Civil Righteousness & Nina Simone

Over the past weekend I had an opportunity to attend a couple of events tied to a Civil Righteousness Conference held in Kalamazoo, MI.

The Conference featured Jonathan Tremaine Thomas (who is Nina Simone's grandnephew). It was co-sponsored by Jesus Loves Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo House of Prayer.

During a breakfast meeting Friday morning, Thomas said that "we're in a protest culture." And that protesting keeps "recruiting on the unhealed wounds of America."

Mr. Thomas lives in St. Louis, Missouri and talked about what it felt like to be on the front lines of the protests that happened in Ferguson (a suburb of St. Louis) after the shooting of. Michael Brown. Thomas noted that the protests, while relevant, failed to address the deeper wounds.

He gave a quick history lesson about Ferguson, mentioning that Dred Scott (of the infamous Dred Scott decision) was buried not many miles from the epicenter of the protesting in Ferguson. Scott was a slave who had sued for his freedom after his master died, having lived in a free state. The case went to the Supreme Court, where the decision, given by a Court with a majority of judges from the South, ruled that Scott, being a slave, had no right to sue for his freedom. The case added fire to the growing hostility that led to the Civil War.

Thomas made the point that racism is a violation of Divine Principle, and that any violation of Divine Principle (aka spiritual ethics), results in racism, oppression, and trans-generational wounding that leads to a "breach in the spiritual walls of righteousness."

He said that our country is experiencing "inculturated pain" that is a result of non-normal ways of dealing with violation of Divine Principle.

The church should be leading the way to heal the deep-seated wounds but "the church has no oil." Thomas referenced Ez. 22:29-30, where God speaks: "I looked for someone who would rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one."

According to Thomas, we need a spiritual solution to the problem of racism in our country, which he called Civil Righteousness. He defined it as being "the pursuit of moral excellence in the face of injustice," using a biblical standard.

The next day, at another Civil Righteousness Conference event on the steps of Kalamazoo College's Stetson Chapel, Thomas offered a template that any city or region could use to help proactively address the issue of systemic racism. The steps included:

1. Prepare yourself, spiritually, emotionally and mentally, to run into the fight. Mobilize, pray, worship and bring spiritual engagement within the conflict zone. Thomas emphasized the importance of training and gave the example of Martin Luther King, Jr's insistence that participants in the Civil Rights marches of the early 1960s be trained in non-violent protest. So they knew what to expect from the opposition and how to respond.
2. Be a bridge by cultivating fruitful relationships and mutual understanding among feuding factions through preemptive measures.
3. Dream with God - lead the change. Innovate comprehensive solutions and strategies that foster sustainable spiritual, cultural and economic reformation.

Prior to the early afternoon discussion, Thomas gave a presentation on his famous relative, Nina Simone. While there has been a resurgence of interest in Simone's music recently, many fans have no idea of her roots. Thomas explained that Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Wayman. Her mother was a Methodist preacher.

At a young age Eunice played the piano and was a prodigy, being able to perform classical pieces from memory.

Eunice played the piano in her mother's church and had a wide regional reputation. But when she applied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she was denied because of her color.

Eventually, Eunice gave private piano lessons to earn an income, but when she began to supplement it by playing in night clubs, she changed her name to Nina Simone, so her family, who disapproved, wouldn't be offended.

At first Simone's music was more jazz centered and incorporated elements of the music sung in black churches. But after the killing of Medgar Evers and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church which killed four young black girls, her music took a more confrontational tone. Her song, "Mississippi, God Damn" was an example of this turning point.

According to Thomas his great-aunt then became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights movement, feeling a great burden for the injustice she experienced and saw around her. That, combined with a bipolar disorder, resulted in her eventually removing herself from her traditional Christian upbringing of her youth, leaving her open, explained Thomas, to her darker side.

In an interview on French television Simone was asked how she felt about how her life had developed. "I''m sorry that I didn't become the world's first black classical pianist. I think I would have been happier. I'm not very happy now," she said flatly, near tears. (And I have to say that, having seen the clips of performances that Thomas showed, I was left profoundly saddened at what appeared to be Simone slowly being given over to an anger and grief that she couldn't resolve.)

Perhaps this is why Thomas says he has been called to a ministry of Civil Righteousness, seeing the results of the heaviness of wounds left to fester on their own.

Photo Credits:
Jonathan Tremaine Thomas - Twitter
Nina Simone - blacktimetravel