soon discover, just like in many
so called good families, that the Holidays could create stress just as easily
as joy. It was a reality that was never fun and James would quickly learn that
all too well.
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