Living in conavirusworld 51: Where there is no vision

5/12

Harlem Shake does its part

The sun is out and it's a good time for a  walk. Walking up Lennox, there’s a  pop up needle exchange and a steady line of customers.  

Further up the street, I notice for sth first time since I’ve been living in Harlem, there are no letters on the ATLAH (All the Land Anointed Holy) signboard. This signboard is famous for its almost always controversial proclamations. Among Pastor James David Manning’s favorite targets have been the LGBTQ community, President Obama (" a Taliban Muslim",)Ben Carson (" a pathetic nigga") and gentrifiers. My favorite was “white homos are going to take the black woman's man” He elaborated  on this claim by saying “ Well they’ll take you to Broadway shows and fine  dining at fancy restaurants, who can resist that?” To which I can only respond, “uh….uh…” and wonder exactly who was being tempted. Rev.Manning has quoted Proverbs 29:18”Where there is no vision, the people perish." 

The ATLAH Church

 

The Vision

He has define his vision as 

“50000 righteous men Living for the lord in the community formerly knew as Harlem.

All ATLAH men are homeowners, business owners, leaders in their homes, leaders in the church and leaders in the community” 14 September 1991. He’d also like to build an arch across 125th street to honor the Middle Passage, those who died  being transported across the Atlantic Ocean as slaves. I mean, most of that I can get behind. But the rest of it, no… (Some of it is truly off the wall, like Starbucks putting semen in lattes.) He seems  to have a redemptive vision for the Black man ala  Garvey or Elijah Muhammad. Does the blank  board mean Pastor Manning has lost his vision? Could this be a Covid 19 related issue? It is a mystery.

The Harlem Shake is doing a hot business.

The Shake is on the case

With typically funky signs in the windows and free toilet paper as a bonus. 

free tolet paper

Walking home, a man has fallen out on Adam Clayton Powell and 116, near the bus stop. A woman tries to raise him up, but he doesn't move. She kneels to help him. He starts get up, loses his mask as it blows away. He sinks back to the street . The woman gets another mask and puts it  on him as he lies back down. Though I’ve seen this before, the brokenness around me still gets to me sometimes. Especially as I pass through the gauntlet that’s always planted in front of  the liquor store. 

Every warm night the 115th street crapshooters are out.

I finish the night watching the last game of the 1979 World Series. Completing my run of championships  won by my hometown Pirates in my lifetime.(1960, 71 and 97) This broadcast is filled with PSA’s  on the inning breaks about social distancing and staying home, praises fo our medical workers and other essential workers and  poignant ad in which a Pirate hat is passed on from generation to generation.

genration to generation

It is so strange seeing this video from over 30 years ago when I was a young man in Tulsa interwoven with the realties of coronavirusworld today.