05:06 – The Black Trans Prayer Book is revolutionary
06:29 – Anna’s Got a Word
Jussie Smollett took the stand in his own defense and maintains this was not a hoax. The Salvation Army is catching some heat from conservations. The Black Trans Prayer Book needs to be in your collection.
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Transcript
Our leading story remains the Jussie Smollett trial. Yesterday Smollett took the stand in his own defense, a move everyone wondered would actually happen. We recently saw how effective it was in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial as he testified on his own behalf and essentially won the jury over. Smollett was seeking to have a similar impact as he needed to counter the very compelling testimony of the Osundairo brothers. He was on the stand for six hours and testified that claims he staged a “fake attack” were “100% false.” He told the jurors that he and Abimbola (Bola) Osundairo had a couple of sexual encounters, they spent time at bathhouse a couple of times, and did marijuana & cocaine together. Smollett contends this was not a hoax. Special prosecutor Webb asked about the noose that Bola Osundairo claimed he couldn’t get around Smollett’s neck, he said, “You put it around your neck,” and Smollett answered, “No, Mr. Webb, I did not.” In rebuttal to not handing his phone over to the police and not providing DNA Smollett answered that he refused to hand his cell phone over to investigators to protect his own privacy and that he doesn’t even do ancestry.com. He went on to say, “I cared more about my privacy, and that’s the truth.” To counter the claim that the studio didn’t take the threatening letter he received seriously, Smollett testified that they did in fact take it seriously. He says they offered to provide him additional security and to be driven home each day from the set. Smollett told them, “I’m a grown man…I don’t need to be driven around like Miss Daisy.” The defense contends the Osundairo brothers attacked him in a bid to scare him into hiring them as his security. The other piece here I find interesting is that Smollett initially told police that his attackers were white. Yesterday, the defense also called Anthony Moore, a security guard who worked at Smollett’s apartment building. Moore testified that he told the police he saw the attackers flee from the scene that night and he identified one of them as a white male in a ski mask. He could tell because he shined a flashlight in his face. Now how does that storyline play into this entire case? Either way, all I know is this case gets more interesting by the day. Smollett is back on the stand today and we will continue to follow the story and report back to you.
Tis the season, which means the Salvation Army is back ringing their bells. There has been a well documented boycott of the Salavation Army by the LGBTQ community for a decade now over their anti-LGBTQ stance. This stance has made them an organization that the Chick-fil-A’s of the world love to give lots of money too. Well it appears conservatives are angry with The Salvation Army for being too pro-gay and anti-racist. A couple of groups have reported that the Army is teaching critical race theory and diversity which apparently gets them quite upset. To counter these claims the National Commander of the Salvation Army, Kenneth Hodder, recorded a message where he says, “Our mission is still to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination. The Salvation Army is not on the left. It’s not on the right. We’re where we’ve always been: following Jesus Christ.” Now you can take that however you like.
Our last story for today is about the Black Trans Prayer Book. Have you heard about it? It is an interfaith and beyond faith collection of poems, spells, incantations, theological narrative, and visual offerings by Black Trans, Non-Binary, and Intersex people. The book is co-edited by J. Mase III & Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi both of whom grew up in interfaith households with Christian mothers and Muslim fathers. Like many Queer people who grew up in relgious homes you question why your identity is so vilivied by religions that centers its message around love. Well J. Mase III & Lady Dane put out a call to the community to share their stories and received an amazing response. The Black Trans Prayer Book is a tool of healing, and affirmation centered on uplifting Black Trans & Non-Binary people and celebrating their place within faith. It’s revolutionary. Period. Queer folks have faith too and its so incredibly important for us to tell our stories and in particularly those stories of faith based practices. Pick up your copy today at theblacktransprayerbook.org and you can also help by donating to their GoFundMe to turn the book into a documentary. Visit theblacktransprayerbook.org for all the details. Check it out and support. We all we got.
As always we close out with our word of the day. Our word today is ease. Claim ease and welcome it into your life. Oftentimes I look at my day ahead and it can feel overwhelming. When I am at my best I remember to welcome ease into my world. I remember that I don’t have to claim that feeling of anxiety and being overwhelmed. I remember to breathe and affirm that I am enough. I affirm that I know ease and I can move through the day with confidence that all things will work out for the good. Breathe and know ease. Till tomorrow family, peace.
Sources
ABC 7 Chicago
Jussie Smollett testimony continues Tuesday after hours on stand day prior: ‘There was no hoax’
