My Ethnic Day

I have wondered for awhile about the identities of persons I make contact with during the day. On a trip to New York last September, I found out how diverse my encounters are. Some are missing.

7:30 am Robert F. Kennedy Tool Booth, NYC - A black woman took my bridge crossing fee
8:00 am - Purchased food at Dunkin Donuts - A Guyanese woman took my money and order.
8:05 am - A black Jamaican woman handed me my food order.
8:30 am - Arrived at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Springfield Gardens, Queens, NY. Will be with this African Descent Congregation for the next six hours.
9:38 am - Spoke to Jamaican/American man about parking in church parking lot.
10:00 am - Greeted several NYC police officers along congregation parade route, 4 whites, 3 blacks, all males.
4:00 pm - A black woman checked my rental car in at LaGuardia Airport, NYC
4:10pm - A black male drove the rental shuttle
4:12 pm - Had a brief conversation with a white couple in the shuttle. I initiated it.
4:20 pm - Latino woman processed my rental car return
5:59 pm - My bartender was Equdorian  (male) at LaGuardia Airport.
6:04 pm - Had brief exchange with a white male at the bar about the Beatles hit, Eight Days A Week, which was background music. I initiated conversation.
6:16 pm - Conversation with Guyanese male at bar. He initiated conversation.
7:00 pm - Indian woman directed me to TSA line
7:05 pm - Interact with black male, white female, and black woman TSA agents
7:30 pm - Boarded flight, greeted by white woman flight attendant
7:35 pm - Greeted Mexican seating partner
9:30 pm - paid parking fee to black woman attendant in Columbia, SC

ELDER BROTHER BILL JONES

Elder Brother Bill Jones, the Co-founder and Chairman of the First World Alliance Lecture Series made his transition to the ancestral realm while at St. Luke's Hospital in Harlem, NY, December 17, 2010. It has been almost three years, and his presence lingers. Through Bill's leadership (and Sister Keffa's) The First World Alliance introduced millions of people to the works of Dr. Josef ben Jochannan, Dr. John H. Clarke, Dr. Asa Hilliard III, Dr. Leonard Jefferies, Dr. Francis Cress Welsing, Brother James Smalls , Dr, Rosaline Jefferies and many other fine Africana scholars. Bill founded a school for Africana studies at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, where I served as pastor. I was host and student. In the 80s we spoke almost weekly. I am not sure who was the sounding board. Bill Jones was deeply committed to publishing and publicizing the African origin and roots of a wide variety of thought, achievements, and cultural contributions. Bill wanted his students (peers, strangers) to know the rich history and traditions of Black Africans. He has left a rich legacy.

Blogging From Ghana

I arrived in Accra, Ghana for a four month stay, September 7, 2013. I am Visiting Professor of Church and Ministry at Good News Theological College and Seminary. Good News is a school founded in the 1970s to serve the educational needs of pastors and lay leaders of African Independent churches.

This morning, while I prepared a cup of coffee I heard the voices of small children. Glancing out  the kitchen window I saw four boys and a girl foraging in the bush. I asked the housekeeper (yes the college employees housekeepers) what were they up to. She reported that the children were collecting snails. The children were collecting snails for a meal.