Black lives matter?

Why won’t we stop killing each other?

By John W. Fountain

Black lives matter?

What about young black men slain by young black men? Or is it only black males slain by white men?

When will local and national protests begin for the senseless killing of Demario Bailey, 15, shot dead a week ago Saturday by would-be robbers? His four alleged killers look just like him: young, male and black.

Surely they must have seen news of protests in response to grand jury decisions to not indict white police officers for killing Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York. Surely, they must have caught wind of protestors’ chants:

“Black lives matter!”

“I can’t breathe.”

Surely they must have noticed Demario’s chocolate skin and brown eyes. Realized that he was unmistakably their “brother.”

THE SWEET SEASON - CLICK on Photo Below for More

Where Was the Church on Bloody Sunday?

By John W. Fountain

This is the second in an occasional series titled Chiraq.

    On “Bloody Sunday” in Chiraq, where was “the church”? What were her prayers? Her hopes for those who dwell amid the gunfire and bloodshed here that has turned some neighborhoods into war zones?

Did she cower in the shadows of the crosses that hang in the sanctuary, behind the safe confines of the walls, out of harm’s way? Did the church spill into the streets by the thousands armed with the Gospel message of hope and peace?

Or did she sit silent, complacent and complicit amid the mounting carnage of this human rights atrocity occurring right underneath the church’s nose, near its front doorsteps?

I'm So Chicago...

By John W. Fountain

July 21, 2014

I'm so Chicago. ...I remember a time when we were a community... a time before crack cocaine, before drive-by shootings and children being struck by stray bullets inside their homes... A time when everyone went to church on Sunday morning and the smell of Sunday dinner wafted through the neighborhood. A time when churches were connected to our community and vital, and mega churches and prosperity doctrine were an obscenity to us all...

I'm so Chicago I remember tent revivals, the glow of light from the big top and the call to all to simply “come”... I remember when “Mr.” And “Mrs.” were every adult’s first name. ....and young people respected their elders, would never even say a curse word within earshot. I remember when we were more neighborly, less hateful and jealous of one another and understood the value of education. A time when teachers carried themselves like they were ambassadors of precious hope and promise. A time when parent-teacher conferences were crowded and earning bad grades was a disgrace.

I'm so Chicago I remember the time when it was shameful to have a child out of wedlock and some pregnant girls were sent Down South... a time before sagging when young men wore belts and we're taught to open doors and what it meant to be a real man... A time when twerking was unheard of, when modesty was the norm… A time before half-naked selfies, accentuated by duck lips and the kind of tastelessness once ascribed only to women of the night and that now is exhibited across generations—from babies to grandmothers.

New Project! THE TRANSFORMERS: MOVING BEYOND THE WALLS

ABOUT THE PROJECT: "The Transformers" is a collection of documentary snapshots that examine the work of members of the faith community across the nation. They are believers who are moving beyond the walls of the institutional church with a heart to impact community by prayer, faith and action. Among them is True Vine Ministries in Oakland California, whose pastor, the  Reverend Zachary Carey founded S.A.V.E.--Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere. 

Ranging from mobile soup kitchens to a Washington, D.C.-based ministry that seeks to help young women ensnared by the sex slave trade to other innovative hands-on approaches, they collectively represent a model for how others may put their faith and passion into action. Journalist, Professor and Chicago Sun-Times columnist John W. Fountain chronicles these efforts here and in a forthcoming project titled, "The Transformers."

It Takes A Father

By John W. Fountain

It takes a father. We must reclaim, revive, rebuild, and restore the village: One child, one father, one family at a time. For the village is broken, deeply broken.

Shattered, it lies in ruins—spiritually, morally, socially. Our communities breathe on life support. Children murder children. And a generation sits complicit and largely silent, our heads buried in sinking sand.

We routinely bury our young, slain in an increasingly vicious “village” filled with gunfire that rises as surely as the morning sun and the wail of grieving mothers. A village whose streets flow with too much blood, with too many tears. And yet, not with enough outrage, conviction, resolve.

Not with enough faithful, functioning, full-proof fathers.