Proverbs 14: 12- There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end, it leads to death.
On Wednesday, August 1, 2018, a group of black preachers met with President Trump in the Oval Office. On the surface, the meeting was held to discuss prison reform and other points were read from a prepared document. These included opportunities to improve the quality of life for families and people of color in urban communities. Pastors John Gray, Darrell Scott, Paula White, and others attended. The discussion reportedly centered on employment, prison reform, and a few other notable ones. This was a photo opportunity to beat everyone! Preachers from Alabama, Nevada, South Carolina, Mississippi, California, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan and a few other states sat down with a would-be king with a grateful and publicly shared open heart to kiss the ring. When Trump asked a preacher how many members he had, alarms sounded. This was an interesting question.
Without a doubt, preachers have a captive audience every seven days. Depending on the various missions, activities, and events, you may see your members multiple times during a week. At every meeting, there is an opportunity to present and promote Trump’s message. “Don’t believe what you read or see, just believe what I say!” In essence, this was a recent comment from Trump. I would say that when Trump looks at preachers, particularly black preachers, he is counting the number of people who will vote, preferably for him.
Many of the people who sat around that table were insane about prison reform when it comes to getting out of prison and into the workforce. The discussion did not include African Americans who were wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. Neither did these preachers introduce the treatment of those in prisons. There were two Spanish-speaking preachers who did not feel it was worth presenting the separation of children from their parents. A black woman was too grateful for opening a steel mill in Birmingham, Alabama. He did not ask how the steel duty / tax would affect employment. It also failed to present learning opportunities that could lead to day laborer status for African Americans and other men and women of color. With all the gun violence in this country, the Chicago black preacher praised the invitation, but refrained from bringing up the gun issue. You may not know that the issue of weapons is directly related to the National Rifle Association, which are recipients of excessive funds from the Russian oligarchs. These men, like Trump, are directly linked to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. How much money is unknown, as Secretary Mnuchin recently stated that the NRA has the option not to reveal the source of its cash box. This was reported by MSNBC and other news sites.
Trump read from his prepared text that education is for everyone. Yet report after report has shown that Betsy DeVos is undermining public school education. No black preacher found a problem with that. Lest we forget the families in Detroit, Michigan, who are still dealing with contaminated water. Doctors and scientists have stated that lasting harm to children’s health has yet to be determined. And yet these black ministers sat there smiling like everything was fine. Once again, Proverbs 14:12 is central to me.
Trump was eager to publish unemployment figures for African Americans. However, The National Urban League, Inc. presents a true and accurate picture. Declare the following:
Black unemployment is at an all-time low
One lie that our idiot-in-chief keeps screaming as his victory is the lie that black unemployment is at an all-time low. True unemployment for blacks is the lowest, 6.8%, but still double that of whites (3.7%). Also, it doesn’t account for underemployment, and blacks still earn just 55 cents for every dollar a white person earns. So while it is true that many of us are working, we are working with poverty wages. Not to mention, none of this can be seen on the hood. The ghetto is still full of young black men, ages 18-29, looking for work and the skills to get it.
Let’s not forget that none of this has to do with 45. Nothing in their policies would have any direct effect on black employment and would likely cause the opposite. As Sam Fulwood claims, economists agree, illustrating that Trump had nothing to do with this decline because black unemployment began to fall years before he took office. “From January to December 2017, the unemployment rate among black Americans fell 1 percentage point. During the same period in 2016, it fell by the same amount. In 2015, it fell 1.9 points. The previous year, it fell 1, 5 points. Year before that, it fell 1.8 points. ”
In a fun twist of fate, since 45 poked fun at black unemployment levels, January saw a nearly 1% rise in black unemployment … National Urban League, Inc. 2018
What does it mean to be deceived? Cheated, cheated, cheated, and scammed are synonymous with this infamous word. A physical example is the meeting between Trump and beloved comedian Steve Harvey, who admitted that Trump was very nice and welcoming. However, Harvey stated that Trump did not seem to know why he was asked to attend a meeting with him. Harvey took the opportunity to present his concerns and wishes. Harvey then presented how he could help HUD Secretary, Dr. Ben Carson, recently confirmed (January 2017).
Harvey’s mentoring program supports nearly 1,000 young men each year. The show has an exceptional success story. It was smart of her to take the opportunity to present her wish to Trump while at Trump Towers. Consequently, Harvey wanted to connect with HUD to rebuild dilapidated schools, with on-site tutoring for youth. His second wish was to develop vision centers where students could learn life skills and parents could be beneficiaries of various trainings to improve their quality of life. The overarching goal was to renew urban communities across the country. According to Harvey, Trump made the immediate connection with Ben Carson to set up a series of meetings to start this endeavor. Upon leaving, Harvey declared that Trump wanted to go down with him in the elevator. The press, stationed outside Trump Towers, was ready for questions. According to Harvey, the first thing Trump said when questioned by the press was dismantling and replacing Obama Care. The backlash that Harvey received from that date of January 13, 2017 reached the center. Months later he was able to present his position. Consequently, Obama Care was not even discussed at their meeting. However, Harvey, standing next to Trump, featured a picture of Harvey supporting Trump’s statement.
Roughly, but not surprisingly, Carimah Townes, in an article titled March 9, 2017, illustrated Trump’s commitment to improving urban centers across the country. The headline read: “After promising to revitalize ‘urban centers’, Trump decides to destroy affordable housing. Wants to cut billions from the Housing and Urban Development budget … According to the Washington Post, the proposal calls for $ 6 billion to be it will cut the department’s budget for fiscal year 2018. And the public housing repair money pool and the Community Development Block Grant Program will be hit especially hard.
The United States is now between a rock and a hard place. As the Mueller investigation continues and Trump’s comments about the blatant obstruction of justice are regularly tweeted, there may be impeachment proceedings. Of course, his latest Supreme Court appointee, who has not been confirmed, believes in a free get out of jail card for presidents. However, in terms of race relations, Pence is no better than Trump as he uses God’s words to undermine people of color. As with Trump, I cannot discount his history of racist behavior. While he was governor of Indiana, an African American was jailed for a crime he did not commit. Pence refused to forgive the African American man who was wrongfully imprisoned. The Daily Beast (2/15/17) reported that Keith Cooper was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a violent robbery that he claimed not to have committed. Through the use of DNA, the prosecutor found him innocent. He was released and applied for clemency to have his record expunged. Pence, as governor, refused to accept Mr. Cooper’s request. Even his prosecutor agreed that Cooper was innocent. It took a new governor to clear his name.
What leads to death, be it physically, emotionally, economically, politically and socially, is being conjured, like a great pot of gumbo that has reached its peak and is about to boil. Many Americans drank the Kool-Aide and placed a 21st century Abimelech (Judges, Chapter 9) in the White House. A man who has blatantly shown disdain for world leaders who have supported the United States for decades, while joking with those who hate democracy. BBC America, CNN, MSNBC and other news channels constantly provide a reality check on this country and our position in the world. What has not been pointed out is that God will bring judgment on his own people. And that’s the death I’m talking about. As a Christian, it will take prayer, faith, and collective action to have a country that pleases God. He told us: “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2nd Chronicle 7:14. Trump said he needs to be forgiven.
The church is good for the soul and can bring life to the wounded. However, God has given us all five senses and honest discernment. However, if a “Do not believe what you read or see. Listen only to me.” spoken by your preacher, you may want to turn to God for guidance.