BRANDON J. SUTTON
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My Black Life Matters

10/23/2019

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“Today’s lynching is a felony charge. Today’s lynching is incarceration. Today’s lynch mobs are professionals. They have a badge; they have a law degree. A felony is a modern way of saying, ‘I’m going to hang you up and burn you.’ Once you get that F, you’re on fire.” ― Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
 
In the pre-dawn hours of October 26th, 2018, I was arrested for a crime I did not commit - a crime punishable for up to 15 years in prison. If I was born two generations earlier, the allegation alone would have resulted in my lynching. Today, lynching’s are more systematic and judicial than they were 60 years ago. However, the outcomes are similar – to cause irreparable harm and/or death to the mind, body and soul.
 
The criminal justice system in this country; as it applies to black and brown people, was purposely constructed to not only break you but to destroy you personally, financially and physically. So, let us begin by dispelling the notion that justice is blind, equal and fair; because it is not. The criminal justice system sees two colors – the first being white. As Radley Balko wrote in an article for the Washington Post:
 
“When you consider that much of the criminal-justice system was built, honed and firmly established during the Jim Crow era — an era almost everyone, conservatives included, will concede rife with racism — this is pretty intuitive. The modern criminal-justice system helped preserve racial order — it kept black people in their place. For much of the early 20th century, in some parts of the country, that was its primary function. That it might retain some of those proclivities today shouldn’t be all that surprising.”
 
Compared to their Caucasian counterparts, African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to have their cars searched, be arrested for drug use, jailed while awaiting trial, offered plea deals that include prison time, be excluded from juries, serve longer sentences, disenfranchised because of a felony conviction and have their probation revoked (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/08/racial-disparities-in-the-criminal-justice-system-eight-charts-illustrating-how-its-stacked-against-blacks.html). Additionally, Caucasians facing misdemeanor charges were 74 percent more likely than African Americans to have all charges carrying potential prison time dropped, dismissed, or reduced. Furthermore, Caucasians with no criminal history were more than 25 percent more likely to have charges reduced than African Americans who also had no criminal history (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/10/23/when-race-tips-the-scales-in-plea-bargaining).
 
The other important color in the criminal justice system is green. Those with the financial means can post bail and hire adequate representation after an arrest. Nearly 70% of inmates; primarily black and brown, are incarcerated in jails because they cannot post bail not because they are guilty of committing a crime. These defendants must rely on overworked public defenders for representation. The prospect of being trapped in jail drives some inmates to plead guilty to offenses they did not commit. The United States and the Philippines are the only two countries that operate a cash bail system.   
 
The criminal injustice system works like this: Prosecutors and judges punish people who we perceive to be criminals to make us think the “justice” system is working. Though 75 percent of the hundreds of thousands of people in local jails are there for nonviolent offenses. Almost nobody in prison ever had a trial.  Trials are rare in the criminal injustice system.  Over 95 percent of criminal cases are finished by plea bargains.   In 1980, nearly 20 percent of criminal cases were tried but that number is reduced to less than three percent because sentences are now so much higher for those who lose trials, there are more punishing drug laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and more power has been given to prosecutors.
 
You do not have to look far to discover the next Central Park 5 or  Kalief Browder in today’s criminal justice system. In jails and prisons across this country they’re people serving time without proper due process. These mostly black and brown people serve time while the rich and affluent commit crimes and face little to no consequences for their actions. If you are poor, black or brown you will face more of a punishment for a nonviolent offense than Amber Guyger who killed a man in his own home, Brock Turner who forcibly raped a woman, Ethan Couch who while driving drunk injured nine and killed four people or former New York Police Department Officer Daniel Pantaleo who choked Eric Garner to death for selling single cigarettes.
 
The physical and psychological effects of going through the criminal injustice system are long lasting. In my 12 months of monitored house arrest I’ve encountered feelings of depression, anger, anxiety and worthlessness. No one will hire me because of my pending charge and if you include lost wages, legal fees, etc. I have incurred over $100,000 in debt but God is with me. Through my difficulties, I was blessed with life (black men and boys are 2.5 times more likely than white men and boys to die during an encounter with cops), competent representation and a wonderful support system. Far too many others are not as fortunate and once they encounter this overtly racist system their lives are forever ruined. The color of your skin or your financial means should not outweigh your actual guilt or innocence in a conviction. We owe it to ourselves as a country to ensure justice is dispensed fairly and equally.
 
“Indeed, a primary function of any racial caste system is to define the meaning of race in its time. Slavery defined what it meant to be black (a slave), and Jim Crow defined what it meant to be black (a second-class citizen). Today mass incarceration defines the meaning of blackness in America: black people, especially black men, are criminals. That is what it means to be black.” ― Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
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Waiting on Midnight

10/16/2019

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   “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
 
One of the hardest things you will ever have to do as a believer is wait. All of us have things we are waiting on God for. You may be waiting on God right now to make a move in your personal life, relationships, health, career and finances. Sometimes, God speaks a word and works in an instant while other times He requires us to wait. Therefore, waiting on God becomes an exercise in faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. As you wait on the Lord, wait in patience, praise and faith.
 
Patience:
God is a God of process. How He delivers someone else has no relation to how He is going to deliver you. While His methods change, He does not. He is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not try to interfere with what God is doing in your life. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently despite his own uncertainty and while losing his children, health and wealth. From his experience, we see how all things work together for the good of those who love and patiently seek God. Like Job, declare onto the Lord; “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” In the face of trials and tribulations remain steadfast. God has a plan and purpose for your life. The promise God has given you is for a future time. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
 
Praise:
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God… Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” - Acts 16: 25 - 26
 
Paul and Silas waited on God to deliver them through praise and worship. Though they were in a dire situation, they understood that God is holy and inhabits (dwells in) the praises of His people. As you wait on God, wait in thanksgiving and praise. It takes hope to praise God when you can’t see how you will be victorious. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Your midnight hour is quickly approaching, praise God as you wait and watch the chains of anxiety, fear, doubt and depression come loose in your life.
 
Faith:
Having faith as you wait will require you to step out of your comfort zone and move towards God even when you are uncertain about the outcome. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By faith, Peter got out of the boat and walked on water towards Christ even though it had never been done before. Only when he took his eyes off Jesus did he begin to drown (go under). You may not understand or see how God will deliver you, but keep your eyes fixated on Him and not on the distractions around you. Wait faithfully for through faith and patience we inherit what has been promised.
 
When Peter was waiting to be set free from jail and when Jesus and His disciples were in the middle of a terrible storm both Peter and Jesus went to sleep.
Have enough faith in God to go to sleep on your problems. Go to sleep on anxiety, depression, debt, unemployment and loneliness because your midnight is coming, and you are going to need all the rest you can get for the season of abundance you are about to enter into.
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Unanswered Prayers

10/2/2019

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“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
 
Over the last eleven months, I have prayed some variation of the following: “Lord, I trust and believe that today will be the day you set me free, restore my fortunes and favor me personally, financially and professionally.” Every day, for the last eleven months that prayer has been met by silence. Maybe there is something you have prayed for - healing for you or a loved one, restoration of a relationship, relief from a traumatic situation or a professional opportunity that has gone unanswered. During those times, it becomes easy to doubt God’s sovereignty. When in doubt, God says for us to remember the things He has done in the past. If He saved, healed and provided for you before, He will surely do it again. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He alone is God and there is none like Him.  
 
If you have ever had a prayer go unanswered, you are in good company. Some of the great patriarchs in the Bible from Job to Paul and even Jesus himself have had prayers go unanswered. God’s “silence” is never what it seems. He is only silent when we are out of alignment with His will, to teach us about His grace and when He wants to exceed our expectations.  
 
Have you ever had your praise report turn into your prayer request? Have you ever pursued and celebrated a job, relationship or opportunity only to turn around and ask God to deliver you from it? This happens when we pursue our own plans for our life instead of relying on God. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. If the job, relationship, promotion, etc. is not what God has planned for you then do not be discouraged when you do not receive it or when you lose it. Instead, learn to praise God for those unanswered prayers. Praise Him for all the no-good people, toxic work environments and mistakes He saved you from. Through prayer, thanksgiving and supplication align your plans and desires with God’s and watch Him do some amazing things in your life.
 
Now, while I am fortunate the Lord uses our problems and trials to strengthen us. I sometimes wish He would use less dramatic methods. It becomes frustrating when we declare no weapon formed against us shall prosper though they appear to be prospering. I imagine that is how the Apostle Paul felt when he asked God on three different occasion to take away his problems and God declared, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Sometimes we are quick to try to go from one season of our life to another. Instead of trying to rush God, learn to live patiently off His grace. When we rely on God’s grace and not our own selfish desires, we open ourselves up to receive the things He has for us.  
 
Once you align your plans with God’s and learn to live off His Grace then you will be ready to receive the overflow of blessings, He has for you. Through my trials, I learned that God did not answer my prayers and meet me at my expectations because He wants to exceed them. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. God oftentimes does not give us what we pray for because He has something much better for us! We must learn to get out of our own way and trust that God will give us the abundant life He promised.

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