“Be the better person. Let your actions be your poet. Be the bigger person. Everybody will know it.”

–The Leadership By Example Collection™

This bookmark is a brief excerpt that comes from a poem I penned shortly after the 1992 “civil unrest” that erupted in South Central Los Angeles after the pugnacious gang of Los Angeles police officers — who brutally beat Rodney King in 1991 — were all inexplicably “acquitted” and found “not guilty” by an “all-white” jury from Simi Valley, California.

Only by the grace of God, did Mr. George Holliday, an innocent bystander armed with a camera, have the presence of mind to capture this egregious act of police brutality on video tape. Hmmm. Let’s talk about innovative ways that we can become “proactive” instead of always being “reactive.”

Never forget that the cunning one who knows how to “make you mad” will become the oppressive agitator who will always — deliberately and with premeditation — find a way to “control” you and your mind to evoke yet another impulsive, knee-jerk reaction.

It’s time for the next generation of leaders to learn how to “turn the tables” in a proactive, non-violent manner so our dignified, unified actions can steer all God’s children away from the clear and present danger that’s still relentlessly stalking their gifted souls.

Quick question. Do you have the “inner core strength of character” that’s needed in order to take a bold, courageous stand in the menacing face of Adversity without fainting? Has “Struggle” made you strong enough to take a stand long enough to be the better person during such a heart-breaking season as this? Difficult? Most definitely! Impossibe? Not!

“Impossible ain’t nothing but a word to God.”

It’s a crying shame that, after so many years and wasted tears, power still concedes nothing without a struggle. I don’t know about you but I’m so sick and tired of watching our grieving mothers crying over the lifeless bodies of little children who are still dying for nothing.

Copyright © 1994-2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

“Dear Mr. President,” by Pink, is one of those rare music videos that stirs the soul as it tugs at our hearts. Matters not if you’re a Democrat or a Republican. Click on the highlighted words “Dear Mr. President” to watch Pink’s video.

Pink, our “politically corrected” leaders could learn a lot from you if only they’d slow their roll and listen to the voice of reason. It’s a shame the mainstream media, radio stations, and television stations refuse play a song that’s filled with so much relevancy, honesty, and truth.

Kudos to Mr. Jimmy Kimmel for letting Pink perform “Dear Mr. President” on his show.

Pink, as a sign of respect, I tip my hat to you for having the courage, the compassion, the empathy to write such a powerful, insightful, thought-provoking song for such a season as this.

Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

GRACE is when God gives us what we don’t deserve.

I agree with Ms. Paula Neal Mooney’s recent post that Mr. Genarlow Wilson does not deserve to be locked up in prison and shackled to felony charges for engaging in the same consensual sexual activity that many grown folk were guilty of committing as teenagers. Imagine how different your life would be today had you’d been arrested at such a crucial age and critical stage of your personal development, accused of being a sexual predator, convicted of a felony, and sentenced to serve a 10-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

MERCY is when God doesn’t gives us what we do deserve.

Genarlow Wilson does deserve to be set free absent any further delay because it’s the right thing to do. In fact, a member of the judicial system reversed his conviction and agreed to release Mr. Wilson. But Georgia’s Attorney General, Mr. Thurbert Baker, appealed the judge’s decision. Alas, a 17 year old child remains locked up and locked down in a prison cell. Genarlow’s mother, Ms. Juanessa Bennett, understandably was devastated. I can only imagine how his mother must feel.

For reasons now known, I’m heading over to the Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Georgia to participate in the West Metro NAACP Branch march and rally because what happened to Mr. Genarlow Wilson could have happened to me when I was a 17-year old high school student doing what teenagers do before we knew better.

For those of you in the Atlanta metropolitan area who still don’t know where to go, but want to participate, click on the West Metro NAACP for directions and additional information about today’s activities. This post will be revised and completed with appropriate links upon my return from the Douglas County Courthouse where D.A. J. David McDade currently serves.

Ms. Kimberly Alexander, president of the West Metro NAACP Branch, and Ms. B. J. Bernstein, Genarlow’s attorney, both deserve a standing ovation for their relentless, diligent efforts to ensure that Genarlow is free to pursue his big dreams. Both of these wise women of substance deserves all the love and respect we, as men, can give them for taking a bold stand for justice and daring to speak truth to power in love.

Please note that Ms. Bernstein and Ms. Alexander are not standing alone. Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and State Senator Vincent Fort are just one of the many distinguished clergy members, political leaders, civil rights and community activists who are also courageously fighting to free Genarlow Wilson absent any further delay.

Click on “Free Genarlow Wilson” to sign the online petition.

As a sign of respect, I tip my hat to all of you for refusing to faint in the menacing face of Adversity while standing in the path of a clear and present danger. Gotta go to ensure my timely arrival.

– TO BE CONTINUED –

Copyright by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.