Righteous Blacks Speak out Against Ferguson Riots

Tempting though it may be, we must eschew generalizing from the blacks who rioted, looted, and burned after the grand jury decision, to all black Americans. If we do that, we are descending to the same irrational and passion-driven level of the rioters.

Instead, we must be SPECIFIC — distinguishing the rioters, the agitators and inciters (Missouri State Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadali and Michael Brown’s stepfather Louis Head), and the forked-tongue demagogues (Barack Obama, Eric Holder) from rational and righteous blacks like Rev./Dr. James David Manning, media personality Johnathan Gentry, and Project 21, the national leadership network of Black conservatives.

Project 21’s Comment on Ferguson Grand Jury Decision:

Ferguson, MO / Washington, D.C. – After a grand jury chose not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death last August of local resident Michael Brown, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are speaking out about the ruling, what it means for the black community and how protestors might redirect their energies to find some redemption from the loss.

“Now that we have a grand jury decision, may the process of healing begin in earnest,” said Project 21 member Stacy Washington, a St. Louis resident who hosts a local radio talk show. “I truly hope for a refocus of protest energy towards reflection and away from blaming the police for the difficulties facing black Americans today. We must begin to look at improving ourselves instead of blaming groups of others for endemic problems that plague the black community. May God grant the Brown family peace and closure.”

“The grand jury’s decision shows that facts do matter,” said Project 21 member Joe R. Hicks, a former executive director or the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Los Angeles City Human Rights Commission. “From the inception — and despite the hyperbolic rhetoric from national black leaders, local protesters and political opportunists of all stripes — my position was that the facts and a thorough investigation would tell the story of what happened on that street between teenager Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson. Now that Officer Wilson’s actions have been deemed within the scope of a lawful police response to the dangerous actions of Mr. Brown, it’s now important to watch how the so-called black leadership responds. Will they irresponsibly reject the decision, along with the facts it revealed, and continue to claim that Brown was the murder victim of a racist white cop? To what extent will Ferguson protesters defy the orders of authorities for lawful behavior? We don’t need a replay of the violent, pathological riots we saw on the streets of that small suburb of St. Louis.”

“It amazes me that there are so many who dismissed the fact that Michael Brown robbed a convenience store and attacked a police officer prior to being killed,” said Project 21 member Michael Dozier, Ph.D. “Once again, the black community largely turned a blind eye to the real issues affecting the very lives of our youths. Black-on-black crime is an epidemic and thousands of black children are brutally killed every year, yet we do not see the Al Sharptons or Jesse Jacksons protesting their deaths. The President doesn’t proclaim their lives would reflect the life of a son he never had. The black community needs to stop with the excuses and victimization and stop allowing antagonists to come into their communities to promote their own agendas.”

“Now that the grand jury has rendered a decision, people on both sides can now peacefully debate the result. The decision does not give anyone the right to engage in property destruction, physical assaults and general chaos if they don’t agree with that decision,” said Project 21 member Kevin Martin. “The grand jury looked at all the evidence, and it surely did its best to render a judgment respectful of all parties. It is long past the time for those who might seek to use violence to achieve an outcome to decamp from Ferguson and allow the community to heal.”

Since August, Project 21 has issued six press releases and posted numerous news-related blog entries addressing the death of Michael Brown and related events. Project 21 members have already completed over 150 radio and television interviews on the death of Michael Brown and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri and have been mentioned by Cal Thomas in his nationally-syndicated column. Several Project 21 members have visited the area in the wake of the initial rioting, and two members live in the immediate area and another is currently there to chronicle events as they unfold.

Additionally, Project 21 member have been interviewed or cited by the media over 1,500 other times in 2014 – including TVOne, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News Channel, Westwood One, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SiriusXM satellite radio and the 50,000-watt radio stations WBZ-Boston, WHO-Des Moines, KDKA-Pittsburgh, KOA-Denver and WJR-Detroit – on issues that include civil rights, entitlement programs, the economy, race preferences, education and corporate social responsibility. Project 21 has participated in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding race preferences and voting rights, defended voter ID laws at the United Nations and provided regular commentary during the Trayvon Martin judicial proceedings in 2013. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals.

Rev./Dr. James David Manning:

Pastor James Manning, of the ATLAH World Missionary Church in Harlem, New York, tells his people that if they want to progress, they must “break the demonic ancestral spirits” — the Barack Obamas, Nelson Mandelas, the Louis Farrakhans, the Jesse Jacksons, the Al Sharptons, who offer blacks nothing but “food stamps and cell phones” instead of helping them to be owners of homes and businesses. Instead of the Holy Spirit, these so-called leaders to whom blacks look up, are all demon-possessed.

Johnathan Gentry:

On Gentry’s Facebook page, he writes this to the rioters on Nov. 25, 2014, a day after the grand jury decision:

“You showed absolutely No Respect to Michael Brown, his family, your community, or yourself! But yet, you demand respect as a human being. His family asked for a “Peaceful” protest. Yet, you disregarded, dishonored & disrespected their wishes & burned down your own city anyway. It’s your own actions & behavior that’s keeping you bound, stuck & not getting ahead. Everything you stood for went down the drain last night by burning down your own community. That’s no ones fault but YOURS!! Your behavior confirmed everything I been speaking on #Accountability #Responsibility.
“Your iniquities have turned these blessings away, and your sins have kept good from you.” (Jeremiah 5:25)

In the video below, Gentry says the rioting, looting, and burning “is not helping…. Change is not going to come unless we change it…. All we know how to do is march, and riot, and loot. This is not helping…. All we know how to do is to blame the police and white folks for our action…. ‘They mistreat us. They beat us up. Oh, slavery still exists.’ I’m sick of it! … Let’s change as black people. When is this going to stop! … How are our kids going to grow up when we out here are acting stupid! … [To the black civil rights leaders who converge on Ferguson chanting] ‘No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace.’ Shut up! When there were 60 plus [black-on-black] shootings in Chicago…, where were you? No where to be found… When little Ray-Ray kills little Lucas, where were you? No where to be found. When the little girl riding her tricycle in her front yard was hit by stray bullets, where were you? No where to be found. Police beat up on the black man — Aw, slavery exists! Slavery still exists!”

Listen to the rest of what this impassioned man has to say for yourself.

H/t AJG and FOTM’s maziel