Community, God made all of us and all races of people.

Last month, we celebrated “Black History” month. Now this morning, when you say something loud you are saying something; or you ought to be saying something. When you say something loud you draw attention to what you are saying. People will listen to the message. To see if what you’re saying is positive or negative, and it can have an impact good or bad; which is why any message that we say loud we need to make sure that the message resonates or else we’re just talking loudly and saying nothing!

This morning we need to establish the fact that anybody can talk loud. The fool can holler loud — the ignorant person can talk loud. We hear people talk loud all the time, and most of the time what they are saying could be kept. You hear people all the time talking loud using obscene and foul language. You hear loud music booming vibrating the ground it is so loud in what they call music. Language speaking loud, demeaning women, calling them names beneath who they are — curse words you don’t hear in Sunday School.

Sad to say, some parents use foul language on their children. A little of over a week ago in one of our local neighborhoods here I pulled up to a stop sign and stopped. Across from me and the road I saw a young lady and a little girl. I don’t know what happened but she had the little girl on the ground hitting and cursing her at the same time, using some vulgar language. It disturbed me greatly — as a people we need to understand that people will judge us by what they see and hear from us. What we say, how we say it, say a lot about us; if the language I use is nothing but obscene language then people will not think very much of who I am, and that’s my fault.

For we all know that a person who steals is a thief. A person who tell lies is a liar. A person who runs around is a whoremonger. A person who kills is a murderer; no reason to get offended; folk who lie do not want to be called a liar. They don’t mind lying, they just don’t want to be called a liar! People who steals don’t like the label of being called a thief! But if you steal that’s who you are. Child molesters don’t want to be called a pedophile, but if the shoe fit, then they have to wear it. You’ve got to call a spade a spade; people who are a hypocrite do not want to be called one; people will identify us by what we live and what we say.

That’s why, when we say something loud, we ought to be saying good, powerful, uplifting and positive; and if God don’t get no glory from it, then we don’t need to be saying it (1 Cor 10:31). Even some professed Christians need their mouth washed out with the soap of the Holy Ghost.

“Black History Month” is set aside to celebrate the contributions and achievements that African Americans have made to this country of our United States; we have a proud history and heritage; we have had some of the most brilliant minds that God ever created; we have royal blood running through our veins.

As a youngster growing up in the 1960’s I remember clearly how proud I was when I heard the R&B song by the late James Brown that said “Say it loud…I’m black and I’m proud.”

It was an anthem for African Americans as to who we were and our color as a race of people. I was proud of Mr. Brown’s boldness to sing that publicly in a song at that time. In the 60’s there was racial tension, protests and discrimination; the African Americans marched for civil rights; those who spoke out against racial discrimination and injustice were often jailed or murdered.

So, when Mr. Brown sang that song not only did it groove me, it moved me. It was played on local radio stations owned by Caucasian owners. My thought was “Would other races of people be offended by the song?” but I played that song repeatedly and it made my chest stick out; why? Because I was black, and after hearing that I was proud!

But I must admit, today, that a lot of what I see among African Americans today I am not proud of. And I don’t want to say it loud; I am not proud when I see our young African American’s pictures plastered across the 6:00 news with orange suits on for committing burglary, robbery, rape and murder; the senseless shootings and killings as a result of black on black crime among our young boys. I don’t want to say that loud!

I am not proud when I see our young black men packing their pockets with guns but not packing their brain with some learning. Please somebody, don’t say that loud. I am not proud of the unemployment decline among our African American males; meaning that when our men don’t work they can’t support their children; then they resort to other means of getting finances including drugs, gangs, breaking and entering. That don’t make us proud.

But we are proud of Shirley Chisolm the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968…Dr Ben Carson the American retired neurosurgeon and politician and others. In “Black History Month” we do have a proud heritage. “Say it loud…we’re black and we’re proud.”