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8 BOCNEWS.comOCTOBER 2015 Women of Color Passion in my opinion is one of the greatest emotions to feel and even more beautiful to witness coming from another human being. Unfortunately women of color par- ticularly African-American women arent afforded this emotion based on socially-constructed stereotypes of the way our emotions are conveyed. We have to skip the passion and go straight for anger according to these stereotypes. Thats where the Angry Black Woman was born. Now the conversationsthat other people dont want to know about or hear about from the African-American woman no matter the importanceare labeled as angry rants instead ofpassion-backed truths. At the 2015VMAs Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus had a tense exchange of words prompted by Minajs expression viaTwitterabout the way African- American women are treated within the music industry and the merit on which VMA awards are awarded to artistsjust over a month prior to the show. Cyrus took away a chance for the world tothink for themselvesabout Minajs statement that regarded how themedia and music industry downplay African-American success. However in doing this she also creat- ed a vivid image of how insecurities can prompt people to wipe their own guilt away for being afforded privileges that arent equally afforded to everyone else. And to that I say only a hit dog hol- lers and Miley was screaming loud enough for all to hear. If Cyruss attempt to cool Minaj down andto show that she is an ally of African-American women in the music industrywas tosay I lost this award back in 2008 and I was fine with it. Whatever because its no big deal. Its just an award and I persevered. So here are the nominees still vying for your vote. Congratulations Nicki theres a better way to go about it and that includes acknowledging the real issue at hand. There is nothing wrong with being an ally of the African-American com- munity but as an ally dont speak on or address what specific experiences or life as a whole should look like because those who arent members of the African-American race will never have to experience it for themselves. Those who are allies only have knowledge of what people from that community choose to show or tell them therefore no one has the right to tell African- Americans how they shouldhandle anything that has to do with their spe- cific race and culture. In a recentinterviewwith New York Times whereCyrus was asked about theTwitter conversationshe said If you do things with an open heart and you come at things with loveMinaj would be heard and I would respecther statement. But I dont respect her statement because of the anger that came with it. It was odd that she saw the tweets as angry instead of recognizing thatMinaj was addressing a concern about African-American women in the music industry. Out of all the feelings that Minajs tweets couldve evoked why anger But since Cyrus felt an angry vibe why didnt she address the cause of the anger and the content of Minajs tweets She definitely took the time out to put onher tone-policing badge but never did she acknowledge the real issue behinds Minajs com- mentary. As the dictionary would explain to us anger brings hostility. I personally dont think Minaj was tweeting in hos- tility butrather bringing awareness to something that affects her commu- nity as not only an African-American woman but also an artist. Cyrus had no right to step in anddevalue Minajs words in the interview that followed the Twitter feud. She invalidated Minajs point and dismissedher statements as anger for not getting chosen for an award when really it was over an issue much bigger than that. As a Caucasian woman Cyrus should have stayed in her space instead of overreaching and telling a woman of color how she should feel about how she is treated and to anyone who thinks otherwise with the heart of Nicki Minaj I ask you whats really good Dismissing African- American women by calling them angry or mad is minimizing themand their voices and ultimately negating their entire statement and position like it never happened. African-American women arent always angry mad or bitter when it comes to getting passionate about an issue we believe in. When we speak it comes from the heart experiences and emotions unspoken from walk- ing a path in life where not only do youexperience discriminationfor being a woman but even more so for being an African-American woman. Do not silence us by dismissing us as angry because we told you the truth about a real issue that we are passion- ate about and its not what you wanted to hear because we talk from a place that touches the depths of our souls and you dont know how to handle it because we didnt water down our words for delicate or selective ears or because we wouldnt accept poor excuses for why we are counted out and slept on. Dont call us angry or ghetto because our voice tones went up an octave. We have a right to feel to think and above all else we have a right to voice those emotions and feel- ings without being told to calm down. So for future reference the next time you get into a heated discussion with a woman of color and feel the urge to say Whoa why are you so angry Please excuse her anger shes just being passionate. In the month of August 1963 something was stirring in the spiritual atmo- sphere. A new fresh start was upon the city of Colorado Springs as the Holy Spirit began to water the seed that had been planted in the souls of a group of believers. Finally on Sunday September 1 1963 the Reverend Dr. Thomas J. Marigna initiated the first official worship service of the body of believ- ers that would eventually be named the Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church EMBC. Fifty two years and four Pastors later Emmanuel continues to minis- ter to the people of Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. In August 2010 Emmanuel embarked on a Capital Funds Campaign to raise one million dol- lars solely through sacrificial giving. The Campaign was scheduled for two years and by the grace of God we surpassed the established goal in a shorter period of time To God be the glory As the Senior Pastor I give high pri- ority to unity and oneness in Christ creating a church where racial social and economic diversity is wel- comed. An equally grave concern for me is the recent statistic that says approximately 75 of the people in our community is unchurched. Further weighing on my mind was the awareness of the void that was created in the southwest area of the city when Emmanuel moved to Vickers Drive. I knew the reopening of the Walnut location would allow us to reconnect with those who felt abandoned by the church as well as provide the opportunity to reach out to the unsaved. As I prayerfully con- sidered how to operate Emmanuel in two locations God was providen- tially connecting me to Pastor Calvin Johnson and after several conversa- tions we believed he was called to be the Pastor of the Emmanuel South Campus. Pastor Johnson has a unique gift- ing for evangelism and planting churches. His passion for helping people know Jesus and come fully alive in Him has taken him to cit- ies throughout the United States and abroad. Pastor Johnsons 15 years of Pastoral experience has equipped him to come along side me in this ministry thereby creating a new model for the African American church in this community. EMBC is striving to fulfill the great commission through Spiritual Development Community Involvement and Temple Restoration. In general we dem- onstrate this through preaching and hearing the Scriptures fasting prayer and thanksgiving as well as singing. We seek to be a congrega- tion that continually welcomes peo- ple into the worship and fellowship of our life together. EMBC is a cov- enant family of faith connected by Christ that relies on the Holy Spirit to work through us to glorify God nurture spiritual strength discover our gifts for service and inspire us as we share Gods blessings with others. We consider each person as a soul entrusted to us for protection development and preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven. We have the responsibility to provide the best possible public instruction in the Gospel and the best training for service to exercise a tender loving patient watch care over the people of God and to use the utmost dili- gence and effort for their enlighten- ment sanctification and usefulness as we press toward the mark of maturity in Christ Jesus. We want to help people feel embraced and included leading them to through and from the waters of baptism as we all grow in our journey with God. Worship is the center of our life together around which everything we do revolves. It gives shape to our corporate life and empowers our fel- lowship and our ministries. Worship is the primary arena where our faith is formed but it doesnt end there. Faith formation continues through our fellowship Christian education service together and the community at large. All this culminates into what we call the EMMANUEL EXPERIENCE. The experience is difficult to explain. One must be exposed to it to understand. It is an atmosphere where one is free to laugh cry sing shout and respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit as led by Him. As the Senior Pastor I cordially invite you to worship with us at either Campus and be exposed to the wor- ship of God like never before. Pastor Calvin Johnson Pastor Thompson Pastor Calvin Johnson By Sr. Pastor Cleveland A. Thompson PASTOR PROFILECOMMUNITY By Chynna Fayne Chynna Fayne We consider each person as a soul entrusted to us for protection development and preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven.