Atlanta Daily World

Historic Friendship Baptist Church Celebrates 151 Years Of Service

Friendship Baptist Church, established in 1862 and independently organized in 1866, can lay claim to being Atlanta's first Black Baptist autonomous congregation.

Commemorating 151 years on Sunday, April 28, members of the congregation will hold "Anniversary Sunday Celebration" at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, located at 437 Mitchell Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30313. The guest speaker for the memorial service, themed "Moving Forward in the Spirit of Christian Unity," will be the Rev. Dr. Charles G. Adams Sr., pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, Mich. The combined choirs at Friendship, under the direction of Dr. Sharon J. Willis and Dr. James Abbington, will provide music for the day.

Known throughout Atlanta and beyond, Friendship Baptist Church is often referred to as the "mother church" among Baptists in Atlanta because of its role in harmoniously forming several other congregations throughout the city. These churches include: Mount Zion Second Baptist, Providence Missionary Baptist, Wheat Street Baptist, Paradise Baptist, Zion Hill Baptist, Antioch Baptist, Little Friendship Baptist, and Union Baptist Church.

This church and its foresighted membership has always been a part of Atlanta's religious, educational, and political leadership.

In 1862, the congregation, being unable to buy property, worshipped in a boxcar, which was also the first classroom of Atlanta University. As the congregation grew and moved to a larger location, it was the site chosen for Morehouse College when it relocated from Augusta in 1879 and began classes in the basement of Friendship. Spelman College was also born in the basement of Friendship in 1881.

The former pastors of Friendship include the Rev. Frank Quarles (1862-1881); the Rev. Dr. Edward Randolph Carter (1882 – 1944); the Rev. Dr. Maynard Holbrook Jackson (1945 – 1953); the Rev. Dr. Samuel Woodrow Williams (1954 – 1970); the Rev. Dr. William Vincent Guy (1971 - 2007); and the Rev. Dr. Timothy Boddie (2008 – 2012). Friendship's affiliations include the American Baptist Churches USA; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; the World Baptist Alliance; and their respective regional and local units. Ecumenically, Friendship Baptist Church is affiliated with the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta, the National Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches.

Friendship's pastors have spearheaded an extensive housing ministry, including the E. R. Carter Old Folks Home (now demolished), the Samuel W. Williams/Friendship Center Apartments and the William V. Guy Tower High-rise for the Elderly and Handicapped.

Throughout its history, Friendship has contributed outstanding leaders including Mayor Maynard Jackson, son of a former pastor, who was a member of Friendship Baptist Church, and Dr. Samuel Williams, a former pastor, who was president of the Atlanta NAACP and who took the lead in integrating Atlanta's transportation system.

For further information about the program activities, please contact the church at 404-688-0206.

DMX: Can This Brother Be Saved?

"It is easier to raise strong children than repair broken men." – Frederick Douglass

Douglass said those words years ago, but their wisdom is timeless. Watching DMX on the latest episode of "Iyanla, Fix My Life," I was reminded of them. The rapper/actor, born Earl Simmons, agreed to appear on the show at the urging of his estranged wife, Tashera Simmons. The two were also on the VH1 show "Couples Therapy" where some of DMX's main issues – infidelity and substance abuse – were put on display.

Given the fakeness that is most of reality TV, it's hard to tell if any of DMX's antics on "Fix My Life" were scripted. If so, he deserves way more film work. The twitchy, angry, defensive man who Iyanla met up with didn't seem to be acting. His behavior was so obviously addled that one of the first questions Iyanla asked was "Are you high?"

DMX shared his pain at being abandoned at age 7 by his mother, who put him in a youth home after she got frustrated with his behavior. If DMX has a father that is still alive, he must be long gone, because he's never even mentioned. Iyanla talked to DMX's mother who, like she did on "Couples Therapy," seemed rather unaffected by the pain that her son is in. In Iyanla's conversation with Tashera, Tashera admitted that for 17 years, she played more of a mother role than a wife to DMX, substituting for the mother he'd lost.

DMX admitted to marital infidelity (it was hard not to as he has six kids outside of his marriage), multiple arrests and constant use of alcohol and drugs. He told Iyanla he wasn't ready to stop getting high. Tears, anger and defensiveness, the telltale behaviors of most addicts, were all part of the conversation. When the going got tough, DMX decided he'd had enough and refused to continue the shoot. After some intense persuasion, DMX agreed to return to talk to his oldest son, who he's also estranged from.

Xavier, now 20, wanted to confront his father about his infidelity and drug use. Despite their initially warm interaction, when DMX thought Iyanla was interrupting the conversation between father and son, he cursed her. Iyanla offered to leave but X's son refused to speak to his father alone. When it was all said and done, DMX told his son that their relationship could only continue if his son was able to accept him the way he was. Xavier, though, preferred a relationship with a sober father and wasn't having it.

DMX is a drug addict in need of help. Iyanla, knowing what she had urged viewers to respond to a Twitter hashtag #Support DMX and internet prayer circles were started up via social media. After the interview, DMX's camp issued a statement focusing on his next career moves and saying that DMX felt that appearing on the show hardly fixed his life, but made it worse. While we're trying to figure out what "worse" looks like for DMX, the telling detail is that his camp is focusing on his rap and film career. At this juncture, is that really the main priority? Or should his health, sobriety and welfare come first?

DMX is a sad and angry man and he's all too symbolic of the many men that we all know like that in our own lives. A victim of his childhood circumstances, DMX is unwilling or incapable of moving past his pain. That same issue is being played out in neighborhoods and in homes all across America. That the focus is on a celebrity rap star, whose money and talent gave him advantages most addicts don't get, seems both exploitative and jarring. Sure, Iyanla has ratings to get and a show to keep on the air and she's not doing anything anyone else in her field isn't doing. But would it have been more instructive to have a group of black men on who could talk about what led them to substance abuse and toxic anger in the first place – and also how they've healed?

How do we heal these broken men, without getting broken ourselves? Watching Tashera talk about the verbal abuse she took from DMX, given that she was the one person in his life that showed him love and loyalty was truly sad. How do we hold men like DMX accountable for behavior and choices that have hurt others, while simultaneously supporting them in the healing they so obviously need? How do we as mothers, sisters, aunties and daughters heal ourselves so that we can raise strong sons who can bear what life throws at them and raise strong families themselves?

We need those kinds of solutions in our community. Reality TV does a good job at showcasing the problem. But it is our collective responsibility to fix it.

New Campaign Designed to Encourage African-American Moms to Breastfeed

The U.S. Surgeon General has announced a public education campaign that will focus on raising awareness among African-American moms on the significance of breastfeeding.

"One of the most highly effective preventive measures a mother can take to protect the health of her infant and herself is to breastfeed," said Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, surgeon general. "By raising awareness, the success rate among mothers who want to breastfeed can be greatly improved through active support from their families, their friends and the community.”

The “It’s Only Natural” campaign was designed to provide material that reveals the experience of African American moms said Benjamin, who noted breastfeeding gives mothers and their babies a healthy start.

Additionally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention determined nearly 80 percent of all U.S. women, in spite of status, race or income, start out breastfeeding

Statistically, the African American women breastfeeding rate was almost 55 percent, which is up 35 percent since the 1970s.

Although these rates have improved, African-American women are still the lowest of all ethnicities living in the U.S., especially within those living in the South.

This difference in the rates may show that African-American moms face issues meeting breastfeeding objectives and may need additional assistance to start and continue breastfeeding.

Parents: Take Your Life Back

The term parenting is most readily defined as the act of taking care of and raising children. But parenting is also the act or process of becoming a parent, which we believe is as much about taking care of you as it is about taking care of your children.

“I don’t have time.”
Hands down, time is one of the biggest scarcities for modern parents. But everyone can carve out 10-20 minutes a day for self-care time. Yes, it may require reallocating and prioritizing (I, for one, recommend foregoing perfectly-folded laundry), asking for help or getting creative with how you build the time into your day.

For example, one way I fit self-care into my schedule is by building it into child care transit time. I push my 2-year-old, Violet, in the jogger to day care and then run home (or run a longer loop ending at home). It’s a win for everyone; Violet gets to hunt for dogs, buses and trucks en route, and I get my self-care.

We all deserve at least ten minutes a day to focus on ourselves; schedule it in the calendar as a non-negotiable meeting!

“I don’t have money for self-care.”
Self-care doesn’t have to mean expensive spa treatments. We define it as whatever feels relaxing and rejuvenating to YOU. Curling up with a book or magazine, going for a walk, writing in a journal, sitting with a cup of tea and doing absolutely nothing? All are forms of self-care and all are deliciously within your reach.

Another crucial aspect of self-care is looking after your health. While getting a mammogram isn’t exactly the relaxing “massage” we look forward to, it’s one example of the importance of caring for yourself.

“It seems selfish to take time for myself.”
Repeat after me: Self-care is not selfish. When you treat yourself well, goodness trickles down into your relationships with your partner, your kids, your friends and your community. It’s like a big circle of awesomeness. Your ability to take care of others is directly proportional to your own vitality and happiness.