Civic Cipher 110621 Is Church Racist? (Part B)

Q and I both know a lot about. And then for our way black history fact, we're going to discuss a very inspirational woman by the name of Bessie Coleman, who was the first African American woman pilot, known for flying tricks and uh, we'll get into that in just a little bit, but first we are going to discuss how to become a better ally. And this one is going to be a fun one. This week, I'm going to play a video from TikTok and all you gotta do is listen.

felt so loved. Right, So I sit in my service is starting choir walks out from the back. Right.

is church racist? H So we're going to start here with a direct quote from doctor Martin Luther King Junior, where he says eleven o'clock on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week, and that is something that I have largely found to be true throughout most of my life, and more recently there have been a lot more in the way of exceptions. But today we're going to talk about that, that and the exceptions as well,

because we do want to highlight the good things. But que, tell me a little bit about your background with respect to church. Is this something you're qualified to discuss?

also the child of a minister. My father, doctor Rudolph Wayne Taylor, was a minister for the Church of God in Christ his whole life. And his father was a minister for the Church of God in Christ as well, in fact a bishop. And so all those fancy churches and all the fancy outfits and that sort of stuff that my friend Canadian chest here was talking about. I grew up in that, like in the thick part, like right in the middle. A lot of folks go to church on Sunday. I went to church every day. I

was there a lot of the times. Yeah, oh no, I know, I know. So this is why this is so strange that there.

This has its legacy in the slave fields because the only time when you weren't working or sleeping, you know, you were in church because a lot of the slave masters allowed their slaves to hold service, and they had black ministers, and they were able to dance and play music and you know, enjoy themselves a little bit. It was like a break from you know, the work on the Sabbath. They rested, right.

chance I get. I've been all over the world. Muslim people have treated me the most kind out of everyone that I've ever set at a table with and broken bread with. So now one of the things that we need to discuss is the morality of folks who are Christians. Right. The thing is, with Christian people, you get a really good sense of who they are morally because they have literally a textbook that tells them how to behave, tells them how to govern themselves, tells them how to conduct themselves.

And you know, it gives them a sort of a moral compass or a moral guidepost. If you will, if I'm doing this, if you will, Yeah, there you go, Thank you. I think they call it the Bible Basic Instructions before leaving Earth, right, I like it. So for Christians, you would think that they would behave a certain way

most all the time. You know, people are people and make mistakes, but for the most part, you have a general idea, and what you find is that that is not often the case when it comes to them suffering some sort of loss, be it perceived or otherwise. You know.

And the strange thing is that I believe largely conservative folks have been able to hijack the idea of Christianity, and really folks call them evangelicals, but there's a lot of folks who feel like a vote for a Republican candidate is a vote for Jesus and just across the world, and they just believe that that, there's no two ways about it. But the crazy thing is, you know, we discuss a lot about the white moderates, right these are the folks who are the biggest threat to our progress.

These are the folks that are like, hey, man, that's y'all's problem. I got my own problems, so you know, good luck. I'm not gonna work against you, but I'm not gonna work for you. But they're in the best position to help us make the world a little bit more equitable and you know, a little bit more fair. You know, we're constantly reaching out to other radio stations and you know, so forth and trying to have these conversations with folks, a lot of whom are white, moderate males,

you know who. And then every so often we hear that sort of pushback, like, hey, you know what, I like what you're doing. It sounds great. I don't think it'll work here, and we know it'll work there, you know,

works everywhere. But one of the things that you know, in doing the research for this segment that I found out was that the legacy of the divisiveness in church, or not divisiveness, really the segregation in church goes back to the Civil rights movements, or rather it was it was well documented in the Civil Rights movement, but it also goes back to those those sleigh fields. So during the Civil Rights movement, the question was posed, why didn't white Christians show up? And and why are they so

aligned with with right politics? And I forget who. His name is not really important, you know, because why would we mention the name of someone who was so nasty? But you know, I didn't put him in my notes, but I remember the story and I feel like I should share this. There's a white pastor during that time who said, you know, basically he was trying to say that, you know, bluebirds hang out with bluebirds bluebirds date or mate with other bluebirds. You know, that's what happens there,

and that's the way God intended. Bluebirds don't, you know, share time and space with like monkeys or sharks or you know, insects or anything like that. They hang out with other bluebirds, and that's the natural order of things, and this is the way that God intended, right. So similarly, black folks need to be with black folks on Sundays, white folks need to be with white folks on Sundays. And we both have our own relationships with God, but

we don't need to mix in church. Right. I'm so glad I don't remember this guy's name because I want to. The journalist in me wants to remember his name, but he doesn't deserve any credit. I don't believe. But you could see how for a person who's a white moderate, a person who really doesn't want to be bothered, that's

a very comforting thought. They can be Christian and then they have this little thin slice of flawed logic that helps them make sense of the world as it is because they want to keep it that way, because they don't want to be bothered with the ugly reality of the situation that other human beings just like them are enduring some stuff just because they were born slightly different. Right now, we know you and IQ, hopefully our listeners know, and if not, hopefully we'll be able to educate them.

We know that human beings aren't bluebirds. We're human beings. And where we are able to share more, we do. If we share language, then we can share more, if we share certain customs and certain ideas. Is it the same God? Is it the same religion? Do we go to the same place at approximately the same time and offer the same relationship or cultivation of relationship with our higher power? You know, you know, what they're trying to do is look at what's different. What we're trying to

do is look at what's same. And if you look at what's the same, there's like ninety nine percent the same. This little little tiny little bit that's different. You know, Well, they're they're black and we're white, and that's the way it is in nature. So that's you know, they hold on to that one little thing and try to make

it their whole world. And that type of split in the during the Civil rights movement when there were the freedom writers and you know, these church folks were coming out and holding up their babies to scratch at, you know, the protesters, and they were like, you know, throwing bottles and throwing rocks at these folks. You know, this is prior to MLK taking center stage. You know, it was

church people. You know, in the South, especially most of those people go to church, right, and what you see is Christians out there behaving like devils because they have this little bit of truth that makes them feel like they have some sort of superiority or something like that. Now, we know the Civil rights movement is a long time ago and we're dealing with a world today, but that racial divide still is present, largely in a lot of

churches in a lot of communities. I'm not talking about newer churches whose sole purpose is to like I want the pastor to be a woman, and I want the assistant pastor to be a black person. You know, like, not talking about those churches, because those churches understand that you can do a lot more together than you can having the same old, boring type of church, right, and you can take some of the cultural nuances from different

types of worshiping and make a more enjoyable experience. You know, the Bible says, if I'm not mistaken, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, right, And like like our brother Canadian Chestair mentioned in his TikTok video, I think that's one element that black folks definitely got down. If you go to a black church, you know, it's a very happy place. You know, folks is happy to be there. They run, they jump, they shout, have the time of

their life, right, look forward to it. But then there's some other places where that is not the case at all. And unfortunately, politics and ideas about how we should interact with each other, how we should treat each other, is very much ingrained in that place. Now, I know a lot of us listening to this, we're not church folks, right, but we know church folks, so we have to know

how to deal with church folks. Black folks have to say this got it, honestly, because again, when you're in those slave fields, you know where your only social hour of the week is when you're at church or just before or just after. That's where you're able to share a huge part of your humanity because you're confined and relegated to just that working or sleep right as a slave with no freedom. So you share ideas, not just religion, you share jokes, not just religion, you share stories, not

just religion. You share, you know, a lot of things. And so that's why in black churches, it's a huge pillar in the Black community, because the legacy of slavery ensured that church would really be the great watering hole, if you will. And the same could be said, perhaps not as intensely, but the same could be said about, you know, white churches as well. And again there's a lot of politics, a lot of ideas, a lot of beliefs that's wrapped up into those those buildings and those fellowships,

you know. And I think that that there's really something to be said about going and visiting with some people who don't pray the exact same way that you pray, right, But there is something further to be said about going to a place where people do pray this exact same way that you pray, but perhaps don't look exactly like you. And that's what I wanted to talk about today. So before we go any further, Q your thoughts, your reaction.

the hypocrisy exists. You know, people who are most critical judge, judge, the harshest, uh look down upon, cast out are the people who were, you know, at the people who, at the same time are worrying what what Jesus do bracelet on their wrist, you know, preaching about forgiveness and a lack of pride, and you know, there's a there's a great conflict with the way that you and I grew

up because everyone we worship did look like us. Yeah, they did respond in the same way to that organ plane while the preacher was.

church everywhere, no matter how not black. The city is, that sanctuary and that temple will look like Compton, will look like Detroit, will look like Oakland, will look like Newark, will.

out of their chains and out of their bondage. So it's just interesting that that same Bible that was used to justify slavery, and that ended up ultimately not the Bible, but the slavery and the practice and so forth, and how cultures come together and are shared, ended up, you know, creating a world where we're so segregated. That was the same Bible that these folks preach from in hopes of one day being free from the bondage they were in. But you know, that's just kind of how it is.

So I maintain if you can go to hang out with some folks on Sunday, and who knows, you might even enjoy yourself.

flying tricks. Coleman's nicknames were Brave Bessie, Queen Bess and the only race Avia tricks in the world. Her goal was to encourage women and African Americans to reach their dreams. Unfortunately, her career ended with a tragic plane crash, but her life continues to inspire people around the world. Born in Atlanta, Texas, on January twenty sixth eighteen ninety two. Bessie Coleman had

twelve brothers and sisters. Her mother, Susan Coleman, was an African American maid, and her father, George Coleman, was a sharecropper of mixed Native American and African American descent. In nineteen oh one, her father decided to move back to Oapland to try to escape discrimination. Bessie's mother decided not to go with him. Instead, the rest of the family stayed and Waxahachie, Texas. Hopefully I got that right. Bessie grew up helping her mother pick cotton and watched laundry

to earn extra money. By the time she was eighteen, save she saved enough money to attend the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, which is now Lengthston out out to Langston one Time. Langston is an HBCU for our brothers and sisters who may not be Black or otherwise may not be familiar with Langston University. HBCU stands for Historically Black College and University. Earlier in the show, I mentioned the house Morehouse University that is also a historically Black

college and university. She dropped out of College after only one semester because she could not afford to attend. At age twenty three, Coleman went to live with the brothers in Chicago. She went to the Burnham School of Beauty Culture in nineteen fifteen and became a manicurist in a local barbershop. Meanwhile, her brothers served in the military during World War One and came home with stories from their

time in France. Brother John teased her because French women were allowed to learn how to fly airplanes and Bessie could not. This made Bessie want to become a pilot. She applied to many flight schools across the country, but no school would take her because she was both African American and a woman. Famous African American news paper publisher Robert Abbott told her to move to France, where she

could learn how to fly. She began taking French classes at night because her application to flight schools needed to be written in French. Oh this gets fo yeah. Finally, Coleman was accepted at the Caudron Brothers School of Aviation in La Crottoi, France. She received her international pilot's license on June fifteenth, nineteen twenty one from the Federation eron Ntique into Nacion Nale. Dang I was like three different accents there, but bear with me. Joe sounded a little

Italian at the end. Coleman's dream was to own a plane and to open up her own flight school. She gave speeches and showed films of her air tricks in churches, theaters, and schools to etain money. She refused to speak anywhere that was segregated or discriminated against African Americans. In nineteen twenty two, she performed the first public flight by an African American woman. She was famous for doing loop the loops and making the shape of an eight in an airplane.

People were fascinated by her performances and she became more popular both in the United States and in Europe. She toured the country given flight lessons, performing in flight shows, and she encouraged African Americans and women to learn to fly. All right, we're almost done. Only two years into her flight career, Coleman survived her first major airplane accident in February nineteen twenty three. Her airplane engine suddenly stopped working

and she crashed. She was badly hurt, and the accident and suffered a broken leg, few crack ribs, and cuts on her face. Thankfully, Coleman was able to fully heal from her injuries. This accident did not stop her from flying. She went back to performing dangerous air tricks in nineteen twenty five. Her hard work helped her save enough money to purchase her own plane, a Jenny in Jay and Dash four. Soon she returned to her hometown in Texas

to perform for a large crowd. Because Texas was still segregated the manager's plan to create two separate entrances for African Americans and white people to get into the stadium, Coleman refused to perform on Life Us there was only one gate for everyone to use. I love that part. After many meetings, the managers agreed to have one gate, but people would still have to sit in segregated sections

of the stadium. She agreed to perform and became famous for standing up for her beliefs, and she had a plane crash. I'll get that part. Her death was heartbreaking for thousands of people. Famous activist id B. Wells performed at the funeral to honor Coleman in Chicago in nineteen thirty one. The Challenger Pilots. The Association of Chicago started a tradition of flying over Coleman's grave every year. By nineteen seventy seven, African American women pilots formed the Bessie

Coleman Aviators Club. In nineteen ninety five, the Bessie Coleman stamp was made to remember all of her accomplishments. I wanted to read that all because there's something very familiar about being the first people to do something, you know, at least to me, you know, and to you obviously, because folks that don't know. And I'll tell the story in brief. We worked at a radio station in Phoenix

and we wanted to create this show. Basically, we didn't have a name for it at the time, but we had an idea and long story short, we had to work very, very hard and overcome a lot of adversity in order for you to hear our voices right now. I like the way you put that, yeah, And I think at the end of when everything's said and done,

our contribution. You know, we're not pilots, so our contribution won't be that we were the first pilots to do anything, but maybe we'll be the first, you know, people to create a show, a black show that it's largely tailored to non black people about you know, helping them to become better allies and to give them a glimpse into what it's like to process events black events, and you know, have a little bit more empathy in the dialogue and

hopefully grow together as brothers and sisters. It's really what we wanted to do. And you know, there have been some challenges along the way, and I'm sure there will continue to be challenges, but there's a lot more optimism with our story and a lot more optimistic pathways that are continually presenting themselves to us, and we're very grateful for that. So yeah, in short, that's the story of

Bessie Coleman and why I wanted to share that with everyone. Now, with that said, I do want to make sure that everyone knows that if you want to listen to this show and it's entirely let's say you got it halfway through, you can check out our website Civiccipher dot com. If you want to listen to it as a podcast anything like that. It's it's all up there. You can watch

it on YouTube and so forth, and so on. We are in the process of working on a few deals with a few major media companies and radio stations and growing the footprint of the show. It's already a national show, but really some exciting things are in the works. A lot of those things cost money. So if donating is something that you're able to do, you're able to do that on the website as well, and then of course follow us on our social media because even that little

bit helps too. We're at Civicsicker on all platforms, and I think that's what I do it for us this week, So once again I'm Rams' job and until next week, y'all.

And this from a wife. Wartime journalist headlines wake Up preas and reads this like this, like this, like this, like