This letter is part of our "Letters to Our Ancestors" project. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, we've asked members of our community to share their own letters to our forefathers. With these letters, we hope to look back on the progress our community has made...

I will never forget my first time. It was the day that I became a man.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a bright and sunny day, reminiscent of the early days of spring. It was actually late fall in Houston, November, to be exact. I...

Growing up as a child in the mid-1980's, my friends and I practically lived outside!

We played football, I most commonly with the distinction of being "all-time quarterback" while guiding both teams on historic drives up and down our street. We raced our bikes downhill only to ascend the hill...

On Wednesday, July 18th, George Zimmerman, presently awaiting trial for the murder of seventeen year old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, introduced a strange, yet not altogether foreign theological argument in justification of his actions in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Zimmerman theologized...

A maximum security prison is an unlikely destination when seeking a transformative encounter with God. Yet, I recently experienced God as never before amid high fences, barbed wire, legions of guards and multiple checkpoints, while in the company of extraordinary men and women.

Last week, I attended the Fund...

Two years ago, in celebration of his son Justin Dior Combs' sixteenth birthday, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs purchased for him a $360,000 silver Maybach. The media promptly attacked Mr. Combs for his benevolence towards his child. Mr. Combs was accused of setting a poor example for Justin by giving him...

Symbols have long been important for religious and spiritual reflection. These symbols have been employed to provide greater understanding to transcendent truths, to provide comfort amid chaos, and to inspire the faithful to put their faith to action towards the common good. Many times, these symbols have emerged from rather...

My only son turned five years old last week. He is a handsome, articulate, energetic, intelligent, fun-loving and gentle young man. He is the apple of my eye!

There's only one problem; he is Black.

And as his father, I am challenged to do for him what generations of...

Many historians suggest that at least three decades must elapse before one can rightly discern the enduring legacy of an emerging trend or historical occurrence. Having now crossed the thirty year old threshold, I have recently given much thought to the lived-in realities that define my generation, and even the...

Last Sunday, I encountered an unusual blessing; human excrement adorning the cold morning pavement. I did not, however, receive it initially as the great blessing that it was.

As I arrived to church early Sunday morning, I noticed that our dumpster had been disturbed. This is not...

One of the most highly anticipated births in recent memory has now taken place. Shawn Carter, better known by his rap pseudonym, Jay-Z, and Beyonce Knowles have given birth to their first child, a daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, who entered the world weighing seven pounds on Saturday, January 7th at...

The darkest day on the American calendar is aptly named Black Friday.

No other day so vividly captures the travesty that is the American consumer culture. In recent years, Black Friday has wrought in-store fights and has left dozens injured or trampled to death as crowds are moved into...

Few artistic expressions possess as much personal meaning for me as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Anytime I listen to the album, I am transported back in time, back to my college years, back to the blossoming of new love (When dating my wife, our first song was "Nothing Even...

Last Sunday, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was formally dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Thousands bore witness to the dedication of the first memorial to a non-U.S. President and the first to an African American on the National Mall. A tremendous debt of gratitude is owed...

I will never forget the moment that I saw my daughter's heart beating inside her chest.

Two years ago, an equality of estrogen and testosterone returned to our expanding household with the birth of our beautiful daughter. Several months prior to her birth, during a prenatal visit to the...

I did not watch the fight.

After a week in attendance at a conference, I was seeking to relax quietly at home. Then social media went abuzz. An on-line debate concerning sportsmanship began to blaze across my screen; an intense, polarizing debate.

Curious as to the impetus for...

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, I was a senior political science and religious studies double major at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. I was anxiously anticipating the completion of my senior year so that I could begin seminary. Still inspired by my previous month's travel to England to attend...

I love hip-hop!

I love hip-hop music. I love hip-hop fashion. I love hip-hop culture. A multi-racial, multi-lingual, international phenomenon, hip-hop is arguably the most significant cultural and artistic movement of the last forty years.

I am a proud member of the hip-hop generation, defined by Bakari Kitwana,...

Seven years ago this Sunday, I stood at the foot of the hallowed altar of a stunningly beautiful chapel donning tails, anxiously peering down a seemingly endless aisle, greatly anticipating the swinging forth of towering doors and the grand entrance of my bride. Today, my memory recalls many snapshots of...

An unexpected day's delay in recent airline travel provided an experiential backdrop that gave insight into the ineffectiveness of zero tolerance policies in public education. Scheduled for a 12:45pm departure, my plane was grounded due to a door malfunction. I rescheduled my flight for departure the next morning. This...