Nothing gets accomplished when we sit on our hands.
Time to get off our hands and put ourselves in motion.
We must do the following to bring about substantial change:
Love ourselves and love others;
Prioritize substantial and prevalent issues regarding poor and working people;
Influence public policy; and
Engage in social movements.
These are all things that we to consider and then become involved with.
Any questions or comments, please send them along.
Be blessed and love-filled,
Mya
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
God is in your corner
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Always remember that God for you is more than the world against you.
from Creflo Dollar Ministries
Always remember that God for you is more than the world against you.
from Creflo Dollar Ministries
Friday, August 13, 2010
History Lesson - Dred Scott's Fight for Feedom (1846-1857)
Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his case was finally brought before the United States Supreme Court. In what is perhaps the most infamous case in its history, the court decided that all people of African ancestry -- slaves as well as those who were free -- could never become citizens of the United States and therefore could not sue in federal court. The court also ruled that the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. Scott, needless to say, remained a slave.
Born around 1800, Scott migrated westward with his master, Peter Blow. They travelled from Scott's home state of Virginia to Alabama and then, in 1830, to St. Louis, Missouri. Two years later Peter Blow died; Scott was subsequently bought by army surgeon Dr. John Emerson, who later took Scott to the free state of Illinois. In the spring of 1836, after a stay of two and a half years, Emerson moved to a fort in the Wisconsin Territory, taking Scott along. While there, Scott met and married Harriet Robinson, a slave owned by a local justice of the peace. Ownership of Harriet was transferred to Emerson.
Scott's extended stay in Illinois, a free state, gave him the legal standing to make a claim for freedom, as did his extended stay in Wisconsin, where slavery was also prohibited. But Scott never made the claim while living in the free lands -- perhaps because he was unaware of his rights at the time, or perhaps because he was content with his master. After two years, the army transferred Emerson to the south: first to St Louis, then to Louisiana. A little over a year later, a recently-married Emerson summoned his slave couple. Instead of staying in the free territory of Wisconsin, or going to the free state of Illinois, the two travelled over a thousand miles, apparently unaccompanied, down the Mississippi River to meet their master. Only after Emerson's death in 1843, after Emerson's widow hired Scott out to an army captain, did Scott seek freedom for himself and his wife. First he offered to buy his freedom from Mrs. Emerson -- then living in St. Louis -- for $300. The offer was refused. Scott then sought freedom through the courts.
Scott went to trial in June of 1847, but lost on a technicality -- he couldn't prove that he and Harriet were owned by Emerson's widow. The following year the Missouri Supreme Court decided that case should be retried. In an 1850 retrial, the the St Louis circuit court ruled that Scott and his family were free. Two years later the Missouri Supreme Court stepped in again, reversing the decision of the lower court. Scott and his lawyers then brought his case to a federal court, the United States Circuit Court in Missouri. In 1854, the Circuit Court upheld the decision of the Missouri Supreme Court. There was now only one other place to go. Scott appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court.
The nine justices of the Supreme Court of 1856 certainly had biases regarding slavery. Seven had been appointed by pro-slavery presidents from the South, and of these, five were from slave-holding families. Still, if the case had gone directly from the state supreme court to the federal supreme court, the federal court probably would have upheld the state's ruling, citing a previously established decision that gave states the authority to determine the status of its inhabitants. But, in his attempt to bring his case to the federal courts, Scott had claimed that he and the case's defendant (Mrs. Emerson's brother, John Sanford, who lived in New York) were citizens from different states. The main issues for the Supreme Court, therefore, were whether it had jurisdiction to try the case and whether Scott was indeed a citizen.
The decision of the court was read in March of 1857. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney -- a staunch supporter of slavery -- wrote the "majority opinion" for the court. It stated that because Scott was black, he was not a citizen and therefore had no right to sue. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820, legislation which restricted slavery in certain territories, unconstitutional.
While the decision was well-received by slaveholders in the South, many northerners were outraged. The decision greatly influenced the nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican Party and his subsequent election, which in turn led to the South's secession from the Union.
Peter Blow's sons, childhood friends of Scott, had helped pay Scott's legal fees through the years. After the Supreme Court's decision, the former master's sons purchased Scott and his wife and set them free.
Dred Scott died nine months later.
from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html
Born around 1800, Scott migrated westward with his master, Peter Blow. They travelled from Scott's home state of Virginia to Alabama and then, in 1830, to St. Louis, Missouri. Two years later Peter Blow died; Scott was subsequently bought by army surgeon Dr. John Emerson, who later took Scott to the free state of Illinois. In the spring of 1836, after a stay of two and a half years, Emerson moved to a fort in the Wisconsin Territory, taking Scott along. While there, Scott met and married Harriet Robinson, a slave owned by a local justice of the peace. Ownership of Harriet was transferred to Emerson.
Scott's extended stay in Illinois, a free state, gave him the legal standing to make a claim for freedom, as did his extended stay in Wisconsin, where slavery was also prohibited. But Scott never made the claim while living in the free lands -- perhaps because he was unaware of his rights at the time, or perhaps because he was content with his master. After two years, the army transferred Emerson to the south: first to St Louis, then to Louisiana. A little over a year later, a recently-married Emerson summoned his slave couple. Instead of staying in the free territory of Wisconsin, or going to the free state of Illinois, the two travelled over a thousand miles, apparently unaccompanied, down the Mississippi River to meet their master. Only after Emerson's death in 1843, after Emerson's widow hired Scott out to an army captain, did Scott seek freedom for himself and his wife. First he offered to buy his freedom from Mrs. Emerson -- then living in St. Louis -- for $300. The offer was refused. Scott then sought freedom through the courts.
Scott went to trial in June of 1847, but lost on a technicality -- he couldn't prove that he and Harriet were owned by Emerson's widow. The following year the Missouri Supreme Court decided that case should be retried. In an 1850 retrial, the the St Louis circuit court ruled that Scott and his family were free. Two years later the Missouri Supreme Court stepped in again, reversing the decision of the lower court. Scott and his lawyers then brought his case to a federal court, the United States Circuit Court in Missouri. In 1854, the Circuit Court upheld the decision of the Missouri Supreme Court. There was now only one other place to go. Scott appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court.
The nine justices of the Supreme Court of 1856 certainly had biases regarding slavery. Seven had been appointed by pro-slavery presidents from the South, and of these, five were from slave-holding families. Still, if the case had gone directly from the state supreme court to the federal supreme court, the federal court probably would have upheld the state's ruling, citing a previously established decision that gave states the authority to determine the status of its inhabitants. But, in his attempt to bring his case to the federal courts, Scott had claimed that he and the case's defendant (Mrs. Emerson's brother, John Sanford, who lived in New York) were citizens from different states. The main issues for the Supreme Court, therefore, were whether it had jurisdiction to try the case and whether Scott was indeed a citizen.
The decision of the court was read in March of 1857. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney -- a staunch supporter of slavery -- wrote the "majority opinion" for the court. It stated that because Scott was black, he was not a citizen and therefore had no right to sue. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820, legislation which restricted slavery in certain territories, unconstitutional.
While the decision was well-received by slaveholders in the South, many northerners were outraged. The decision greatly influenced the nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican Party and his subsequent election, which in turn led to the South's secession from the Union.
Peter Blow's sons, childhood friends of Scott, had helped pay Scott's legal fees through the years. After the Supreme Court's decision, the former master's sons purchased Scott and his wife and set them free.
Dred Scott died nine months later.
from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html
The 14th Amendment - Rights Guaranteed Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection
14th Amendment
Amendment XIV
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
Amendment XIV
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
Monday, August 2, 2010
Wisdom
Now is the time to listen,
listen to wisdom as she cries out aloud to all!
She calls to you, to all of you!
She raises her voice to all people.
Now is the time to use good judgment;
to show some understanding.
Listen to wisdom,
choose wisdom over wealth.
Those who love wisdom will inherit wealth.
All who follow wisdom's ways are joyful.
So, listen to wisdom's instruction and be wise,
for whoever follows wisdom finds life.
listen to wisdom as she cries out aloud to all!
She calls to you, to all of you!
She raises her voice to all people.
Now is the time to use good judgment;
to show some understanding.
Listen to wisdom,
choose wisdom over wealth.
Those who love wisdom will inherit wealth.
All who follow wisdom's ways are joyful.
So, listen to wisdom's instruction and be wise,
for whoever follows wisdom finds life.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A 'mouth problem' - The Power of Words
This morning I began thinking about how our childhood's have a major impact on how we relate to each other in our adult lives. We tend to carry over the 'good', 'bad' and 'traumatic' experiences of our childhood.
Words are powerful. Think about how 'GREAT' you feel when you receive praise from a co-worker, friend, or family member. Conversely, think about the mean comments that a family member or stranger lashes out at you with. You feel hurt and angry. We must 'watch' the WORDS we use on each other because once spoken you can not take them back. Consider this a 'mouth problem' - harsh, snippy, fiesty words (Joyce Meyers). When we have a 'mouth problem', and we all do, it is important to seek the Word of God, specifically the Book of Proverbs.
We all have a responsibility to ourselves and others, especially our children, to work on our 'mouth problem'. We say things to them when we are mad, but we don't mean them. Our children internalize these words and may carry this into their adult lives. Alternatively, the praise that we give them makes them feel loved, happy, cherished, and inspires them to do more good to receive praise and admiration from us.
Do you ever wonder why there are so many 'messed up' adults in the world today? They probably had a 'rough' childhood in the sense that they received a lot of 'negative words' from people that they loved. Words do hurt, so whoever said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me' was foolish. Negative words can 'DAMAGE' or 'RUIN' the 'toughest' of us and those of us that have potential to do 'good' things. Whereas positive words can 'INSPIRE GREATNESS' from us. So today we have an opportunity to work on ourselves, with the Word of God on our sides, to make moves toward becoming better people for ourselves and others.
As always, have a wonderful, blessed and love-filled day!
Words are powerful. Think about how 'GREAT' you feel when you receive praise from a co-worker, friend, or family member. Conversely, think about the mean comments that a family member or stranger lashes out at you with. You feel hurt and angry. We must 'watch' the WORDS we use on each other because once spoken you can not take them back. Consider this a 'mouth problem' - harsh, snippy, fiesty words (Joyce Meyers). When we have a 'mouth problem', and we all do, it is important to seek the Word of God, specifically the Book of Proverbs.
We all have a responsibility to ourselves and others, especially our children, to work on our 'mouth problem'. We say things to them when we are mad, but we don't mean them. Our children internalize these words and may carry this into their adult lives. Alternatively, the praise that we give them makes them feel loved, happy, cherished, and inspires them to do more good to receive praise and admiration from us.
Do you ever wonder why there are so many 'messed up' adults in the world today? They probably had a 'rough' childhood in the sense that they received a lot of 'negative words' from people that they loved. Words do hurt, so whoever said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me' was foolish. Negative words can 'DAMAGE' or 'RUIN' the 'toughest' of us and those of us that have potential to do 'good' things. Whereas positive words can 'INSPIRE GREATNESS' from us. So today we have an opportunity to work on ourselves, with the Word of God on our sides, to make moves toward becoming better people for ourselves and others.
As always, have a wonderful, blessed and love-filled day!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
There is No Time to Coddle Negativity
As we take our daily journey through life, we encounter positive and negative. Noone said life would be easy. In fact, momma said, "THERE'D BE DAYS LIKE THIS!" It is up to you to prepare yourself for the 'good' and the 'bad'. You may be asking what do mean by 'PREPARE MYSELF'? It's simple, ask yourself this one question: "Who is in control of my mind?' If you answered, 'ME!' then you are CORRECT! So that means that in order to prepare yourself for 'good' and 'bad' circumstances, you MUST work on how you think and what you think. Positive thinking is a state of mind. Negative thinking is a state of mind. Which state of mind do you have? If you answered, honestly, then YOU control YOU! Positive equates to happiness, being content, high or good self-esteem, and being at peace. Negative equates to chaos, hostility, anger, low self-esteem, and hate.
Remember it is up to You to choose your state of mind because nobody can MAKE you!
There is no time to coddle negativity if you want to embrace all that is good in life...think positive ;)
This message was written to be inspirational and insightful, and in the spirit of love,
Mya
Remember it is up to You to choose your state of mind because nobody can MAKE you!
There is no time to coddle negativity if you want to embrace all that is good in life...think positive ;)
This message was written to be inspirational and insightful, and in the spirit of love,
Mya
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