Just Wanted to Say Thanks

Sometimes it's a good idea to pause and to say thanks to folks who've blessed your life. This post has been on my heart for some time, so now, here it is. These folks and their pages are over just to the right of this post. I'd encourage you to check them out as you have time.

Thanks to those amazing and gifted students from ACU who formed Social Justice Teams:

Team I: Sara, Laura, Jacob, Josh, Ashley, and Liz because you laid the foundation for all that has followed. That work with stories of women who are both African American and of Indian ancestry and African Americans reared in a white cultural context was excellent.

Team II: Kelsie, Josh, Bryanna, Tim, and David Todd because you walked in places and spaces that no one had walked before. Yes, I know we're still waiting for action from DOJ. Hopefully we'll not have to wait forever. And, your contribution at the conference in King of Prussia, PA was important and timely.

Team III: Michelle, Kimberly, Rebecca, Scott, Sarah, Brian, and Heather, your conceptual work and presentations in larger academic contexts was among the first for this work. Heather, I'd still like to see some of your amazing art work.

Team IV: Daniel, Ruqayyah, and Ty, your work in the area of white privilege which is coming up here in a few days at TAMFT will make a difference.

Abilene Christian University, the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, and its founders, Paul Faulkner and Tom Milholland, along with amazing faculty, staff, and students, gave me the context to grow as a person, professional, and advocate for justice. It's the best MFT program in the country.

Big Country Family Therapy Associates, now owned by a loyal and faithful friend and co-worker, provided a context for serving struggling people. Dave in particular, his wife, and our Sunday morning Bible class provided another context in which to engage justice and the Word of God. They heard my stories, and they told their own. There's not a better therapist in Abilene than the man who's on the fifth floor of the Compass Bank Building, downtown Abilene.

Gary Grant, President, and the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association along with the Concerned Citizens of Tillery, provided the legitimacy that was foundational for engaging black farmers, hearing their stories, and telling them on these pages and in other contexts. Gary is a visionary, a man of principle and passion, and a man who has become a friend in this righteous struggle. Gary's engagement of Justice Team III and IV last year was an amazing thing to watch. His influence extends far beyond North Carolina.

Dionne, senior administrator of the Department of MFT at ACU, and entrepreneur, is a woman of immense talents who gave of her means to support traveling students on their way to a black land loss summit last year. Check her and her efforts out.

Greg Kendall-Ball, staff member in the Graduate School of Theology, ACU, and I have dreamed big dreams. He's a gifted photographer. Only funding is holding us back from making what we think will be an enormous contribution to the telling of the stories of black farmers of our land.

Larry James of Central Dallas Ministries and I crossed paths back in Memphis at the Harding Graduate School of Religion in the early '70s. His heart and his bright mind were evident then and now. His words on his blog are daily reads. He points people to the Kingdom and to justice in this world, two things that cannot be disconnected.

Micah P. Hinson is a young singer/songwriter who has caught the vision of the plight of the black farmer. One who has always had a heart oriented toward the disenfranchised, he and I have collaborated on a song about black farmers. Only funding is keeping this effort from becoming a "proper release," a video, and the making of the video, a venture that will also engage the choir from Tillery, NC. This and the photojournalism effort would be firsts and would tell the story in contexts not utilized before. There's another effort that deserves to be heard, one co-authored musically and lyrically by Ben Clinard, student at ACU/MFT.

John Boyd president of the National Black Farmers Association and I crossed paths in Memphis in January, 2006. His proximity to DC allows him to operate on large political stage. His efforts in spotlighting the plight of the black farmer are important contributions to this righteous cause.

Dr. Spencer Wood, sociology professor at Kansas State University, and I first met via email around some pivotal things he'd written about black land loss. Then, last year at the 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit, Tillery and Whitakers, NC, we met face to face. He is a good man who is making significant contributions to this cause. He's a leader and I am simply a follower.

Vern Switzer, or "The Watermelon Man," has an amazing story. He, too, was a farmer who was involved in the Pigford Class Action Suit, and while still farming, he has now begun to reach out via books and stories to engage children and farming. He is a great story teller who can keep elementary students' attention for an hour at a time.

There are more. We need more. Racism and discrimination are not going to go away any time soon. Listen to our daily conversations. Tune in to what others are saying, and how folks are treating others, and it's there.

There's much to be done. Who are the activists that you know? What are their links, their contexts, their efforts?