I have a buddy named Errol Jackson who lives in Oakland, CA. Errol called me not asking me but telling me that he and a couple of brothers were coming to Los Angeles with a truck load of items that our brothers and sisters who lost their homes in the Altadena fire may need. I can’t even pretend, initially I was totally thrown off, with all of the hell there dealing with in Oakland why was he going to drive from Oakland to LA to deliver a truck load of things to a number of people they didn’t know. And when you add to that this wasn’t LA proper, this was a small community that most people were totally unfamiliar with. Then it hit me, it was Black on Black love.
Isn’t that deep? These brothers were coming to help our people, and I was questioning that! Isn’t that sad, before I could catch myself, the “American” came out of me. I can hear you saying to yourselves just where in the world am I going with that statement, well let me tell you. You do know it’s the American in us that gives us pause when someone offers to lend a hand and try to do something nice for us.
It’s the American in us that teaches us to always look behind the curtain to see what’s really going on concerning kindness. It’s the American in us that questions kindness and to always look for the cheat-in when someone does something nice for us. It’s the American in us that is always looking for the quid pro quo, you know what I’m talking about, a favor or advantage granted if I do this for you, America asks what’s in it for me. America’s felon and chief showed us this in real time, quid pro quo by pardoning criminals from the January 6th riot in Washington, DC with the goal only to secure their loyalty. That’s being American, not Black.
These brothers weren’t acting American they were acting Black and showing Black on Black love in action. One of the brothers Errol introduced me to was Pastor Derrick Mann, Pastor of Living Water Outreach. And I just had to ask him, “So why are you all coming down here? Do you have a family member or a friend that lost their home in Altadena?” This brother said to me, “People should not do good to be seen, but should be seen doing good.”
Pastor Mann launched his They Care organization which is dedicated to bringing visibility to organizations, philanthropists, community supporters, and ministries that are doing notable things in the world. Erroll said to me, “We’re living in unusual times where we’re overlooking that kindness is free.” We had so much stuff that we were able to not only help those in Altadena, but we were able to deliver items to Bishop Byron Smith, pastor of Gethsemane Christian Love Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the Eaton fire roared through Altadena, gobbling up over 9,000 buildings of which 6,000 were homes, homes mostly owned by Black people. Before you diehard integrationists get all worked up, I know people of other cultures lost their homes, businesses and faith institution, but this article, like Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, is a Black thing!
Continuing in that spirit of Black love, the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center is partnering with Lift International Church, pastored by Rev. Anthony McFarland and together they will host “A Gathering of Love Luncheon” at the church to support some of the senior citizens affected by the Altadena wildfire. This isn’t just a luncheon, but it’s an opportunity for our seniors to sit down and have a good meal and enjoy themselves and know that they are loved and not forgotten.
Black people let’s not forget that this recovery effort is going to take years. Long after the cameras have gone, the lawsuits have been filed, the fight for fair and just reimbursements along with the struggle to rebuild homes and lives is going to take a long time. We can’t forget, our greatest challenge will be the rebuilding of our people. It’s during these dark and difficult days that as a community, a Black community, we must come together not only to address the trash, but the tragedy and the human toll of this inferno.
Let’s not suffer historical amnesia of what happened to our people in New Orleans during Katrina, many of our people are still suffering both physically and mentally from that catastrophic event. Black people we can’t get caught up in American episodic moments but together build a Black movement to rebuild and restore the lives of those people in Altadena.
I believe, like Ella Baker, she believed in the sacredness of Black life and in the power of love to transform communities, she believed in Black-on-Black love. Martin Luther King, Jr., believed that power and love should work together to create justice and a better world. He said that power without love is dangerous and abusive, while love without power is weak and sentimental.
I read in the Odu’ Ifa’when speaking of our responsibility to one another, “Those whose turn it is to take responsibility for the world they should do good for the world when it becomes your turn to take responsibility for the world you should do good for the world. May I bear the burden well. And may I do good for the world.” It seems to me Black community, and Black people, its our turn!
