April 21, 2010
NRAAC's National Chair
Dr. Jean Howard-Hill
National Republican African American Caucus [NRAAC] Blog
http://nraac.blogspot.com
http://www.nraacaucus.org
The National Republican African American Caucus Has It's
Say!: An 18 Day Political Revival
NRAAC's National Chair
Dr. Jean Howard-Hill
National Republican African American Caucus [NRAAC] Blog
http://nraac.blogspot.com
http://www.nraacaucus.org
The National Republican African American Caucus Has It's
Say!: An 18 Day Political Revival
Day 4 Hold Over for a Third Day: The Different Flavors of African American and White Republicanism. Which flavor are you?
For two days, I have blogged about the different flavors of African American and White Republicanism - Even gave an altar call. But now I feel a need to once again hold this sermonic discussion over an extra day to deal with how to change flavors. In order to do this, we have to explore the concept of wheat and tare.
We all know that the both the good and the bad, as well as the positive and negative influences exist within not only the Republican Party, but in any political party. Even Democrats can attest to having its own field of wheat and tare. This is inherent of any political system. Anytime you are dealing with human influence, you have both sides of the spectrum and even that in between. But how we deal with this is important. How we keep the tare from overtaking the wheat and choking out the good is a reality, because if it is not controlled and dealt with, it gives off a negative flavor that causes good, sound government to perish. Understanding this, I thought it necessary to offer some suggestions.
There are two ways of approaching this: You can either allow the wheat and the tare to grow together until it is the right time and season to separate the two or when it is the right time and season you can uproot it. Actually the two are one. Depending upon the timing and the season, both approaches are right.
I want to begin with the time and season to allow the two to grow together. But first it is also important to understand time and season. Solomon in his great wisdom said that under the heavens, there is a time and a season for all things. Even a time to plant and a time to uproot that which is planted. Not only did Solomon understood the concept of time. Also among the twelve tribes of Israel was the tribe of Issachar, which also understood this concept.
The Issachar(s) knew the proper time and proper season. They also knew the proper procedure for securing the victory. They were men of valor and commanders in the army of King David and their numbers were not few. David called upon them as wise men, who gave counsel as to when to go to war according to divine providence. We too have to become political Issachar(s) who have an acute understanding of time and season. As political Issachar(s), we also must know what to do and when it is the proper time and season to uproot the political tare that has given a negative flavor to the Republican Party.
When their roots are young, it may be hard to see which is wheat and which is tare. But as they grow and their identity is more defined, we are able to distinguish between the two. We are able to observe their distinct characteristics and make a determination of which is good and which is bad, which will better serve our quest for existence and which will poison our very political souls. It is at this point when we can make this determination, that it is necessary to separate the two, uprooting the tare, so that the wheat might grow in peace.
Also, when the two are growing together within the same field, there is a time when you cannot successfully uproot the tare, without causing harm to the wheat. This is because during this time, they share the same soil and are privy to the same nutrients from the heavens - the sun and the rain. During this season it is a cozy relationship. One which shares something in common and both use that same commonality in order to grow and to survive. Therefore, they may not see what you see through the lenses of time that permits a peep into the future and another time and season when the two shall no longer live in harmony as companions of the same political soil. Because of this, you have to give it some time, and allow several seasons to pass before they too can see what you know and see.
Like me, there are others who also have had to do this within the Republican Party. For years we have seen the tare growing with the wheat, and the danger and consequences of allowing this to happen within the Republican Party. But when we spoke out and cried out against it, the planters of the tare, tried to silence us or labeled us as "trouble makers". But today is a new day where we see the tare fully grown and sprouting roots with a harvest of division and confusion all over America and throughout the Republican Party.
If we are to enjoy the amber waves of grain beneath purple mountains majesty as a gift of the blessings of God upon America, and as harvesters of good things within the Republican Party, we must be wise in knowing the difference between what is political good - the wheat and what is political bad - the tare. We must identify those who have grown among us who have taken away the birthright of not only African American Republicans, but Whites as well. We must then take the courage to enter the fields of tare and begin to separate it from the wheat, no longer allowing it to choke from our Grand Ole Party, its very character, integrity, civility and birthright which is ours to have and to hold. It is a political battle which must be waged without fear or hesitation.
The tribe of Issachar knew when it was time to go into battle with Israel's mother, warrior and Judge Deborah. While some of the others hesitated and did not go because of fear, they knew it was both the time and season for victory and that it had to be done at the proper time and season in order to secure the victory or be defeated if they waited.
I pray that there are Republican Issachar(s) who recognize the difference between what is wheat and tare, and without fear or hesitation will arise as they see NOW is that time and season to pull up their roots and toss them out of the field, sending them back from whence they came, so that again, we are the true Party of Lincoln. The party we were birthed and intended to be!
It is said of Issachar, "Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens; He saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became one of forced labor." Genesis 49: 14-15. What does this mean?
It means Issachar was strong and wise. He had the ability to discern and understand the mystery of time and season, and what to do. Therefore, he thought it not beneath him to shoulder the burden of tending the fields, despite the difficulty of the times and soil that added to his burden. Yet he was at peace and not one of fear or hesitation, because he knew that if he labored long and hard during this season, as one enslaved to plant and till the earth, and could patiently await the season of harvest, that a bounty of good would come from this. However if he did not labor, hope and endure, the tare of his fields would overtake the wheat.
In pastoring, as I feel the need, I open the doors of the church, not to let souls in, but to encourage the "hell raisers" - the tare, to leave and find fellowship among those of kindred spirit!
This is our "kairos" - that special moment of divine providence, where we are given the call and the courage to enter into "chromos" time with a door of opportunity to make right that which is wrong. A time to remove the tare from among the wheat with a mandate and a decree that the Issachar(s) take courage and without hesitation, come forth!
We all know that the both the good and the bad, as well as the positive and negative influences exist within not only the Republican Party, but in any political party. Even Democrats can attest to having its own field of wheat and tare. This is inherent of any political system. Anytime you are dealing with human influence, you have both sides of the spectrum and even that in between. But how we deal with this is important. How we keep the tare from overtaking the wheat and choking out the good is a reality, because if it is not controlled and dealt with, it gives off a negative flavor that causes good, sound government to perish. Understanding this, I thought it necessary to offer some suggestions.
There are two ways of approaching this: You can either allow the wheat and the tare to grow together until it is the right time and season to separate the two or when it is the right time and season you can uproot it. Actually the two are one. Depending upon the timing and the season, both approaches are right.
I want to begin with the time and season to allow the two to grow together. But first it is also important to understand time and season. Solomon in his great wisdom said that under the heavens, there is a time and a season for all things. Even a time to plant and a time to uproot that which is planted. Not only did Solomon understood the concept of time. Also among the twelve tribes of Israel was the tribe of Issachar, which also understood this concept.
The Issachar(s) knew the proper time and proper season. They also knew the proper procedure for securing the victory. They were men of valor and commanders in the army of King David and their numbers were not few. David called upon them as wise men, who gave counsel as to when to go to war according to divine providence. We too have to become political Issachar(s) who have an acute understanding of time and season. As political Issachar(s), we also must know what to do and when it is the proper time and season to uproot the political tare that has given a negative flavor to the Republican Party.
When their roots are young, it may be hard to see which is wheat and which is tare. But as they grow and their identity is more defined, we are able to distinguish between the two. We are able to observe their distinct characteristics and make a determination of which is good and which is bad, which will better serve our quest for existence and which will poison our very political souls. It is at this point when we can make this determination, that it is necessary to separate the two, uprooting the tare, so that the wheat might grow in peace.
Also, when the two are growing together within the same field, there is a time when you cannot successfully uproot the tare, without causing harm to the wheat. This is because during this time, they share the same soil and are privy to the same nutrients from the heavens - the sun and the rain. During this season it is a cozy relationship. One which shares something in common and both use that same commonality in order to grow and to survive. Therefore, they may not see what you see through the lenses of time that permits a peep into the future and another time and season when the two shall no longer live in harmony as companions of the same political soil. Because of this, you have to give it some time, and allow several seasons to pass before they too can see what you know and see.
Like me, there are others who also have had to do this within the Republican Party. For years we have seen the tare growing with the wheat, and the danger and consequences of allowing this to happen within the Republican Party. But when we spoke out and cried out against it, the planters of the tare, tried to silence us or labeled us as "trouble makers". But today is a new day where we see the tare fully grown and sprouting roots with a harvest of division and confusion all over America and throughout the Republican Party.
If we are to enjoy the amber waves of grain beneath purple mountains majesty as a gift of the blessings of God upon America, and as harvesters of good things within the Republican Party, we must be wise in knowing the difference between what is political good - the wheat and what is political bad - the tare. We must identify those who have grown among us who have taken away the birthright of not only African American Republicans, but Whites as well. We must then take the courage to enter the fields of tare and begin to separate it from the wheat, no longer allowing it to choke from our Grand Ole Party, its very character, integrity, civility and birthright which is ours to have and to hold. It is a political battle which must be waged without fear or hesitation.
The tribe of Issachar knew when it was time to go into battle with Israel's mother, warrior and Judge Deborah. While some of the others hesitated and did not go because of fear, they knew it was both the time and season for victory and that it had to be done at the proper time and season in order to secure the victory or be defeated if they waited.
I pray that there are Republican Issachar(s) who recognize the difference between what is wheat and tare, and without fear or hesitation will arise as they see NOW is that time and season to pull up their roots and toss them out of the field, sending them back from whence they came, so that again, we are the true Party of Lincoln. The party we were birthed and intended to be!
It is said of Issachar, "Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens; He saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became one of forced labor." Genesis 49: 14-15. What does this mean?
It means Issachar was strong and wise. He had the ability to discern and understand the mystery of time and season, and what to do. Therefore, he thought it not beneath him to shoulder the burden of tending the fields, despite the difficulty of the times and soil that added to his burden. Yet he was at peace and not one of fear or hesitation, because he knew that if he labored long and hard during this season, as one enslaved to plant and till the earth, and could patiently await the season of harvest, that a bounty of good would come from this. However if he did not labor, hope and endure, the tare of his fields would overtake the wheat.
In pastoring, as I feel the need, I open the doors of the church, not to let souls in, but to encourage the "hell raisers" - the tare, to leave and find fellowship among those of kindred spirit!
This is our "kairos" - that special moment of divine providence, where we are given the call and the courage to enter into "chromos" time with a door of opportunity to make right that which is wrong. A time to remove the tare from among the wheat with a mandate and a decree that the Issachar(s) take courage and without hesitation, come forth!
Solomon said in one of his proverbs:
"The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him." [Ecclesiastes 8:5, 6]
Let the Republican Issachar(s) among us, those who are men and women of great courage and valor, who also know the proper time and season and what to do, and whose numbers are not few, seize this moment. Lest we lose our Grand Ole Party to the tare, who have no place among us!
Let the tare return to the Democratic Party from which they fled! ...And if the Democrats no longer want them, let them form their own party. Either way, it is the TIME and the SEASON to open the doors of our Grand Ole Party and welcome the tare that for a time and a season has been allowed to grow among us, to leave and to find somewhere else to thrive. For why should those who labored and brought forth this Grand Ole Party be intimidated and leave? Instead let them be the ones to take flight!
As the membership of the National Republican African American Caucus reclaim our birthright, we have the right to say to the tare, "Leave! Go someplace else. Any place, other than the Republican Party - the Party of Lincoln! ...Because you know what? We shall no longer keep silent! Nor are we going to tolerate the foolish! We are not going anywhere! Instead, we are going to gather those who made the exodus back in the 1960s and bring them back, and we will not stop until we fill this party to the brim with those African Americans who have a right to be here!
So if you don't like it, go find yourselves another party! Because the true birthers of the GOP are on their way back to the Party of Lincoln "we" birthed, to reclaim our place and our birthright!"
Farewell Republican tare, farewell!
Amen! So be it! OPEN the doors of the GOP to let the tare OUT!
"The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him." [Ecclesiastes 8:5, 6]
Let the Republican Issachar(s) among us, those who are men and women of great courage and valor, who also know the proper time and season and what to do, and whose numbers are not few, seize this moment. Lest we lose our Grand Ole Party to the tare, who have no place among us!
Let the tare return to the Democratic Party from which they fled! ...And if the Democrats no longer want them, let them form their own party. Either way, it is the TIME and the SEASON to open the doors of our Grand Ole Party and welcome the tare that for a time and a season has been allowed to grow among us, to leave and to find somewhere else to thrive. For why should those who labored and brought forth this Grand Ole Party be intimidated and leave? Instead let them be the ones to take flight!
As the membership of the National Republican African American Caucus reclaim our birthright, we have the right to say to the tare, "Leave! Go someplace else. Any place, other than the Republican Party - the Party of Lincoln! ...Because you know what? We shall no longer keep silent! Nor are we going to tolerate the foolish! We are not going anywhere! Instead, we are going to gather those who made the exodus back in the 1960s and bring them back, and we will not stop until we fill this party to the brim with those African Americans who have a right to be here!
So if you don't like it, go find yourselves another party! Because the true birthers of the GOP are on their way back to the Party of Lincoln "we" birthed, to reclaim our place and our birthright!"
Farewell Republican tare, farewell!
Amen! So be it! OPEN the doors of the GOP to let the tare OUT!
To reach the NRAAC national chair:
Jean Howard-Hill
423-702-5622 NRAAC office
nraachowardhill@gmail.com
Jean.howard.hill@gmail.com
Jean Howard-Hill
423-702-5622 NRAAC office
nraachowardhill@gmail.com
Jean.howard.hill@gmail.com
[Dr. Jean Howard-Hill is the author of Black Eyes Shut, White Lips Sealed. She has serves as the national chair for the National Black Republican Women with her late husband, Attorney Bobby Lee Hill serving as the head of the Black Republican Men for Change from 1987 to his death in 1991. After his death up until 1993, she remained head of the organization, and in 1999 combined the two groups to form the National Republican African American Caucus.
She has taught full time and as an adjunct, American Government, State and Local Government, and International Politics and Culture of Nonwestern Countries at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and was voted 2006 Outstanding Professor of the year. Additionally, from 1976 to 1979, she designed and directed the "Democracy In Action" Program, which was a civics program taught in the local school systems. Howard-Hill also is a local political commentator and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law. She also is ordained clergy and heads The Healing Place Ministries International, overseeing 47 ministries throughout Africa.
She has taught full time and as an adjunct, American Government, State and Local Government, and International Politics and Culture of Nonwestern Countries at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and was voted 2006 Outstanding Professor of the year. Additionally, from 1976 to 1979, she designed and directed the "Democracy In Action" Program, which was a civics program taught in the local school systems. Howard-Hill also is a local political commentator and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law. She also is ordained clergy and heads The Healing Place Ministries International, overseeing 47 ministries throughout Africa.
She also is a TN third district congressional candidate. If elected, she would be the first African American Republican and female to be elected from the third district. Her campaign website can be found at: http://ladyjforcongress.com and http://jeanhowardhillforcongress.com; http://jeanhowardhillcampaignnews.blogspot.com; http://blogwithladyjforcongress.blogspot.com; http://jeanhowardhillforcongress.ning.com; http://www.youtube.com/JHHCongress; http://twitter.com/ JHHCongress.]
The National Republican African-American Caucus is an organization that is comprised of Spirit filled people of faith within the African American community, that works in conjunction with local, state and national party efforts to embrace, and offer African-American Republicans opportunities for inclusion and involvement in the Republican Party, and builds bridges between the African-American community and the Republican Party. In doing so, it seeks to carry out the philosophy and mission set before President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas to build a stronger and more inclusive Republican Party, where those guiding principles are more important than politics.
More information on the NRAACcan be found at:
More information on the NRAACcan be found at:
http://www.nraacaucus.org; http://nraacaucus.ning.com [NRAAC] National Republican African American Caucus Social Issue Network (members only); http://nraac.blogspot.com [NRAAC Blog]; http://youthonthehorizons.blogspot.com [NRAAC Youth on the Horizons Blog]; http://the-twig.blogspot.com [NRAAC New Generation-New Direction Blog]; and
http://theblackolivebranch.blogspot.com [NRAAC National Chair's Blog]. Each State Caucus can be accessed by state. See related links at http://www.nraacaucus.org/index_files/Page816.htm. Also can be found on the RNC group page at http://our.gop.com/Groups/National_Republican_African-American_Caucus_NRAAC.
http://theblackolivebranch.blogspot.com [NRAAC National Chair's Blog]. Each State Caucus can be accessed by state. See related links at http://www.nraacaucus.org/index_files/Page816.htm. Also can be found on the RNC group page at http://our.gop.com/Groups/National_Republican_African-American_Caucus_NRAAC.
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