Serving Bread

Last night, I got a phone call from one of our core InterVarsity students and close friend Yemi (affectionately known as Sky). He is a board member of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and had been asked to speak at City Hall on the one year anniversary of the Michael Richards incident at the Laugh Factory, where the comedian dropped the N word in a derogative way toward Black patrons who did not care much for his jokes.

Sky asked me to accompany him for this historic moment. Councilman Bernard Parks invited Sky to speak in favor of a symbolic resolution calling for an end of the use of the N word.

Here is Sky in action:

And here’s me caught on TV walking to the press conference following the testimonies and the vote. That’s me in the red sweater. Sky did a fantastic job, and though the event took way longer than it should have (our tax money at work), it was a joy to see Sky given such an incredible feat and (for both of us) to have an opportunity to rub shoulders with fame.I met Councilmembers Parks and Janice Hahn.I thanked Ms. Hahn for her work on the council and had a moment to chat with her about our ministry. She is a devout believer who had given a testimony at the Billy Graham Crusade in Pasadena a couple years ago.

I also had lunch with a few members of the NAACP, the attorney representing one of the victims in the Richards case, the young man she is representing, and Mrs. Parks (wife of Bernard Parks). Parks may not be my representative on the city council, but he does represent my church’s district. I shared with Mrs. Parks some of the ways that our church is trying to bring transformation to the community and got a contact of accessing some money from the city that would help us toward that end.

An irony of the day was seeing the uncanny resemblance of Council President Eric Garcetti to Nathan Petrolli of Heroes. If you know the show (I’m just familiar with Season 1), Petrelli is a politician on the show. They have similar looks and mannerisms.

I was glad to join Sky for the day. He is a young, black, emerging leader. It’s been a joy to serve as a mentor in his life, and I foresee great influence and transformation through Sky. When we influence students, we don’t know the kind of power we will be influencing in the future.