Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 9-7-18

National
Georgia Pastor Stands By Controversial Aretha Franklin Eulogy
ATLANTA (AP) — A fiery, old-school pastor who is under fire for saying black America is losing “its soul” at Aretha Franklin’s funeral stands firm by his words with the hope critics can under- stand his perspective.
Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr. told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday he felt his sermon was appro- priate at Franklin’s funeral Friday in Detroit. He felt his timing was right, especially after other speakers spoke on the civil rights movement and President Donald Trump.
“I was trying to show that the movement now is moving and should move in a differ- ent direction,” he said. “... What we need to do is create respect among ourselves. Aretha is the person with that song ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T’ that is laid out for us and whatweneedtobeasarace within ourselves. We need to show each other that. We need to show each other re- spect. That was the reason why I did it.”
Williams, who is the pastor of Salem Bible Church
ALPHARETTA, GA - Mid- dle School Chronicles book se- ries author, 16-year-old Essynce Moore, is the first teen to have her books in schools as a mandatory read- ing and a part of some schools’ curricula all around the world.
Essynce’s books are be- coming more and more popu- lar with even teachers and students reaching out to Es- synce in hopes to get her books in their classrooms and to have her visit their school to speak in-person to the stu- dents.
Laura Thomson, an 8th grade reading teacher from South Allegheny Middle School in Pennsylvania, called the Essynce Couture telephone line with her class, hoping that they would have a chance to speak directly with Essynce. Her momager answered and
REV. JASPER WILLIAMS, JR.
in Atlanta, said his words about black women being in- capable of raising sons alone were taken out of context. He described as “abortion after birth” the idea of children being raised without a “provider” father and a mother as the “nurturer.”
Many thought Williams took a shot at Franklin, who was a single mother of four boys. But the pastor said a household can become stronger with two parents rather than one.
“Here’s the root of what
I’ve been talking about: In order to change America, we must change Black America’s culture,” he said. “We must do it through parenting. In order for the parenting to go forth, it has to be done in the home. The home.”
Williams also received backlash for his thoughts about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Some called Williams’ eulogy a “disaster” as his speech caused an uproar on social media and in the fu- neral crowd, including Ste- vie Wonder who yelled out “Black Lives Matter” after the pastor said “No, Black lives do not matter” during his sermon.
“I think Stevie Wonder did not understand what I said,” Williams said. “I said Blacks do not matter, be- cause black lives cannot mat- ter, will not matter, should not matter, must not matter until Black people begin to respect their own lives. Then and only then will Black lives matter. That’s what I said, and again, and again, and again. We need to have re- spect for each other. Once we
start doing that, then we can begin to change.”
Some questioned why he was chosen to honor Franklin. The pastor, who eulogized Franklin’s father, minister and civil rights ac- tivist C. L. Franklin, 34 years ago, said he was ap- pointed by the family to han- dle the eulogy at her funeral. The pastor said the last time he spoke with Aretha Franklin was a few months ago.
Williams was blasted on social media for misogyny, bigotry and the perpetuation of false science on race. He blamed integration and the civil rights movement for rip- ping the heart out of black micro-economies that once relied on Black-owned small businesses such as grocery stores, hotels and banks.
Williams said he hasn’t heard “one way or another” from the Franklin family, but knows about the social media criticism of him.
“I’m sure much of the neg- ativity is due to the fact that they don’t understand what I’m talking about,” he said. “Anybody who thinks Black
speak to the teacher and stu- dents about supporting her and answering any questions they had. At the end of the call, the teacher invited Essynce to the school, and Essynce told her that she would do every- thing she can to try and visit.
Essynce is determined to reach as many middle schools all around the world as she can to have these books as a mandatory reading each year. Similar to how students have to read The Diary of Anne Frank every year in their class. Essynce is adamant about them being a need and not a want in middle schools. Stu- dents have told her that her books have changed their lives, even though they don’t like reading they loved reading these books, and they were so relatable to what they’ve expe- rienced that they’re glad to see
America is all right as we are now is crazy. We’re not all right. It’s a lot of change that needs to occur. This change must come from within us. Nobody can give us things to eliminate where we are. We have to change from within ourselves. It is ludicrous for the church not to be in- volved. The church is the only viable institution we have in the African-American community. We must step up and turn our race around.”
Even though Williams spoke for nearly 50 minutes of the eight-hour funeral, the pastor said he didn’t have enough time to delve deep into his sermon. He said he will expound more on his sermon and how Franklin was originally named the “Queen of Soul” for the next two Sundays at his church.
“I think if she’s immortal- ized, she should be immor- talized,” he said. “If we can turn Black America around, it would be the greatest and best immortalization we could properly give to her for what she did for Black Amer- ica and the world when she lived.”
they’re not alone.
About Essynce Moore:
From Hillside, New Jersey, Essynce is a 16-year-old teen- preneur, children, tweens and teens stylist/fashion designer, actress, motivational speaker and author. She has received Proclamations from the state of New Jersey, the city of Pas- saic, and the city of Hillside.
She has also participated in various fashion shows, pag- eants, and karate tournaments. She was showcased in NY Fashion Week and Atlanta Kids Fashion Week, featured in several interviews in maga- zines, TV, news, print, confer- ences, and is a member of the New York Youth Chamber of Commerce.
Learn more about this phe- nomenal young woman at www.essyncecouture.com.
16-Year-Old Black Teen’s Popular Book Series Is Widely Accepted By School Districts, Teachers... And The Students Themselves!
Essynce Moore has her books in public schools.
advised that unfortunately Es- synce was in school. However, when Ms. Thomson ex- plained that she did a GoFund me campaign to raise enough money to be able to purchase the books for her class, her mo- mager Starr Barrett wanted to do something nice for the class.
When Essynce got home
from school she explained what the amazing teacher did for her class, and Essynce asked her mom to reach back out to them and have them call on Friday when she would be home due to a pre-planned en- gagement. Ms. Barrett reached back out to the teacher and they planned a call for Fri- day. Essynce was ecstatic to
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