"Roland Martin" Responds to Our Criticism of His Plan to Deny Christenings to Illegitimate Children

This morning, I put up a post criticizing Roland Martin's plan to hold Black men accountable for being absent in the lives of their children. Roland's solution is for Black pastors to reject women seeking to have their children christened or "dedicated" in church until the woman can convince the father of the child to make an appearance.

I’ve called on pastors nationwide to stop the stream of momma, grandmother, aunts and female cousins coming to the altar for baby dedications with no man in sight. That pastor should say, “Until I personally meet with the father, I will not dedicate this child.” Somebody has to hold that man accountable for his actions. Roland Martin on CNN.com

It appears that Roland Martin (or his assistant) has responded. Typically, when we mention someone by name and they respond in the comments, we elevate the response to post level so that those who receive the blog via RSS feed and read the response. Here is what "Roland Martin" wrote in response to the post and associated comments:

Since folks wanted to weigh in on this, you need to understand my rationale. The problem we have is that we seen lines of women walking up to the altar, and we never see the father. So, how can anyone ever reach these young men if someone never talks to them? Right now, we let them off the hook. We have babies being christened and no one even talks to the father. Don’t you think someone should at least have a conversation to talk to them about manhood, being a father, and their responsibilities? If not the pastor, then who should do it? If you want to get married, a woman cannot go to the pastor and do it without the pastor meeting with both. The same for a man. So why do pastors require a meeting with both individuals, but no do the same for a baby dedication? You guys keep focusing on denying the baby a christening. I’m focusing on denying the baby a father. This is called ACCOUNTABILITY. No one seems to want to hold men accountable. If the church makes a good faith effort to reach the father and meet with him, and nothing happens, fine, dedicate the child. But if we are going to confront this epidemic of men not handling their responsibilities, we must reach them somehow. So instead of calling it cruel and all of that, what’s your solution? If a 17-year-old woman gets pregnant and we never see the father, then the cycle repeats. Roland Martin

I'm going to disable comments on this post. If you would like to comment on the original post or the response from "Roland Martin," leave those at the original post. For the record, I offered my solution in the original post, but I guess my solution placed too much "accountability" on irresponsible fathers and Pastors. Silly me.

Click to read more ...

Roland Martin: Deny Illegitimate Children Christenings (EPIC FAIL! -That Ain't Biblical)

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Psalm 27:10

So yesterday we learned about the very short life and brutal death of little Emanuel Wesley Murray. Throughout the day additional details were provided in the case. His mother was in foster care and in a transitional home because she was abused and neglected. His biological father was LOCKED UP for being a FELON with a gun and drugs. He's currently fighting to get out of prison for little Emanuel's funeral, but for what purpose? The accused Killer McTear has a long history of brutalizing women and children and apparently has several children by several other women. One as old as 5 years old. One of his old girlfriends took years to get away from him, but not before he brutally beat her. McTear got started early when he beat up his own mother at the age of 14 because she wouldn't let him go stay with his Daddy in the projects. So it goes without saying that poor little Emanuel was likely doomed to a life of abuse, neglect, and misery. So that was the mindset I was in when I was on CNN.com and I saw the headline "Man up and be a real dad" I was like "YES!!" YES! YES! YES! So I clicked on the commentary by Roland Martin thinking it might likely be about little Emanuel. Nope, it was about Darryl Strawberry's new book "Straw:Finding my way". It was an interesting commentary with the usual refrain of the need for men to be present in the lives of their children and the inability of women to raise children alone. etc. etc. etc:

I take seriously the importance of fathers -- men -- in the lives of children. ..I am convinced that our city streets have turned into killing fields because dads have abdicated their responsibility in the raising of their children. Yes, mom is vital. But there is something different about dad speaking, lecturing, cajoling, disciplining, embracing, loving and caring.Our schools are filled with children losing their minds, and teachers unable to control them. When that happens, it's typically mom, grandma or an aunt coming to the school to deal with the problem. Ask a teacher or principal today and they will say they rarely see dads. Roland Martin

No problem so far. Been there. Done that. We've got the t-shirt. Nothing revelatory there. But then we get down to the bottom of the essay and Roland starts laying out his "solutions" to deal with the absence of fathers Absent Fathers! Read that again. A-B-S-E-N-T.... F-A-T-H-E-R-S:

I've called on pastors nationwide to stop the stream of momma, grandmother, aunts and female cousins coming to the altar for baby dedications with no man in sight. That pastor should say, "Until I personally meet with the father, I will not dedicate this child." Somebody has to hold that man accountable for his actions.

Now I'm baptist I don't know what denomination Roland Martin is, but we call our "baby dedications" "Christenings." You pray for the baby, but you also pray for the adults around the child. You impart wisdom and guidance, the church sings and extended version of "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" etc. etc. . If ever there was a baby that needed to be blessed, its the child of a man that has to be hunted down to get him to show up at a church for a 3.5 minute prayer. How is turning away the people who have taken on the responsibility of raising a man's child holding him accountable? If the man was concerned about what a preacher thought... chances are he wouldn't have an illegitimate child in the first place. Y'all don't have to say AMEN! I'm saying it for you. If anything they ought to be having baby dedications in the hospital room as the baby leaves the birth canal! Isn't the point of the entire commentary that women can't police children and you need a MAN? So why would this, presumably male pastor, send the "women folk" to do his dirty work? How did a call for men to RISE UP and be MEN turn into yet another chore for Black women to complete?

My Number 1 Pet Peeve-Use of "Churchology" To Oppress and Abuse Women & Children Y'all know my number one pet peeve is hypocritical church folk. I've mocked them repeatedly in this forum:

• God to Juanita Bynum and Thomas Weeks: "Do I know Y’all?"

• God to Mr. Juanita Bynum: Surely You Jest! - The Bynum- Weeks Officially Have No Shame!
• God Sends “Cease and Desist” Letter To Juanita Bynum and Tommy “The Hit Man” Weeks:”Stop Representing Yourself as My Agents…OR ELSE!”
• Satan’s Lawyers to Bishop Tommy “The Hit Man” Weeks….. “Stop Slandering Our Client or Else!”

I have gone on and on about the difference between "church folk" and Christians. Church folk, make up draconian rules to preserve their sense of superiority over those engaged in the sin we can SEE. This is your adulterers, fornicators, drunkards etc. God Has a special place in his heart for children who have been abandoned.

Isaiah 40:11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. Isaiah 49:15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Its not biblical to promote a policy that leaves children abandoned by their fathers out in the cold until someone can convince a fully grown man to go meet with the pastor. And if you want to know what Jesus would likely have to say to a disciple recommending that beleaguered women be turned away from a prayer I refer you to:

• A. The Woman at the Well (John 4:1-42)
• B. The Woman with the issue of blood.(MAR 5:25-34), LUK 8:43-47, MAT 9:20-22
• C. Mary Magdalene

He would CLOWN the pastor engaging in such foolishness and make him feel about yea small. I love shame! I think we need to bring SHAME back! SHAME is good. Its a great deterrent, but some man who won't even show up for a Christening isn't ASHAMED otherwise he would have shown up in the first place. Undoubtedly, it will be the mother who will be most embarrassed.

Make Another Choice

What he should have recommended was that these preachers, instead of sitting in their palaces summoning the great unwashed , should gather up the Brotherhood, ministers, deacons, and trustees go out and have a "visitation" with these baby daddies. "Lay hands" on him. Take him down to the river to be baptized. . . literally. Go out like Joshua and go confront the situation. Go do some home visits. . . en masse. Can you imagine what would happen if a baby daddy peeked out the window and saw 50 men walking to the front door wanting to know when he was going to come speak to the preacher? If he knew there were people who were expecting him to make a trip to the pastor's study? Isn't the church supposed to be a "community" of believers? So what's with turning already overwhelmed women away with a screaming infant until such time as they can convince a man to show up? If they can't get the KIDS to behave in school (according to Martin's anecdote) then how are they going to get a fully grown man to behave? Imagine if YOUR church became known as the congregation that would roll on over to homes of the men impregnating their members. I am all for holding parents accountable. BOTH OF THEM! But why must EVERY "solution" for the failures of men rest with women who are already pulling far more than their fair share? If you are serious about men MANNING up, the propose a solution that requires them to do so, not independent contract out the "manning up" to  the stream of momma, grandmother, aunts and female cousins you so derisively dismissed.  Black men don't need US or tiny infants to police them. They need to police themselves. This "solution"  ain't biblical. EPIC FAIL! I feel a dispatch from Heaven coming on.

Click to read more ...

Sidelined by Tight Braids ---In the Interim Watch Roland Martin and Donna Brazile Drop it Like its Warm

I have been saving this post for a day when I could not post about anything. I got fresh braids Monday morning and I am suffering from a severe headache. This is worse than normal so I have no choice but to go sleep it off. In the interim, while I wait for them to loosen up so that my brain can function again, I decided to pull this post up from my rather large collection of "On Second Thought, I Better Not Post This" posts. So here is what I would have posted a month ago if I had not decided not to post it ( confused? me too! blame it on the braids).... Read the original post after the jump.

We need a good laugh. We've already firmly established that YouTube is Satan's workshop. I once joked with a a fellow blogger that I could never kick it in public again because folks would love to be able to say" I saw that Girl from WAOD doing the 'Cupid Shuffle! Hypocrite!"

The other reason is because I don't want to be YouTubed like Roland Martin and Donna Brazile of CNN. Apparently they are CNN's official dance team.

We gone grant Donna the "Louisiana relative exemption". Those of you who have Louisiana relatives know what I mean. That's just what they do. I don't know what Roland's exemption is.
:


Yep. YouTube = The Devil.

Click to read more ...

RUMOR CONTROL: Roland Martin says Jeremiah Wright NOT Publishing a Book In October

This morning's post about a rumor that Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor is  releasing a book in October ended with the following questions: So what have y’all heard? Is this truth or fiction? Read that again THREE TIMES! The fact that I ASKED is this truth or fiction would indicate that i was not reporting it as gospel truth, just asking my well-read readers to give me the 411. Enter the Jeremiah Wright Acolytes that went apoplectic because I asked whether a story posted in New York Magazine and on a massively larger blog was true or false. My response to all the Jeremiah Wright Acolytes is this: IF I AIN'T SCARED OF OBAMA ACOLYTES, I WON'T BE COWED BY YOU EITHER! So you can talk to the hand because I am not even listening to your foolishness because clearly you cant read for comprehension. The title of the post was "Rumor Control" the easiest way to control a rumor is to state definitively that it ain't true. Revolutionary, I know, but highly effective. I left home this morning with a question and by the end of the day, that question was answered. Here is what Roland Martin had to say on his ESSENCE.com blog:

A New York magazine cover story last week reignited the debate over Rev. Jeremiah Wright when it stated - without attribution - that the former pastor of Sen. Barack Obama was releasing a new book. But his daughter, Jeri, told me today that the story is absolutely false. "The only book we're working on is the history of Trinity (United Church of Christ) and I haven't even started editing that," Wright told Essence.com. After I reached out to her, she called her father, who is teaching and ministering in Ghana (I ran into him last month when I was in the West African nation) and said he "laughed" when she asked about the book. "He said that he also got an email, but was unable to respond since he's in email hell," Wright said, meaning in a place in Ghana where it's difficult to send and receive email. "I asked him if he was writing and he said, 'Nope. I'm not publishing anything. I'm not going on any book tours.'" Roland Martin on Essence.com

So the rumor is fiction. Now I am going to sleep. Y'allz foolishness has given me an actual headache. PS. All you WRIGHT ACOLYTES who sent emails might want to speak to his "online publicist" after reading my post, she offered to send me one of his earlier books to review so that i can compare it with his book coming out this October. BWHAHAHA.

Click to read more ...