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Black El Paso Voice

All Things Black in El Paso

Community Voices

Feature: #BlackLivingLegend – Bishop Johnnie M. Washington

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BEP Voice spoke briefly with one of El Paso’s Living Legends: Civil Rights Activist, Bishop Johnnie M. Washington.

Bishop Washington is a civil rights activist, and El Paso Black trailblazer who is respected by so many in the El Paso community. She attended the Douglass School, served as President of the El Paso Branch of the NAACP, and is the co-founder of the MLK Committee. Find out more about this dynamic woman as she shares a little bit about how she became the community’s leading fighter for civil rights. She will be joining us via the Black Roundtable to discuss civil rights, church, and more… stay tuned. In the meantime, hear her thoughts… Featured in blackelpasovoice.com

ALIGNMENT (Part – 1) Principles For Life | Tina Smiley-Overton | blackelpasovoice.com

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Life, living, and how we choose to live life is based on principles. Principles are universal concepts and are absolute truths. Principles are linear progressions from one level to the next; are within each individual at birth; are measured by maturity; and have four relative elements (person, time, place, and space).

As 2022 begins, PFL focus is ‘Alignment’. Many people think of car tires or the spine and a chiropractor when the word alignment is spoken. There are multiple basic examples of alignment, such as the letters of the alphabets; numbers from 0 to infinity; the planets of the universe in order from the sun; a straight line; etc. These inanimate (non-human) examples naturally flow in alignment.

Animate, specifically human beings, internally, our condition (mental state of being) do not naturally flow towards alignment. External factors impact our state of being.  External factors such as unfair treatment, betrayal, anger, hate, jealousy, and envy etc. disrupts our alignment.

The human condition of being out of alignment is to live ‘By Default.’ Being out of alignment spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially is expensive; it is a robbery of time and talent; can be expensive to correct; and creates serious problems. Out of alignment is exhibited in an individual’s thought, words, and deeds / habits.

Within alignment, there is rotation.  Just as the earth remains in alignment in its’ role in the universe, by completing a 365-day rotation; The humanistic rotation is similar to a circular spiral going upwards in age.  By Design:  As we age, every 365 days, our consciousness craves to be heightened in awareness, in maturity.  From age to age the experiences (whether positive or negative) impacts thought processing, maturity, and internal growth.  Beginning with thought an individual expresses through word and responds through deeds / habits their inner inclinations. (Basically, thought = word = deed / habit = who I am and to whom I belong.)

By Design: To be in alignment REQUIRES overcoming the experiences of life’s ups, downs, highs, lows, achievements, defeats, advancements, setbacks, betrayals, and loyalty. To be in alignment EXPECTATIONS are personal growth, development, cooperation, and willingness to work with others. To be in alignment DEMANDS forgiveness strong enough to move on without holding grudges.

Alignment requires maintenance: As days become years and years become the past, in order to continue striving towards a higher conscience mark of maturity, we must evaluate our deeds/habits.  If our deeds / habits are not producing peace and improving society, then a true reassessment of self is necessary.  Change is by choice and reaching for alignment is self-motivated.

Alignment releases freedom, peace and joy. Individually we must be willing to strive towards our higher spiritual self. (It takes a lifetime of work. It is not easy. It is not accomplished overnight.) In order to do this, we must be willing to truthfully evaluate self, rest, restore, and reconcile to find balance.

Remember this…what is alignment without the even weight of balance on all sides?

Is It Time Yet?

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Is it time yet? May 21, 1971, Marvin Gaye asked us, and sang What’s Going On?  Here we are 50 plus years later asking the same question.  Maybe we got so caught up in the smooth soul piercing rhythm and melody  of the song that we missed it, but it was/is right there in front us, “You know we’ve got to find a way, To bring some lovin’ here today, eh eh, For only love can conquer hate, oh oh oh, Talk to me, so you can see…Oh, what’s going on”

Talk to me, we all have so many of the same concerns, but the only way to fix them is to talk, really talk and listen to one another. Maybe if we all came into the room blindfolded, we would talk and listen first without getting caught up in the visual prejudices of who is speaking to us. You probably think I am talking about prejudices like color, race, black and white.  Nope. There are leaders, yes leaders, that don’t listen nor show up simply because John, I Can’t Stand Him Doe will be there.  Remember Marvin Gaye’s words tell us, “You know we’ve got to find a way, to bring some lovin’ here today, eh eh For only love can conquer hate.”  

We shouldn’t lose by focusing on petty things that will stop us from reaching our positive goals for humanity.  Again, 50 years plus ago… I was watching Star Trek. The USS Enterprise had landed on a planet where the people were literally black on one side and white on the other and they could not talk to nor get along with the other people who were white on one side and black on the other.  The planet was dying because it needed resources from to survive.  That concept has stuck with me since I was a child.  

My question is What’s Going On?  Are we strengthening our goals by supporting each, bringing our talents, skills, experiences, and financial gains together to advance a sustainable impact towards building up our communities?  Or are we being black on one side white on the other while putting down the white on one side black on the other?  

To accomplish our united goals, we must come together.  Solid strength comes from positive representation of united numbers in individuals, leaders, businesses, organizations, churches, politicians, serving as positive representation of our needs here on the border.  As we ask for support from others, we must remember to ask ourselves, are we also supportive? 

Find a source to share advancing information, meetings, events with each other, otherwise we will never really know what’s goin on. 

Com’ on… bring some lovin’ here today…Talk to me, so WE can see “Oh, what’s going on.”