Christian Protests That Produces Ungodly Behavior

Middle Tennessee is part of what is known as the Bible belt. “A church on every corner” is how we are depicted. For every church, there are five associate ministers waiting to hear “the call” to start their own church or begging God that main preacher will allow them to preach one Sunday. We have several national Christian organizations that are headquartered in Nashville: the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention, and the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church are just a few examples. Lifeway, RH Boyd, and the United Methodist Publishing House are Christian entities that produce church material for church folks to gain a better understanding and knowledge of God daily.

This area is home to several colleges that have Christian roots or missions: Belmont, David Lipscomb, Fisk, Meharry Medical College, Trevecca, and Vanderbilt are all titans in secondary education. These colleges have produced some of the most intelligent, nationally recognized folks who are highly respected throughout the world. Many national Christian conventions are held here as well. The National Religious Broadcaster (NRB) is one the most successful conventions held here annually. National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators whose member organizations represent millions of listeners, viewers and readers. If you want to be on the television or radio and you want to call it a ministry, NRB is a conference you should attend. The Middle Tennessee area is also the number one region in the country for home school families. Many home school families cite religion as their primary reason for homeschooling. The number of private Christian schools in the area are too numerous to even begin to list.

With all Christ-centered organizations mentioned above, the behaviors of some church folks are keeping Middle Tennessee in the national spotlight. The spotlight seems to say we are church goers who are deeply devoted to our religious beliefs but are not practicing the tenets of loving our neighbors and Christ like acceptance of others. We are wearing hypocritical halos. I have received several calls from curious media friends from around the country asking what is happening in my beloved Volunteer state. My friends were stating that the many stories I have written about the Volunteer State’s generosity and philanthropy endeavors to those in need did not seem like the same state that is producing extreme ungodly behavior towards others who not of the Christians faith. It is a phenomenon that I am having a hard time trying to explain because I am perplexed as well.

Lately, there have been several protests against proposed Mosques in our area that have become very heated and have evoked fear in Christians that Islamic extremists are taking over. Really? With thousands of churches in the Middle Tennessee area that serves millions of Christians, three Mosques are a threat to the faith to Tennessee Christians? Hmm, let that soak for a minute. Protesters have gone from lawfully honking horns, signing petitions, and protesting Mosque locations at council meetings to someone crossing the line by burning construction equipment on the site of the property of the Murfreesboro’s Mosque, which is criminal. With the South’s ugly history of protests that have lead to the burning of property, the burning of the construction equipment was too close to numerous stories that I have heard from my parents and grandparents on the Civil Right battlefield. Many of the protests have been cloaked in biblical poetry and using constitutional sounding words that sound very unconstitutional. All of this protesting had me digging deep to separate fact from fear with a friend.

Since we debate political issues often for sport, I shared with her some of my concerns of where the protests can lead if voices of reasons do not speak up soon. Damaging property leads to harming individuals physically and neither are Godly behaviors. My concerns were deflected with her view that Islam was becoming the “new” religion of our country which she stated was founded on Judeo-Christian values. The discussion had us nursing our coffee cups for three hours.

For several weeks, her emails were sounding the alarm to take the country the back and the need for us to remember the constitution was founded by our Founding Fathers. I would reply that I refuse to live in fear. At our coffee summit, I gave her a copy of the Bill of Rights with the First Amendment highlighted. I asked her to read it out loud.

She read, “"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." After she read it, we both sat in silent for a moment. I could feel her becoming angry in her silence. I said to her, “Fear can provoke us into mayhem and madness.” The Constitution that my friend wants us to get back to gives us the freedom of religion, no matter who we worship; it gives us freedom of speech to say what we want no matter how sane or vile it may be; it gives us the right to read this blog weekly through the freedom of the press; it give us the right to the freedom of assembly so we can meet to protest or pray, and allows us to complain about our government because we have the right to petition the government. That is what separates us from countries like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

“Try calling the leader of China a socialist and see where it gets you,” I said to her with a smile. After another pot of coffee, we realized that we were going to have differing views on the actions of burning the equipment at the Mosque site. I finally pleaded: how can we read our bible daily and allow the hate and fear of others to fester from our pores? ‘Isn’t that the opposite of being a Christian,” I asked sadly. “I don’t hate them,” she said quietly. I was not trying to change her mind on any issues, I only wanted to her understand and respect my family’s heritage of non violent protests that I strongly believe in today. I have friends from all different backgrounds. We have dialogued about the Mosques buildings that have the media swarming in Tennessee like termites.

Tennessee has become a haven for national corporations over the last decade or so. With trade and industry booms, diversity in ethnicity and religion has followed. As we have opened our arms to invite others to Tennessee for economic reasons, we have to accept with those invitations an influx of other cultures. Those cultures which at one time were in the background are more visible because of the growth in our population, the anti-Muslim political climate, and the ever present media hype without a purpose.

In this age of social media, it is easy to adopt a Twitter mindset of follow and unfollow the constitution depending on how we feel about a particular subject matter. But as Christians, folks are supposedly to think and act different, right? Since there are Christian groups and church folks as numerous as the stars above in the Middle Tennessee area, I would have thought a leader would have stepped forward from one of the many national Christian organizations that are based here and calmed the masses with words that would curtail violent behavior knowing our Southern heritage of protests followed by cruelty. We are in desperate need of leaders who preach the gospel to remind us to practice the words that printed in our area by the hour. Let me close with the verse that I closed my coffee session with my friend.

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

As great as the constitution, it is has undergone several revision. However, God's word has stood the test of time.

Photo Credit:(John A. Gillis/DNJ)

Article first published as Christian Protests that Produce Ungodly Behavior on Blogcritics.

Pick Your Battles: Lessons Learned from my Grandfather

Friends who know me well hear me sharing about my grandfather (Daddy) and his love he showed his grandchildren. He really was a good man. He was not perfect by any means but he did not waiver on things that were out of sync with doing what was right when no one was around to see. One of his favorite sayings was “fair is fair.” Those words were usually followed up by “ball or strike.” One day, I am going to write a book about his poetic sayings. 

Once, I accompanied my grandfather to a meeting held at our community lodge. Watching Daddy on the front row, I thought I was going to hear one of his fiery speeches about doing what is right because it is the right thing to do. But on this particular night, things would not be normal. The tone in the room was not what I had expected. Even at the age of nine, I knew something was different about this crowd. 

The crowd had gathered to debate a hotly contested ordinance being proposed. Some community leaders were urging folks to vote for a law that was not good legislation according to my grandfather. Daddy adamantly opposed the measure and did not hide his disdain for those supporting it. In this public hearing, Daddy’s critics never called him by name but there was no doubt that he was the object of their dissatisfaction. I watched for hours as one speaker after another took pot shots at my grandfather. He never said a word and a few times, I caught him smiling. I sat in disbelief wondering why Daddy was not speaking up for what he believed in or refusing to address the group to defend his point of view.

On the drive home, I asked Daddy about the meeting. With much confidence, Daddy responded, “Never bet against the truth; you must learn to pick your battles.” At nine, my lack of comprehension showed on my face so my grandfather served up this nugget of knowledge that I use often, “Never argue with a fool, they will either win the argument or kill you.” Later that week, several individuals met with my grandfather to thank him for not debating with the noise makers. His silence spoke volumes, they told him. That was the first of many meetings where I saw my grandfather win the battle of words by never uttering a sound. He was an old school passionate orator but from time to time, he would fall silent and allow his lack of verbal engagement diffuse a situation or get others to speak up instead of waiting on him to be the messenger.

Several weeks ago, I got to experience how my grandfather felt firsthand. I attended a meeting that left me wondering had I a missed a Prozac pill. I thought I was attending a meeting to discuss empowering others to be the best they can be and mobilizing individuals to be more educated about issues in the community. I was ready to soak up whatever knowledge that was going to be shared. I had my sleeves rolled up to learn new ways to tackle old issues with relevant goals and defined action plans. As with most folks and good intentions, you get what you get. Nothing in life is a guarantee. 

Folks, I sat in a meeting, which I initially thought would be informative and motivating, dodging bullets and daggers. Damn! I did not get the memo to come dressed in amour. One speaker took great pleasure weaving belittling comments into a message about leadership. There was no hiding the fact-less infused lecture with its saccharine coated ugly tones, there was an issue with me. Before you ask, my name was never spoken. Are you surprised? Me either. As my amusement grew by the minute, I saw out the corner of my eye several individuals sitting stoned faced and showing signs of being uncomfortable with what was taking place for all to see and hear. I thought to myself, Daddy would have loved this meeting! I could visualize him twisting his Mason ring around on his finger while never looking away from the speaker. Channeling my grandfather, I twisted my diamond ring on my finger and found myself fascinated with counting the number of biting remarks that were meant to either hurt or humiliate. 

At one point, I started taking notes because I would hate to leave this one out of my upcoming book. Not to get even but because I needed to record what was taking place within my spirit. I did not get upset or walk out. I pinched myself several times to make sure I had not dozed off or was having an out of body experience. I was actually listening quietly to words that were not having an effect on me. My grandfather words came rushing back to me, “pick your battles.” This was not a battle; this was a pissing match and I was not a bed wetter. I had nothing to prove. I had spoken truth to a few folks and the result of speaking up was this angry crazed tirade that had me pinned in my seat. Riveting. On the drive home, I found myself laughing as if I seen a comedy routine. Does personal growth and revelation come with bouts of laughter? Instead of fuming and ready to take folks to the shed, I was laughing at what I experienced. Meds do not produce that kind of response.

By the time I made it home, I received calls apologizing for my experience were pouring in from many individuals that I respected. Each apology was heartfelt and genuine. Their phones calls made me respect them even more. Unbeknownst to me, several expressed their indignation at the meeting not being about serving others. I did not have to mention that the meeting was not as it was billed. Although my experience was meant to humiliate me, I witnessed folks willing to do the right thing even when no one was looking. I realized something had changed in me. Not one to hold my tongue when mayhem and foolishness rear their ugly heads, surprisingly, I was silent. By not engaging in petty words that faithful day, I took in what was said and made a decision to use my time building others up for the greater good of everyone, including myself.

Since the meeting, I taped the notes from that day near my calendar to remind me of the lesson from my grandfather that was revealed years later. It took courage for him to hold back. I cherish those actions from the lodge that I witnessed; his strength in his silence, the twisting of his ring and smiling while staring intently at a speaker hurling clandestine insults. He was showing me not every battle is worthy of my energy and to always leave foolish arguments for fools to debate. After a few days, I sent a note to the speaker expressing thanks for a presentation that had a positively profound effect on me. Growth is good. How was your week?

Tavis Smiley Sets Himself on Fire and Burns HIS Agenda

Filled with barely disguised negativity, Tavis Smiley broadcasted on Tuesday morning that he was calling a “choir rehearsal for Black Leaders” on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. When Tom Joyner first announced last week that special commentary from Tavis Smiley would replace Jeff Johnson, my immediate thought was, “This is going to be a hot mess whatever it is”. Tom tried to build excitement about the Tavis Smiley’s upcoming commentary, by counting down to the segment. Tow Joyner was excited.But I am sure Tom Joyner had no idea that Tavis would use his show to set off a firestorm in the Black community. Tavis Smiley did not disappoint; he came with mess and mayhem.

When Tavis Smiley came on the air he barely acknowledged the morning crew and said “Let’s jump right into this”. And that he did. He opened with quotes from one of our country’s greatest leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way. Because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others.’”

The words of the greatest American we’ve ever produced, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talking about the choice he made not just, Tom, to identify with, but to give his life for the least among us; the politically, socially, economically disenfranchised in America.

Last year, in researching Tavis Smiley’s relationship with Wells Fargo, I know all too well when he starts out with a quote from Dr. King, it is usually a setup for a manifesto about Tavis Smiley and what he believes is righteous indignation. Once again, he did not reflect the heart of Dr. King or actions Dr. King would have taken. Instead, Tavis Smiley should be paying royalties to the King Foundation for the constant misuse of Dr. King’s image and words.

In 2009, I wrote in several posts how Tavis Smiley loves to sprinkle biblical scriptures/references in his oratorical presentations. He sounds spiritual and gives you the impression that he is a shepherd of the flock who wants to give gentle loving nudging to his “sheeple”. On Tuesday, he kept his tilted, tainted halo on as he stated the following words:

“Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me.”

Some of us, who call ourselves Black leaders are making the wrong choice. I’m afraid this morning, Tom, that in so doing, we are misleading, misguiding, Black folk. It’s time for a course correction, not now, but right now. Because leadership without followership is a sinkin’ ship.

The above quotes were Tavis’s opening statements. He only got better or worse depending on if you were laughing or crying. In all the years that I have heard real leaders speak, I have never heard the word “followership”. I have attended events around the globe and spoken at hundreds of conferences, seminars, on panels, and in sessions and I don’t recall anyone using a rarely used word to fool the gullible by trying to sound like an intelligent leader. A leader leads; he does not have to try to sound like a leader if he is a leader.

Tavis Smiley told 12 million listeners he was having an event to call out leaders who do not understand the importance of the “Black Agenda”. My parents must have missed that one when I was born. Not one doctor or nurse put that in my diaper bag when they sent me home; raise your child with a Black Agenda. What is the Black Agenda? Jobs for the unemployed? Homes for the homeless? Education? That is part of getting America back on the road to recovery. That is everyone’s agenda. Geez, when are folks are going to stop being idiots with mics and get people back to work.

Are things harder on some than on others? Yes, I totally agree with that. But as I said last week when meet and greets are called to make demands and commands, often times it is photo ops and not about helping the community. Black folks do not need another conference to state what is wrong with black folks. What is needed is community mind folks (of all races) working with like minded folks (of all races) to bring job opportunities, raising testing scores in schools to help get more kids in college, dealing with credit issues that obstruct better insurance rates and home ownership…the list is endless. But I can go into the Hispanic community and they are saying the exact same thing.

The good thing about Tavis Smiley’s latest media-defacto, it engulfed him in flames and burned HIS agenda. People have rejected his antics and took to the blogs and radio to speak up. Rev. Sharpton who Tavis has palled around with in the past called into the Tom Joyner Morning Show right after Tavis’s rambling diatribe where he announced the time, date, and panelists scheduled to attend the meeting. Sharpton was not aware of the meeting and heard the invite via the radio. Tavis Smiley had not called many of scheduled “leaders” personally to come to this meeting. I was sitting at my desk heaving from laughing so hard. Tavis Smiley is so full of himself; he really thought people would show up because he was on the radio announcing the resurrection of his Negro Super Bowl. It only got uglier by the minute; the parting shot by Sharpton was Tavis Smiley did not have this urgency to call out President Clinton and black leaders before while Tavis was dancing on stage with the Clintons. LAWD…you just can’t make this stuff up!

Well now… this is not over and I am sure others are going to have a few more words to say as well. Here’s one of similar posts over at www.jackandjillpolitics.com:

Whenever anyone disagrees with you; if they’re men, you try to shame them. If they’re women, you try to have them fired off their jobs. You sure as hell don’t give them a platform from which to preach the truth, which you don’t like, because most of it is about you hawking another damned book, and saying it’s to help Black People.

Stop acting like a community leader that you play on TV, and be the self-promoting marketeer you really are. Your attempt to pass yourself off as a “Black Leader” has worn off and just like the Emperor, you don’t have any clothes on.
The CPL

It must really hard trying to sell books in this economy while posing as a community activist. Y’all this has been the longest black history month in years. See you in March.

Nashville's Sign Gate and Truthiness

(Disclaimer: This story is best read while drinking wine that comes in a box or your own homemade shine.)
(Disclaimer 2: If you chose to drink while reading this post, you may be drunk at the end of this post.)

On a rainy Tuesday, October 27, 2009, News Channel 4 aired a report about a stolen political sign that left many thunderstruck and speculating how political folks can be so brazen and demeaning. But whenever we are dealing with the main stream media, it is essential that we Fact check the news. A story that seemed cut and dried, or in this case, wet and soggy, failed to include pertinent facts. Instead, it opened a floodgate of questions concerning the actual events in this “she said, she said” saga that should have drowned in the Cumberland River.

I was half listening to the news when I heard the promo for a story dealing with a stolen political sign. Hearing Delois Wilkinson’s name mentioned; I was intrigued immediately. Mrs. Wilkinson was a customer of Holmes Pest Control for many years. An old school, grass roots mobilizer like my grandfather, I knew of Mrs. Delois Jackson Wilkinson’s legendary civil rights activism even though I grew up in Mississippi. After I moved to Tennessee, I spoke of her often to Daddy. She was known as “Miss Civil Rights” in social circles, but I called her the original Diva of Nashville Politics. Mrs. Wilkinson was the first perfectionist I ever worked for and her building, the famed Onyx Room, was her pride and joy. HPC had the pest control and janitorial contract. Working for her was hum-bee-ling but she taught us the rules of engaging a customer with an impeccable eye to detail. She reminded me often that she was the client and my job was to make her happy. Her matter-of-fact, candor is missing in today’s era, where sensational political punditry passes for truth-telling. I am grateful for the business and history lessons I learned from her.

Waiting to hear the WSMV segment, I was expecting a story about Mrs. Wilkerson’s work in helping organize the March on Washington or her famous remark, “Johnny does not teach himself” but Dennis Ferrier was reporting about a disagreement over a political sign involving Kathleen Wilkinson, Mrs. Delois Wilkinson oldest daughter, and Karen Johnson, Metro school board member who is a candidate for Juvenile Court Clerk. This story seemed to have all the intrigue of Sarah Palin and Michelle Bauchman at a wrestling match and you know how I love talking about political antics, rogue politicians and the media that reports “truthiness”. Keeping up with Tennessee’s politics will drive one to drink. The following is from www.WSMV.com which brought this story to our attention. Kathleen Wilkinson is on camera with Dennis Ferrier on News 4:

The incident involves a high-profile political race and a well-known woman running for office.
Karen Johnson is a Metro school board member who is running for the office of juvenile court clerk. Recently she placed a campaign sign in the front lawn of the Onyx House, a notable building in the Germantown of north Nashville.
The building is owned by Kathleen Wilkinson, and she was shocked to see the sign in the yard of the house. Wilkinson said Johnson never received approval to place the sign on her property.
Wilkinson said she does not support Johnson because she is one of the school board members who voted for the recent school rezoning. Wilkinson said her mother, Delois Jackson Wilkinson, was a former school board member who spent her life fighting for desegregation.
"Mrs. Johnson wants me to go against my mother's legacy," said Kathleen Wilkinson.
So, she called Johnson and asked her to take her sign off of her property.
"She cursed me out (and said,) 'I'm going to put your blank, blank, blank in jail, and you don't know who you are messing with,'" said Wilkinson.
So, Wilkinson removed the sign herself, since it was on her property. Johnson then filed a criminal theft report with Metro police.
"She wanted to have me arrested because I removed a sign from a building that my mother left me," said Wilkinson.
Wilkinson said Friday night that two Metro detectives knocked on her door investigating the theft of the Johnson sign.
Police said on Tuesday they have dismissed the report and will no longer investigate the case.
Johnson said she received approval from the property manager to place the sign outside the Onyx House. She said her focus is "to run a campaign in an honorable, lawful and respectful way as I will continue to do until the election.

Police reports, cussing , sign espionage, threats, trespassing, evoking the name of the dead, conduct bordering on insanity…this is not rouge politics, this is reality TV foolishness. By the way, don’t you love it when the media renames Jefferson Street to Germantown depending on what story they are telling? If this story was about a murder at the same location, the media would have said they were standing on Jefferson Street.

I contacted both women to get additional information. Ms. Johnson was not interviewed and as there are always two sides to every story, inquiring minds wanted to know how this incident escalated to Sign Gate. Ms. Wilkinson and Ms. Johnson returned my calls and sent statements. I spent the rest of the week sorting through the details of this hastily reported piece.

Before reading any further, you should pour yourself a drink. This is Tennessee ugly, no other way to call it. I have no pests to kill in this fight, but this story just sounded too crazy to pass up and crazy stories keep me blogging.

Kathleen Wilkinson said she was made aware of Karen Johnson’s sign on her property so she went to see for herself. She was deeply outraged because no one was given permission from her directly and she believes that Karen Johnson’s political point of view contradicts her mother’s life work for equality in education. Ms. Wilkinson stated that her mother helped shatter the glass ceiling for women in politics in Nashville. Out of respect to her mother’s legacy, she should have been contacted directly. Also according to Ms. Wilkinson, Ms. Johnson became belligerent on the phone when she contacted her to remove her campaign sign that was offensive to her and illegally placed. On WSMV, Ms. Wilkinson said that after contacting Ms. Johnson by phone she was told, “I am going to put your blank, blank, blank in jail.”(In Mississippi, we say the actual cuss words. I love Tennessee politics.)

Ms. Wilkinson filed a police report after speaking with Ms. Johnson. The police report states that “Kathleen wanted documentation that they exchanged words.” What was exactly said was not stated in the report filed on October 19, 2009. On Friday, October 23, 2009 two metro detectives knocked at the former Belmont area home of Delois Wilkinson looking for the political sign. Wth?

Two metro detectives, not bike cops, are out looking for a political sign. At what rate of pay are taxpayers supporting a hunt for political signs? Nashville crime rates have skyrocketed in the last year but detectives are looking for a sign? When I went to Central Precinct to ask questions, I was told by Metro’s finest that they were doing their job by following up on the sign. When I pulled out Ms. Wilkinson’s police report, the police were unaware that more than one police report had been filed. Metro thought the case was closed. Hang on, this is one crazy story.

According to Ms. Johnson, she was not being malicious. Her only intent was to find out about her sign. Ms. Johnson stated that she got permission to put the sign on the property from Julius Herbst, the property manager for the building. She stated that she did not personally place the sign, but was assisted by Bill Hampton, another employee of Onyx Room. A few days later, Ms Johnson was in the area and noticed the sign missing. She went into German Town Cleaners asking about her sign. The workers advised her to contact Historic Germantown Nashville Neighborhood Association list serve to find out if anyone in the area might have seen the sign. Seeing painters next door in a vacant office, Ms. Johnson asked the painters if they had seen or heard anything about her missing political sign.

The painter informed her that a short dark skinned black woman with short hair knocked on the door on and claimed she was one of the owners of the building and took the sign. The painter said, “Ms. Johnson became alarmed wondering if it was her political opponent, Councilwoman Vivian Wilhoite, who took the sign and showed me a picture to make sure it was not her.” (Damn, that is too funny! Go ahead and refill your glass now.) Upset, Ms. Johnson sought advice from a friend at Metro Police. She was informed that she may want to file a police report and to declare the value of the sign, $85.00. Ms. Johnson’s police report states the incident took place on Oct 16, 2009. Ms. Johnson relayed the information to Julius Herberst who said he knew the person and would testify against them if this case went to court. Ms. Johnson was unaware that he was referring to Ms. Wilkinson, one of the property owners. (Wait, doesn’t Julius work for the Wilkinsons?) Unbeknownst to Ms. Johnson her sign was getting ready for its big media debut via WSMV on October 27. Ms. Johnson’s statement to the Tennessee Tribune and Genmaspeaks.Com:

I had no problem coming to remove the sign off the property, but I did not know that anyone wanted the sign removed. It was not until after the detectives started probing to get information after my complaint that Ms. Wilkinson made contact regarding the sign. The sign had already been removed and was at her house. I received no call prior to my complaint to remove the sign. If I had been contacted before the removal and before my complaint, this would have alerted me to the fact there was a problem with the sign. I would have removed it instead of her knocking on the window of the business and removing the sign herself. No one knew she had the sign until after the complaint was filed. There is not one sign in this county that I have put down that I have not gotten permission to do so. November 1, 2009.

I am missing my grandfather tremendously as I am writing this story. He would be on the floor laughing, while trying to keep his teeth in his mouth. Anyway, the following passages are from Ms. Johnson’s blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The signage which I placed on the property of the Onyx Room located at address 624 Jefferson Street was permitted by Julius Herbst, the property manager and a supporter of my campaign. I was never contacted by Ms. Kathleen Wilkinson until after a report with authorities was filed because she was identified as the person who vandalized and stole my property and currently has a trespassing waiver issued against her from the co-owners of the property. After Ms. Wilkinson was contacted by the authorities who were attempting to recover the sign, she then called me. Her tone was very rude, brash and nasty; therefore, I saw no reason to continue the conversation. My focus is to run a campaign in an honorable, lawful and respectful way as I will continue to do until the election. www.facebook.com/karenyjohnson http://karenyjohnson.blogspot.com/2009/10/karen-johnson-issues-statement.html Oct 27th 2009

Ms. Johnson also sent a mass email to members of Historic Germantown Nashville Neighborhood Association about the missing sign which was posted like other neighborhood crime reports. Oct 20th, 2009:

This is Juvenile Court Clerk candidate Karen Johnson. I had permission to place a campaign sign on the property where GermanTown Cleaners and the Onyx Room sits. CC who is painting a vacated room in the building was painting inside on Friday evening. A short dark skinned black woman with short hair knocked on the door and claimed she talked to the owners and was told she could take my sign down.
Everyone on the property was aware that I had permission to place the sign. Please be on the lookout for anyone removing my signs. Please call me directly should someone tamper or try to remove my signs.
Karen Y. Johnson

On Twitter, there was some criticism about the mass email that was sent out and here are some of the exchanges:

kimu@micchiato Johnson also had hgn send out a mass email on this last week. Her tone in the email was really unpleasant & off put 6:14 AM Oct 28th
kimu@micchiato I have no clue who she even is, but it wasn't a pleasant way to be introduced.

Ms. Johnson responded to her twitter criticism on Twitter.com/karenyjohnson

karenyjohnson@micchiato I shared information on the listserv and it was pleasant and a plea for help. At the time no one knew who took the sign.

(Hat tip to @micchiato)
Are you keeping track? What a mess! I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or refill my glass. Are you wondering how the police got involved? Ms. Johnson believed she had permission to put her sign up because the property manager told her she could. Ms. Johnson believed her sign was stolen and/or destroyed by someone playing a political prank so she filed a police report. Ms. Wilkinson believed the verbal threats which she attributed to Ms. Johnson. Ms. Wilkinson believed her mother’s legacy was mocked so she filed a police report.

When I met with the officer whose name was given to me by all parties involved, he believed this was much ado about nothing. The sign was taken off the property by one of the owners; the sign was retrieved by the candidate to whom the sign belonged after Metro was contacted. I asked him if the sign was damaged, he said, “No.” He was surprised that this story made the news because by the time the story aired he had already closed the case. I asked about the dueling police reports which as I stated early he was unaware existed until I showed them to him. Police reports are issued as a “matter of record” to provide a paper trail. He noted that Ms. Johnson was upset about her sign, but she got it back. Ms. Wilkinson delivered the sign to the detective at Metro Central Precinct and offered to pay for any damages. The officer said a pole was missing but it was returned also. I asked about the trespassing waiver that Ms. Johnson referenced on her Facebook page against Ms. Wilkinson. Three separate police officers explained that a trespassing waiver could not be issued against an individual and most businesses have them to keep homeless people off their property after hours. As for verbal exchange, let’s not play insane; I am sure a few choice words were said between the two women at some point.

This narrative is making Michelle Bauchman seem warm and fuzzy. Y’all are different in Tennessee that’s for sure. In Mississippi, if we don’t like you and you put a sign on our property, we put your sign in the trash! But we are country folks so what do we know about not showing out in public. This should have ended this saga, right? Wrong. Enter the media, new and old. Refill you glass and keep reading.

While Ms. Wilkinson told her side of the story on Channel 4, Ms. Johnson channeled Palin and took to her social networking sites to share her version of events. I am a lover of new media so I get it. I asked Ms. Johnson why she was not interviewed on camera for this story. Ms. Johnson was at work when Dennis Ferrier called her and she does not conduct Metro school business when she is at work. Ms. Johnson responded by the second airing of the story featuring Ms. Wilkinson. She sent a statement to News Channel 4 but only the last sentence was read. Ms. Johnson felt WSMV rushed this story without examining all the facts. (Please tell me the media would never do such a thing!) To be totally transparent, the publisher of the Tennessee Tribune is Ms. Johnson’s play mother and mentor. I am not. The publisher, who is also the founder of Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce, was not notified of the stolen sign until I contacted her. I asked about businesses in the area being alerted and she was not aware of the list serve email. Ms. Johnson stated that the sign was returned damaged; the officer’s and Ms. Wilkinson’s claimed that it was not.

What the hell is the story really about; a property manager’s duties, bad communication between owners of a property and it's employees, a missing sign not showing up on Google earth? After speaking to Ms. Wilkinson, Mr. Wilkinson, Ms. Johnson, the property manager, several metro officers, the painter, the baker and the candle stick maker, I question how much time was invested in researching this story by the media when it was originally aired. What made this story appealing to run with half the facts is the ever presence elephant in the room: Ms. Johnson voting for the rezoning of Metro school district. Some folks in the African American community, especially those that can remember attending raggedy schools that were not equal, have not forgotten that vote and the emotions that surface whenever this matter is broached were played upon in the reporting of this story. For people of color, the media should not be allowed to use those passionate feelings about the Civil Rights era to pit one against the other over and over again. No one wins, especially the community of color. It waters down the meaning of the struggle and set the community back further. Mrs. Delois Wilkinson and my grandfather did not fight tooth and nail until they took their last breath for folks to go backwards. Sign Gate, the missing political sign debacle; comes with the territory of running for office.

As for the sign being on the property, Ms. Delois Jackson Wilkinson, the business woman that I worked for and respected, said to me, “money is green.” The Onyx room is rented most weekends to reputable party goers for wedding receptions, birthday parties, fraternity events and even political figures. You got the money; you sign the security deposit, the building is yours until your time or money runs out. As crowded as this race has become for Juvenile Court Clerk, I don’t think she would have run the risk of offending any potential client whether they are a Democrat or Republican, from Alaska or Tennessee. In this economic climate, she would not have placed a political sign prominently on the front lawn of her beloved Onyx Room. (The focus is on business and not the politics.)She said often, “Business is business sweetheart, don’t take my criticism personally.” When I was asked once by a promising young man who was seeking office to drive around with signs on my trucks, I had to quickly decline. Not that I did not support him, not that I did not think he was a good candidate, but my client base was heavily supporting his opponent. I had to break it down economically to him. His people only paid $45.00 a month for pest control and I had to call him to get that. I serviced nine homes on Chickering Lane that paid $45.00 for their dog houses. Nothing personal, business is business and political signs can cost you business. I gave to him financially, but I did not put his signs on my truck.

Now, you know the rest of the story(or least as much as I could write without it being 5,000 plus words). I will be very “Presidential” and offer both women to have a glass of wine with me, my treat of course! I do not plan to solve any issues between them; I just would like a glass of wine. (Twitter hash tag #nashvillewinesummit09)

Recap of what we have learned:
1. Channel 4 did a mucky job reporting this story. Check
2. Channel 4 should have sent the reporter who follows Vic Lineweaver to funerals to investigate Sign Gate. Check
3. Ms. Johnson had permission to put the sign on 624 Jefferson Street by the property manager. Check
4. Ms. Wilkinson did not give her approval to put the sign out and is not voting for Ms. Johnson. Check
5. Ms. Wilkinson has rogue employees who make decisions without her. Check
6. Vic Lineweaver attends funerals of people he does not know. Shameful
7. Councilwoman Vivian Wilhoite did not look like the woman who took the sign. Check.
8. Holmes Pest Control treats dog houses. Check
9. We should all be drunk by now. Check
10. Mrs. Wilkinson fought to make Nashville a better place for all. Thank God!