Is Obama's Church Racist and Anti-Middle Class?
- From: noobamadrama@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 16:01:00 -0700 (PDT)
See link below for Trinity United Church of Christ's Black Value
System. There are no links to this page from the main website, but
only references to it.
http://www.tucc.org/black_value_system.html
Full text below.
Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System,
written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee, chaired by the late
Vallmer Jordan in 1981.
Dr. Manford Byrd, our brother in Christ, withstood the ravage of being
denied his earned ascension to the number one position in the Chicago
School System. His dedication to the pursuit of excellence, despite
systematic denials, has inspired the congregation of Trinity United
Church of Christ. Prayerfully, we have called upon the wisdom of all
past generations of suffering Blacks for guidance in fashioning an
instrument of Black self-determination, the Black Value System.
Beginning in 1982, an annual Black Value System – Educational
Scholarship in the name of Dr. Byrd was instituted. The first
recipient of the Dr. Manford Byrd Award, which is given annually to
the man or woman who best exemplifies the Black Value System, was our
brother, Dr. Manford Byrd.
These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches,
nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They consist of
the following concepts:
1. Commitment to God. “The God of our weary years” will give us
the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian
Activists, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all
humankind.
2. Commitment to the Black Community. The highest level of
achievement for any Black person must be a contribution of strength
and continuity of the Black Community.
3. Commitment to the Black Family. The Black family circle must
generate strength, stability and love, despite the uncertainty of
externals, because these characteristics are required if the
developing person is to withstand warping by our racist competitive
society.
Those Blacks who are blessed with membership in a strong family
unit must reach out and expand that blessing to the less fortunate.
4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education. We must forswear anti-
intellectualism. Continued survival demands that each Black person be
developed to the utmost of his/her mental potential despite the
inadequacies of the formal education process. “Real education”
fosters understanding of ourselves as well as every aspect of our
environment. Also, it develops within us the ability to fashion
concepts and tools for better utilization of our resources, and more
effective solutions to our problems. Since the majority of Blacks
have been denied such learning, Black Education must include elements
that produce high school graduates with marketable skills, a trade or
qualifications for apprenticeships, or proper preparation for college.
Basic education for all Blacks should include Mathematics,
Science, Logic, General Semantics, Participative Politics, Economics
and Finance, and the Care and Nurture of Black minds.
5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence. To the extent that we
individually reach for, even strain for excellence, we increase,
geometrically, the value and resourcefulness of the Black Community.
We must recognize the relativity of one’s best; this year’s best can
be bettered next year. Such is the language of growth and
development. We must seek to excel in every endeavor.
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic. “It is becoming harder to
find qualified people to work in Chicago.” Whether this is true or
not, it represents one of the many reasons given by businesses and
industries for deserting the Chicago area. We must realize that a
location with good facilities, adequate transportation and a
reputation for producing skilled workers will attract industry. We
are in competition with other cities, states and nations for jobs.
High productivity must be a goal of the Black workforce.
7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect. To accomplish
anything worthwhile requires self-discipline. We must be a community
of self-disciplined persons if we are to actualize and utilize our own
human resources, instead of perpetually submitting to exploitation by
others. Self-discipline, coupled with a respect for self, will enable
each of us to be an instrument of Black Progress and a model for Black
Youth.
8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness.” Classic
methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must be able
to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those
who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might
threaten the captor’s control.
Those so identified are separated from the rest of the people
by:
1. Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social
system that encourages them to kill off one another.
2. Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an
economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and
prisons.
3. Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which,
while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into
believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in
terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us.”
4. So, while it is permissible to chase “middleclassness”
with all our might, we must avoid the third separation method – the
psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness.” If we avoid this
snare, we will also diminish our “voluntary” contributions to methods
A and B. And more importantly, Black people no longer will be
deprived of their birthright: the leadership, resourcefulness and
example of their own talented persons.
9. Pledge to Make the Fruits of All Developing and Acquired Skills
Available to the Black Community.
10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources
for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions.
11. Pledge Allegiance to All Black Leadership Who Espouse and
Embrace the Black Value System.
12. Personal Commitment to Embracement of the Black Value System.
To measure the worth and validity of all activity in terms of positive
contributions to the general welfare of the Black Community and the
Advancement of Black People towards freedom.
.
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