Juneteenth, Father's Day, and a 3-year old dead!?!...What happened to #BlackLivesMatter?

Last weekend was wonderful, beautiful even. Absolutely mind-shifting. There was so much rich unknown history shared about Juneteenth within my home. We educated ourselves about the flag, our ancestors who fought for us, the states that recognize the date, and eating watermelon and drinking red soda is tradition. We even sung “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and had it on repeat so our kids could learn the lyrics. Yeah, you heard me...we were shocked too when we found out our kids didn’t learn it from school like we did growing up. But that's okay because my husband and I agreed that from now on, Juneteenth will be a national holiday for The Williams Family from here on out! Juneteenth was LIVE and ALIVE. Out of the 9 years of being in business, this was even the first time my company made Juneteenth shirts. I’d never seen so much yellow, green, and red designs in my life. It was an exciting, liberating, and also chain-breaking moment to celebrate and be thankful for.

Photo Credit: Instagram @hisgarment_inc

It was also Father’s Day weekend. A day that was never really celebrated too often while growing up. Men in my family were far and few between. I remember seeing my aunt give my grandmother a Mahogany Hallmark card on Father’s Day which now looking back on it, I realize was actually pretty sad. But I get it, more often than one would like, you could find a single mother somewhere raising her child/ren alone because of an absentee father. However; a mother could never replace a father even if she raised her children single-handedly, she could never be a father. And if you think about it, creating those cards actually puts undue pressure, responsibility, heaviness, and even more hardship than necessary on single mothers and even our communities. It’s literally impossible trying to be a dual parent for a child when it wasn’t God’s original plan for you to be in the first place. Trust me, being a former single mother myself I know from first hand experience that I could never be a father.

But a shift is happening in the land and last weekend revealed to us the proof. Black fathers everywhere were celebrated and despite how horrible the media portrays them as being drug addicts, jobless, felons, and uneducated; social media timelines were flooded with pictures showing that #BlackDadsMatter. Even the kids and I surprised my husband at the Firehouse and it was a great moment to watch their faces light up seeing daddy at work. Creating moments showing my children that fathers are valuable too, is a must! Honestly, I get really pumped doing so because unlike the lies the media tries to portray about our black men; I truly do not know a deadbeat father. Every man I know in their 20s, 30s, and 40s is a great father and some are even greater husbands! Some of these men didn’t even have fathers themselves while growing up; yet they made a choice to go against the grain choosing to be better than what they had and my husband just happens to be one of them. There’s nothing more amazing than seeing Black fathers being great fathers when they themselves didn’t even have a father while growing up. Makes me wonder if that was a part of God’s plan all along. What plan you ask? Removing the dead weight of an absentee, ungodly, drug addicted, or abusive father just so the next generation of men would be better and wouldn’t become a pattern of what they saw growing up, instead becoming just the opposite.

With so many great wins, I was super excited to write this blog. However, as soon as Monday came, I received a call from my mother notifying me that her co-worker and friend’s young son was shot and killed while sitting with his cousin on the porch. As I searched on the internet for more information, I’d found that more than 14 people were shot and killed during this historical celebratory weekend for Blacks and Fathers. One week I’m writing about injustice towards my black people and now I’m writing about finding justice for my black people. Little girl, age 14, a teenager just like my oldest, was shot right in her bedroom while watching TV. She was at home, in her bedroom...watching TV.

What happened to Stay Home, Save Lives, Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter? What happened?

How can the lives of our children be safe, if their own home and community is a target for violence? Were we so preoccupied with the celebrations that we forgot to get on our knees, clasp them hands together, and get "in formation"?🙏🏽 104 people shot over the weekend...ONE WEEKEND! Parents and communities we have got to do better! We must! I live in the hood--- “hood, hood”. When I moved here there were talks of gentrification and home buyer assistance programs given with promises of change. Some happened and most didn’t; however, it was never a plan of mine or my husband to put faith in my city, but to put faith in our God.

Photo Credit: Chicago Sun-Times

🔊Listen! Escuche! God is real and He can save your neighborhood. Trust! Recently, I got my hair braided and while the young lady was braiding my hair, she mentioned how shocked she was when she pulled up on my block to see how much it had changed. She told me how her grandmother lived just a couple of blocks away and she was very familiar with the violence, unruly neighbors, prostitutes, drug dealing, and addicts that used to live on this block for years. She asked me what happened? I told her "God" is what happened...

I told her how my husband and I used to walk up and down the block, praying, and laying hands anointing prostitutes with holy oil.

I told her how I would get out the car praying, speaking in tongues, and all of sudden the drug dealers would leave their assigned corners or porches like magic.

I told her how the people who lived in the well known drug house moved because I found out their names and commanded my angels to charge them in the spirit.

I told her how I would buy ice cream and give popsicles to the kids on the block to show them love and respect.

I told her about the oil that still works and about the prayers that never lost its juice.

I told her the “real|” answer for taking our community back from the devil.

And the devil isn’t a white man in a blue uniform with a badge. No. Nor is he a young black boy with a gun in his hand. No.

The devil and his demons are a spirit assigned to take captive over God’s people and His land. Believers, we need the blood of Jesus and the oil that’s on our saint’s life ito cover their block. No way. The police are working 12 hour shifts, confiscating thousands of guns, and making more thousands of arrests. I just watched the news and the Police Superintendent stated he needs more help. He says help from the justice system to keep the criminals in jail longer, but I say help from the Kingdom’s people so there won’t be any criminals at all. Because this violent spirit whether it’s a police officer, a racist, or a gang member---IT WAS CREATED TO TAKE OUT OUR BLACK MEN!

That 14-year old teenage girl was struck by a bullet that did not have her name on it. That bullet was not intended for her. That bullet was for a black man. Whether the black man was the king she was going to give birth to someday when she got older and became a wife or the young black man it originally was aimed for...we’ll never know.

The 3-year old boy who was fatally shot and killed last weekend will never grow up to lead his community, be a father, pastor the future, or be a loving husband.

And these killings aren’t any different from the black father who was killed by Georgia police officers for being in his car while sleeping off his drunken stupor. And yes, he reached for the taser and yes he tried to fight the police off, but HE WAS DRUNK! he was not thinking sensibly at all.

There is a war happening. And it’s not against black and white or even black and blue or even black and black. The war is against the enemy fighting and plotting to KILL our black men and it’s seed. Periodt! On Father’s Day and Juneteenth weekend, 104 people shot leaving 14 dead including children is NO COINCIDENCE.

Chicago has grit. Chicago is a city of leaders and intellectual thinkers. History is birthed here and legends dwell among us. Presidents, Billionaires, Basketball greats, Musical geniuses, black history, national magazines, billion dollar black businesses, power, and so much more has been birthed within the walls of this city! And the devil is not dumb...he sees this too.

But do you? Do you see this? It starts with us!

Our ancestors fought hard for the chains to be broken off of us. They endured the unthinkable and unimaginable so we wouldn't be slaves today; but slavery is also a mindset which still plagues the Black community in America today. As a people, we're still in chains if we can't even be free in our own homes and neighborhoods. We're not free if we can't get rid of this murdering spirit sweeping the land taking our innocent children's lives and killing our black women and men. We're still enslaved. The definition of slavery means to be owned by someone else. The killings and massive number in shootings prove that this city has an owner and Believers, it's time we served him notice! We will not let him win. The movement will be continued. The fight is still on! Black Lives do Matter and it's time we start showing the world who it matters to first...US!

Heavenly Father,

We look to you for your Grace, Mercy, and Love. God we stand in agreement with your word that love can conquer all things, it NEVER fails! We need your Love to captivate the hearts of men. I pray that those who know your love share how great it is with those who don't. I pray eyes will be opened and mouths begin to move with utterance, groans, and moans that will cause your angels to take charge over our city. God we need your peace to overtake these neighborhoods where violence has become the norm. I call down every wicked and demonic spirit to be uprooted and sent back to the pit of hell where it belongs. I speak over every bullet manufactured, created, and loaded into a gun; you were not created to kill children, babies that have never even said their first words, or our youth! I pray Lord you soften the hearts of the shooters right now in the name of Jesus. Do a heart transplant, a spiritual heart transplant. I bind up the murdering spirit sweeping the land in Jesus name. I pray that Kingdom Men rise up and begin to lead your people, I pray the hopeless are inspired and faithless become hopeful. I pray black men will be their brothers’ keeper and black women will be their sisters’ keeper. Heal those who are hurting, mend broken relationships, and let those who are angry embrace forgiveness.Burden the hearts of your people God to pray and have faith in your supernatural power. I pray your Holy Ghost power will cause the violent and murdering spirit to surrender and turn themselves in, Jesus Name. If the police can’t solve the murder or the community won’t turn them in, then God I release your supernatural power to change the shooter’s heart and convict them to turn themselves in. We pray for their souls too, God. Save their souls. We pray for a Damascus Road experience God with every killer who the enemy has assigned to kill your people. Blind their eyes so they won't see hatred, murder, and pain, burden their hearts, and give them an experience like no other. I pray that people will humble themselves, pray, seek your face and turn from their wicked ways. God let the light of your love illuminate the darkness in the hearts of men. Pour out your spirit Lord, causing a revival in every community across this country. Men will dream again, those who are lost will be counted among the righteous again. Your Love will reign, your love will conquer all!!

In Jesus Name, Amen.

@delisanewwilliams

#ItStartsWithUs #BlackLivesMatter #GodsPeopleMatter #OurBabiesMatter #StayHomeSaveLives #Chicago #Juneteenth #JuneteenthToBeContinued