I By Mrs. Bessie Wilboo
„ INTRODUCTION
Many years ago, London had several clubs of
atheists that were active in denying Christianity. One of *
the leaders advertised that he would like to have a debate
with any Christian in one of London’s most famous
auditoriums. An unknown Christian answered the chal
lenge. On the night of the debate, the atheist gave a long
speech giving reasons for not believing in the existence of
God. When the atheist concluded his eloquent oration, the
Christian, who had never debated, invited 100 men to the
stage. As the men stood on the stage, the Christian said,
“Ladies and gentlemen, standing before you are 100 men.
Many of these men you know well. In the past, these men
were alcoholics, chronic gamblers, homosexuals, etc. But
Jesus Christ has changed every one of them. I chal
lenge our opponent to bring 100 atheists to the stage
tomorrow night who can testify that their lives have
changed for the better because they do not believe in God.”
The debates that were scheduled to follow were
cancelled by the atheists.
Every Christian is on trial. The world makes up the
witnesses, the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and the
jury. Will the worldfind enough evidence in us to charge us
with being “Christian?” Does your lifestyle provide a
dynamic alternative to the ways of the world? Or are we
blending in so nicely that it is difficult to tell that we are
Christians? Jesus was on trial for being God’s man. Whose
person are we? i •
tiMaum DAtAUHUUNU
Jesus knew that His hour had come before He went to the
garden. At the garden He faced tomorrow with the cross.
Every human feeling inside of Jesus was saying, “Let’s
not go through with this.” And so He prayed, “If it be
possible, let this cup pass from me.” But Jesus didn’t
make His decisions out of feeling. He made them out of
commitment to God’s will; so He also prayed, “Never
theless, not my will, but thine, be done.”
In order to get rid of Jesus, His enemies lied,
blasphemed, and murdered. Yet they would enter into
their religious observances pretending that all was well
between them and God. All is never well between us and
God if all is not well between us and our fellow man
THE LESSON
“Pilate Went back into the palace and called Jesus. Are
you the king of the Jews?” he asked Him. Jesus answered,
“Does this question come from you or have others told you
about me?” Pilate replied, “Do you think I am a Jew? It
was your own people and the chief priests who handed you
oyer to me. What have you done?” Jesus said, “My
kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom
belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep
me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No,
my kingdom does not belong here! ” So Pilate asked Him
“Are you a king, then?” Jesus answered, “You say that i
am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one
purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the
truth listens to me,” (John 18:33-37).
The Jews had brought Jesus to Pilate, but they couldn’t
get any specific reason when they were asked what
accusation they brought against Him, (John 18:29). Their
answer was so general it had no substance to it. “If this
Man were not an evildoer, we would not have de
livered Him up to you.”
. Pilate saw through their motives. Jesus did not look nor
act like a revolutionary. He surely was not trying to
replace the Roman king nor compete with him. So Pilate
didn’t ask Jesus, “Are you a king?” or “Are you trying to
lead a rebellion against Caesar?” Pilate surely thought
that Jesus was more a religious leader than a political one
and thus a threat to the traditions of the Jewish religion
rather than to the Roman rule. And so he asked, “Art thou
the king of the Jews?”.
Jesus turned the tables on Pilate. Now Jesus became the
judge and questioned Pilate. By this question, (“Does this
question come from you or have others told you about
me?’’) Jesus forced Pilate to face the music. Would he
simply be a puppet in the hands of the Jews and swallow
whatever he heard without any evidence, or would he sift
the evidence and make up his own mind? Pilot dodged
answering Jesus' question directly, but did suggest that he
got his information from the Jews. However, Pilate wasn’t
SBBHBM asked Jesu«
“What hast thou done?”
Up to this point, Pilate gave us an_r__
should follow. He didn’t settle for gossip about someone,
Before making a decision he talked with Jesus face to face.
How about us? Do we go to the person who allegedly has
done wrong or do we allow second hand information to
condemn that person in our minds? Any second hand
information is used information, and used information
quite often is abused information. If it has been abused by
misuse and twisting, it will abuse others. It would be better
for all of us to refuse to listen to gossip, even if it is true. We
need to be careful, for the moment we listen our minds can
easily become somewhat poisoned against the person
involved. People change, but many times a poisoned mind
against a person does not change.
he him there
iad cried, “If thou let this
Bate did not want
against aasing Jesus
spiteful men
to fall
on him. So, to *er to
the mob, giving in to
Do we ever do that w
“y thiry tot
W^Cd€88r8 of OUT CUIV (tlie DOWftr n^Anip firnunrl
followers of Christ* ^ vimkj up/
Mrs. Bessie Breazeale
.100 years old
Turning 100 Is “Just
Another Day” For
Mrs. Bessie Breazeale
By Teresa Simmons
, Post Managing Editor
Turning 100 years of age seemed
like just another day for Bessie A.
Breazeale. She didn’t feel any
different, but everyone seemed to
be making such a fuss.
The president of the United States
sent a birthday card. Friends were
dropping in and out. A little cake
with one candle was given to her.
And it was a grand time for her to
reminisce and talk about her faith in
God.
Sitting in her Edwin Tower’s
apartment, Mrs. Breazeale was
.alert and ready to answer any
question. Her body is no longer able
to work the fields for cotton. But it
did not hamper her mind’s capabili
ty of gearing up for a conversation.
One would expect her to be sitting
in a cushioned rocking chair. Her
hat embraces her face outlined in
thinning gray hair.
As she talked about her past there,
was a sense of discovering a portion
of hidden history. And as she talked
about her future one's pessimistic
views of growing old desolved, dis
appearing into the cracks of her old
furniture and photos hung upon the
walls.
At 100 Mrs. Breazeale is glad to be
alive. “I feel pretty good,” she
began, “I’m glad to be here. I could
have been gone. I praise the Lord.
If it were not for Him I would not be
here.”
Mrs. Breazeale was born Bessie
Nedward February 6 in 1885. Her
mother Lucinda was born two years
after slavery was abolished. Mrs.
Breazeale married a Smith at-the
age of 16. She has since outlived two
other husbands, Pruit and Brea
zeale. She has one daughter, Evan
geline Mosley Ligon.
Born in Abbeyville County, now
called Greenwood County, Mrs.
Breazeale can remember working
on the farm, keeping the children of
the affluent white, making soap
during the war, ironing and sewing
for the family. She worked on the 1
plantation of the Fleets for 40 years.
She was blessed in that the Jim crow
laws barely brushed her life.
Through the influence of her em
ployers, often their word was enough
for her to purchase items for her
use, or use the courtesies of the town
bank.
“I worked pretty hard,” Mrs.
Breazeale continued. “I think I’ve
lived so long through God’s bles
sings. I’ve never been a person to
mess into other people’s business
either. If I wasn’t working I was at
home.”
She also attended church, how
ever. And down through the years
she has worked as a deaconess and
in several aspects of the church.
When she moved to Charlotte in 1865
she joined Union Missionary Baptist
Church.
Friends seemed to drop in here
and there on Mrs. Breazeale’s birth
day. A church member and friend,
Adline Cole dropped by. Ada Wilson,
Site Coordinator for the Nutrition
Program of Charlotte Mecklenburg
at Edwin Towers came up with a
birthday cake and candle.
I THE CHARLOTTE II
POST —
s - SOMETHING
FOR
EVERYONE
CALL
2., 3760496
IL— - -■
“I’ve prayed for my health and
strength,” Mrs. Breazeale revealed.
God wrapped his hands around me
when I was bom and He has brought
me through the desert.”
sorority to Hear Dr. Flood Friday Night
ine Adam s Mark Hotel will be the
headquarters for the March 21-23
Southeastern Regional Conference
hosted by the Beta Rho Sigma and
Alpha Epsilon Chapters of Phi
Beta Sigma, Inc.
Dr. Dudley Flood, Associate State
Superintendent, Department of Pu
. blic Instruction, will be the fea
tured speaker for the public forum
Friday at 7:30 p.m. Music will be
provided by the Johnson C. Smith
University Choir, under the direc
tion of Christopher Kemp.
At the awards luncheon on Sa
turday, March 23, James T. Floyd,
national president of Phi Beta
Sigma, Inc., will be the speaker.
This affair will be closed to the
general public.
More than 100 members are
expected to attend the regional con
ference which includes North
Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee. The theme of the con
ference is "Sigmas: A Renaissance
in Brotherhood.”
Dr. James A. Clarke (former
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school ad
ministator and current superinten
I
dent of the Halifax School System) is
presently the regional director and
will preside over the three-day
conference. Joseph L. Swain, retired
Charlotte-Mecklenburg School ad
ministrator, is president of the host
graduate chapter, Beta Rho Sigma.
Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. had its
beginning on the campus of Howard
University, Washington, D.C., on
January 9,1914. The three founders:
A. Langston Taylor, Charles I
Brown, and L. F. Morse, were de
termined to have a broad base
representation and to form a bro
therhood that could relate to all
persons.
Phi Beta Sigma is known and
recognized as “the people’s frater
nity” by many. It embraces the
principles of brotherhood, service,
and scholarship which are ex
pressed in its motto. “Culture for
service and service for humanity.”
Project Sigmas Attack on De
fects (SAT) is among the outstand
ing social action programs of the
fraternity. This program is co
sponsored by the National Founda
tion of the March of Dimes.
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“The National Urban League
has always stirred Black
America’s emotions—
running the gamut from
bitter rage to the tenderest
love ”
aove* —Tony Brown
Seventy-five years ago, the National
Urban League movement started. And
It hasn'f stopped yet. This week, Tony
Brown celebrates the past, present
and future of this major civil rights
I -1
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•rowo'i f of tutf 99* moro, p I
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I Add SI for pot tog* ond hondltng (N V r*vd*n>, odd I
| oppropriof* taint ton | Sond chock or monoy ordor to •
1501 Broodway. Suit* 2014. Now York. NY 10034
Or phono your VISA or MCAccItt to 212/575 0674 |
^ MOOt* allot. 44 »*aht f©t dOkr4ry 0*f*r tip 'll 1J/J1 Iti
*tpo an* Ptpo Cat* tra rtotwra* tradamantt a. AlpoCo Me AmtMM NY
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organization—as only he can
Joining him are Ruby Dee, Ossie
Davis, singers Cissy Houston, Wintley
Phipps, and many other stars.
Be sure to watch Tony Brown as he
presents this dramatic chapter:
National Urban League The First 75
Years." It's a lesson in Black history you
won't want to miss.
Channel 4J, March a
at ll:NP.M.
Senior yourae* Check your local public television bating*
hv dam and lanes at tony Brown's Journal Don! mna »