QUOTES OF THE WEEK FROM RANDLE JENNINGS

Words of Wisdom from Rev. Randle Jennings

“If we are to truly grow and go forward, we must acknowledge our role in the past, regardless how ugly it was.  I have heard quite a few people say, ‘Why should we keep bringing up the past?’  The same reason we remember the Lord’s Supper, the Holocaust, Jimmie Rodgers, the Lockheed Shootings, and 9-11, just to name a few.”

“… those who plant seeds of injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will end!”

                                                                                                                                Rev. Randle L. Jennings

Another quote from Randle Jennings:

“I commend the Meridian Star family to recognize their actions and to openly admit some of the damage it caused by not reporting actual facts which could have been stated…”

“Who knows, information not mentioned, could have caused many who ended up compromising, the ability to stand and not give in to the pressure inflicted….”

In these statements, Rev. Jennings was referring to the civil rights movement and how The Meridian Star did not report facts which were critical to the truth being portrayed about the civil rights movement and what was happening to the black people, and Fredie Carmichael's editorial apologizing for that.

It makes me wonder how many people would not have died, had The Meridian Star printed the truth. It also strikes me as pretty late for The Meridian Star to print that apology, in light of the fact that it is easy to print an apology when it is years later, when most of the people who would kill you for printing the truth back then are dead, and there is a black president who was just elected.

MORE COMMENTARY ON THIS SUBJECT:

A writer named Janet Shan had this to say about The Meridian Star’s "apology," which was written because of the election and imminent inauguration of Barack Obama, our first black president:

“Funny, it seems that since Barack Obama will be inaugurated as our first African American president, everyone is suddenly getting a conscience and apologizing for past racist behavior.”

Then she talked about The Meridian Star’s apology and printed the full text.  Some of her comments afterwards were:

“It seems to me that they should not have waited until we have our first African American president to apologize for their racism.”

“The Meridian Star and all those newspapers that promoted racism should be ashamed of themselves.”

Right on, Ms. Shan. 

True heroism in journalism (and, let’s face it, the right thing to do) calls for printing the truth when it is dangerous, unpopular, not “politically correct,” and could "cost you."  True journalistic integrity calls for printing the truth when it would make you unpopular or put you at risk.  NOT 40 or 50 years later—anyone can do that.   True journalistic integrity calls for printing all of the FACTS, even if they are associated with or coming from a person or persons whom you may personally not like, for whatever reason.  It's nice that perhaps Fredie Carmichael had an attack of conscience over that, but why doesn’t Fredie Carmichael "stick his neck out" now, and report the truth about what happened (and is still happening) to Christ’s Church In Action?  Is he going to wait another 40 or 50 years, after people are dead and more children are hurt, and then write his lame apology?

Does Fredie Carmichael really mean the words he wrote in the following paragraph, taken from his article of apology?

 “Current management understands while we can't go back and undo some past wrongs, we can offer our sincere apology -- and promise never again to neglect our responsibility to inform you, our readers, about the human rights and dignity every individual is entitled to in America -- no matter their religion, their ethnic background or the color of their skin.” 

How can he say that when he works for the very newspaper (The Meridian Star) that did not report on a church arson, refused to report any facts about a police and mayoral cover-up of that arson as well as other heinous crimes committed, and is refusing to report about religious bigotry and discrimination which is happening in that city to this very day?   The same newspaper who has blocked people from Christ’s Church In Action from attending public events, and who won’t allow members/attendees of that church to even run a classified ad?

People in Meridian, Mississippi will say that they are not discriminating, yet sometimes the only connection with people who have been kicked out of coffeeshops and restaurants, after having never said or done anything, is that they attend church at Christ’s Church In Action.  Isn’t it a coincidence (NOT!) that some of the people at Christ’s Church In Action are the ones trying to bring to light the evidence against the former mayor and others in his administration, and that the former mayor was friends with the publisher of The Meridian Star, Crystal Dupre? 

Personally, even though I am an atheist, I don’t care how much of a friend you are, if you were my friend and you had committed crimes, I would make sure that you paid your debt to society.  I’m not going to break the law for anyone--hiding a crime when you have knowledge of that crime, IS a crime—it’s called misprision of felony.

ON THAT NOTE, SOME ENCOURAGING NEWS:

I have received word that some people are standing up for the truth in Meridian, Mississippi.  It will be interesting to see what happens; maybe the good people are sick and tired of what has been going on there.  Maybe finally, evil won’t succeed, because decent human beings decided to do something.