Bishop Gerald Coleman Sr.: Interceding for God’s people

     More than 20 years ago, Gerald Coleman Sr. traveled the United States as an evangelist with Tennessee’s 5^th Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ. During his travels he noticed that men and women were struggling to overcome obstacles. Touched by their plight, he reached out with a willing spirit and a hand of mercy to make a difference in their lives. And with a succinct message from God, he left with them a prophetic word that would henceforth change their lives for the better.

Bishop Gerald Coleman Sr. and first lady Marlene
D. Coleman of Faith Keepers Ministries in the
Raleigh-Frayser community. (Courtesy photo)

     Most people address him as Prophet Coleman, a God-fearing man who prophesizes, preaches, teaches, counsels and intercedes on behalf of bishops, pastors, deacons, evangelists and laymen all across the United States – and abroad for that matter -- who look to the prophet for spiritual direction and for his uncanny ability to see beyond the realm of this world.

     Coleman knew he was different than most people. He could see the intangible -- what the naked eye can’t see – even as a 6-year-old child. Some people might go so far to describe his ability as otherworldly. Coleman, however, describes it as a “gift” and that God has indeed anointed him to speak the unadulterated gospel truth.

     “As a child, I could see things. I had several visions. I knew I wasn’t normal. I was always seeing things. I was prophesizing,” he says. “I would always be in front of people. God showed me how to be a leader of His people.”

     Coleman actually began his ministry 31 years ago. He is currently the spiritual leader, or the shepherd, of a faithful flock at Faith Keepers Ministries, a thriving church in the Raleigh-Frayser community. He has been at the helm for 10 years.

     Originally from Corinth, Miss., Coleman’s family moved to Memphis when he was 10 years old. He grew up with 11 sisters and brothers. Although their parents are deceased, Coleman is their second oldest child.

     “Preachers run in my family,” Coleman pointed out. “I was about 24 years old when I received my calling.”  

     Rev. Kenneth L. Coleman is the pastor of God’s Ministries in Cordova, Tenn. Another brother, Charles Coleman, teaches Sunday school at another church and plays an integral part in the church’s music department. His sister, Prophetess Betty Coleman, has the uncanny ability to see beyond the realm as well. Each one, however, is working in the vineyard for Christ, Coleman says. 

     “You have to have a heart for ministry and a love for God,” says Coleman, the father of four children: Ashley Shaw, Marquita Palmer, Brittany Whitaker and Gerald Coleman Jr., Faith Keepers’ drummer. Marlene D. Coleman, Coleman’s wife of 13 years, is an evangelist and the first lady of the church. She oversees the women’s ministry, Women Operating in Faith.

A ‘fisherman’ of men…

     In Coleman’s role as prophet, he refuses to confine himself to the church’s pulpit to reel in men and women for Christ. Instead, he travels the highways and byways casting a wide net in an effort to capture the soul of God’s people, as if he is indeed a “fisher” of men.

     “I’ve done a lot of traveling and evangelistic work,” he says. “I’ve dealt with whites, blacks, Hispanics. I’m multicultural.”

     Laymen and clergymen alike have called on Coleman for any number of reasons. Like a prophet from the biblical days, he responds to their calls without hesitation and travels to and fro without the need for fanfare, bells and whistles.

     In a society that places a premimum on abundant living and the accumulation of wealth, the prophet is not moved or influenced one iota by luxurious living that some clergymen seem to enjoy. He is steadfast nonetheless and does not waver from his Christian duties. And he is not highfalutin or vainglorious, either.  

     “I don’t believe in living off the people because I’m the shepherd,” says Coleman, who once pastored the church without receiving a salary. “I teach holiness. I teach the Word. I preach from Genesis to Revelation.”

     He also reaches out to transform the total man, he says, regardless of race, creed or color. “I want to reach the total man. I want to go after the soul, and I want to establish feeding programs and youth programs.”

     As genteel as he is, Coleman’s reputation precedes him. Because he is a prophet, he’s compelled and imbued with a Christian spirit to lead God’s people in the “right direction” – towards heaven. He also counsels them, prays for them, and intercedes on their behalf.

     “That’s my ministry,” he says.

     G.E. Patterson, the late presiding bishop of COGIC, was the beneficiary of Coleman’s prophetic anointing before Patterson was elevated to the bishopric of the worldwide 5 million-member Pentecostal denomination. Coleman said he saw Patterson’s ascension in his vision.

     He said he’s received phone calls for advice and blessings from other leaders as well, such as Bishop Eddie Long, the embattled pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.; Apostle Alton R. Williams, pastor of World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church; and Bishop Edward H. Stephens Jr., senior pastor of Golden Gate Cathedral.

     “One of the strongest leaders and one of the most influential persons in my life is Archbishop Leroy Bailey,” said Coleman. “I’ve also ministered to a very close friend of mine, Rev. Bartholomew Orr of Brown Missionary Baptist Church.”

     Coleman has also counseled and advised Rev. Leo Holt, pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship Church; Bishop Larry Smith, pastor of Abundant Faith World Ministries; and Bishop Raymond Williams, pastor of Shekinah Glory International Ministries Church.

     In 1989, he met former President Bill Clinton at Olivet Baptist Church. A friend and clergymen had arranged the meeting.

     “I fellowshipped with him (Clinton),” the prophet recalls.

     From Memphis to Chicago to New York to Florida and cities in between, Coleman has ministered to and prayed for people. He has been called the “Prophet of Memphis” and has strong connections in Africa and the United Kingdom.

Kingdom building…

     In October 2006, Coleman began serving as priesthood bishop under Archbishop Leroy Bailey Jr., senior pastor and Chief Executive Officer of The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Conn.; Archbishop Rainer Laufers of Old Holy Catholic Church in Ottawa, Canada; and Bishop Benjamin K. Watts, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in New London, Conn.

     On May 3, 2008, Coleman was ordained a bishop at Churches Covered and Connected in Covenant (C4/IBC), “a gathering of churches, Christians, leaders and servants to worship, learn, and pray together in order to present Christ by all means everywhere to everyone.” The group brings churches together from all over the nation to worship and learn together. Bailey, the presiding prelate, established the group in 2002.

     Whether you refer to Coleman as bishop or prophet, it probably wouldn’t matter – for those who seek his counsel, advice, or a prophetic word, you’d be instantly moved by his candor and impressed with his gift of prophecy.

     Speaking of prophecy: A woman who had suffered from three aneurisms was reportedly healed after Coleman foretold that God would heal her within 14 days. It happened on the 12^th day, Coleman said. He also prognosticated the building that houses Holy City Church of God in Christ. Supt. Jerry Taylor, the church’s pastor, would see it come to past.

     Coleman has also established a number of churches. Three individuals launched their own ministry after serving under the prophet’s leadership and teaching at Faith Keepers Ministries. He also established a hospital and street ministry more than 18 years ago.

A champion for Christ…

     For Coleman, the path to the pulpit began like it would with others who are making incremental steps in their own careers to achieve success – with a vita of accomplishments, educational pursuits and objectives.

     Although Coleman’s accomplishments – or spiritual gifts per se – are widely known, he studied the Word of God in his quest for spiritual enlightenment and served under the tutelage of reputed clergymen. In the early years of his life, he was just as attentive in public school as he is now as a servant of Jesus Christ.

     Coleman grew up in the Orange Mound community, matriculated at Hanley Elementary and graduated from Melrose High School in 1974. Always with an eye on the ministry, he would go on and graduate from C. H. Mason Bible College, where he obtained his degree.

     Because he is dedicated to ministry, one would be surprised to discover that the prophet is skilled in construction work. “I’ve always been a worker all my life,” he says. “I’ve been in construction since I was in the eighth grade.”

     Here’s another surprise: Coleman was a professional kick-boxer who reigned as the undefeated middleweight champion for five years. He also was the sparing partner for Anthony “Amp” Elmore, the five-time PKA (Professional Kickboxing Association) World Karate/Kickboxing Champion.

     It was the 1980s, and while Coleman was battling tough opponents in the squared ring, he fought as well to vanquish what he believed were evil spirits that pervaded the mind, body and soul of God’s people through prayer and intercession.  

     “I was ministering even as a professional fighter,” says Coleman, who was well equipped to handle himself in the ring. But then he remembers a spirited match with an opponent that didn’t go too well.

     “It was in the 5^th round on ESPN at the Cook Convention Center,” he recalls. “I was fighting Oliver Miller for the Mid-South Middleweight title. One kick caused me the fight – so they say… but everybody knew I’d won.”

     After the loss and subsequent fights to come, Coleman assessed his future in the harsh, physical sport that he loved so much. “God gave me a choice. He said, ‘You can become a champion for a season or a champion for a lifetime.’”

     Coleman made a decision. He pursued the latter. 

Young men flock to ‘church’ with a different kind of Christian doctrine

     After the shooting death of Michael Brown and the resulting media firestorm, old racial wounds between African Americans and law enforcement quickly resurfaced. Israel United in Christ, however, was there in Ferguson, Mo., trying to quell the frustrations that African Americans were feeling by spreading “the word of God.”

     Israel United in Christ is not your average Protestant church, where worshippers sing traditional and contemporary gospel songs. It also is not a church where a charismatic preacher delivers the sermon using pulpit theatrics and the age-old practice of “call and response.”  

     “It’s a (faith-based Christian) church/school. And we focus on the laws, statues and commandments of the Bible,” said Michael McVay, a 31-year-old mental health case manager calling himself Michael Ben Israel, a surname the members adopt meaning “son of Israel.”

     The church/school also recognizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, said McVay, who once worshipped in the Baptist faith with his mother and sister. His grandmother, he said, is a member of the Church of God in Christ.

     “I’ve done my research and I felt the teaching I was getting in the Christian church didn’t touch me as a person,” said McVay. “I left the Christian church in 2010, and was studying (the word of God) on my own since that spring.”

     McVay joined the church/school last year in November after surrendering the tenets of the Baptist church for a “black” focus taught by Israel United in Christ, which is located at 1661 Lamar in the Glenview community. Members meet on Saturday for worship and/or study sessions.

Members of Israel United in Christ.

     Bishop Nathanyel Ben Israel, the principle teacher, founded the church/school in New York 12 years ago. Within that time span, he’s planted other church/schools in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Virginia, and Tennessee.

     “We’re working on getting schools in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Jamaica,” said Hoshaiah Ben Israel, one of the top “officers” overseeing the Midwest region – about eight states total, including Canada.

     “As the truth becomes widespread, more schools will be opened,” said McVay, subscribing to the ideology and tenets that black people are “the chosen people that the Bible speaks of.”

     “We teach everybody to learn the truth for himself or herself,” said Ben Israel, 31, an entrepreneur and recent convert who was around 8 years old when he last attended Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church with his mother.

     “When I started following the commandments, I got an understanding,” he said. “It changed my life when I applied the laws to my life.”

     Before Ben Israel committed to the church/school, he trekked to Orlando, Fla., to meet the church/school elders. “I read the entire Bible and watched a video that showed we are the true Israelites,” he said, and embraced the teachings with a determination to teach others.

     Although the Bible refers to the Jewish nation of Israel as God’s people, both Ben Israel and McVay surmised that today’s Jews are not descendants of ancient Israel.

     “They do not fit the prophecies concerning Israel and they do not suffer the curses that were placed upon Israel by the Most High,” said McVay, motivated by self-study and the “knowledge” that he’s acquired since he first joined the church/school.

     “It’s important to my faith,” he said, adding, “In grade-school were taught that we’re African-American. But we’re taught in the Bible that we’re Israelites. We can’t be two people from two different continents.”

     McVay pointed out Deuteronomy chapter 28, verses 15-28 to support his argument. He said black people and brown people throughout world history have suffered through slavery and degradation because of their disobedience.

     “We are here to wake up the so-called blacks, Native Americans, and Latinos to our true heritage – Hebrew Israelite,” he said. “The one way for the so-called blacks, Native Americans, and Latinos to identify with our true heritage is to turn to the Holy Bible.”

     Referring to the King James Version and the “1611 King James Version,” McVay said members of the church/school derive knowledge from the latter version because it includes the “Apocrypha,” or “the missing books of the Bible.”

     Although Israel United in Christ is fairly new to this area – about 2,000 members total across the country – Ben Israel said the church is growing.

     “We got a lot of young men with us,” he said. “We got the solution to change people. Young men catch on to this quickly because they’re looking for a solution.”

     For more information, visit wakeupisraelites.org.

The transformation of public housing in Memphis

     By 2016, the demolition of the last of Memphis’ large public housing developments for families could end the “warehousing” of some of the city’s poorest African-American residents and literally wipe clean the last vestiges of family public housing forever.

     The William H. Foote Homes, located on Danny Thomas Boulevard north of Mississippi Boulevard, was built in 1940 for low-income families. It is the last of the city’s public housing developments that was home to innumerable families from the onset.

University Place, built on the site of the Lamar Terrace
housing project. (Photo: Wiley Henry)

     The first tenants who took a survey were “gratified” to transition to their new digs with “inside toilets, adequate heating, and electricity,” according to a newspaper article during that period on an addition to Foote Homes.

     But the blueprint for housing the city’s indigent families is being revamped. There was merit in public housing; however, arguments abound over whether or not poverty, errant behavior, unsanitary conditions, and criminal activity come into play when there are large concentrations of people.

     “Crime is a result of poverty to some extent,” Robert Lipscomb, director of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and executive director of Memphis Housing Authority (MHA), reasons. “So we have to reduce poverty. And when you do that, you will see a reduction in crime.”

     Lipscomb is the face of public housing dismantlement and a proponent of replacing them with modern mixed-income communities. “We have to make sure that people have a good place to live, a choice of where they want to live,” said Lipscomb.

Lamar Terrace before it was redeveloped into University
Place. (Photo courtesy of Memphis Housing Authority)

     Although more than 400 families remain at Foote Homes, the fate of the 420-unit development is contingent on a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that will be used to raze the development and replace it with a new community of mixed-income residents.

     Memphis was among four finalists vying for the grant in 2013, but was not one of the three cities that HUD selected. Lipscomb, however, is determined to secure the grant. A new development team is working diligently to meet the Feb. 9 deadline for the next round of funding some time in June or July.

     If Memphis is awarded the HUD grant, Lipscomb said, “We’ll be one of the first communities to get rid of public housing – and that says a lot about Memphis.”

MHA’s deteriorating housing stock…

     Lipscomb got his marching orders to clean up public housing nearly 20 years ago when Dr. Willie W. Herenton was the mayor of Memphis. Most developments were in disarray and conditions festered steadily to a point where they’d become blighted havens for youthful indiscretion, drugs and criminal activity.

     A Jan. 13, 1997, audit of MHA, from 1983 through June 30, 1996, was explicit and stated unequivocally that “MHA is not fulfilling its primary mission of providing decent, safe and sanitary housing for low-income families.”

     Squalor pervaded the developments and residents seemed resigned to live in such horrific conditions – those who remained. Of the 22 low-income housing developments that MHA owned and operated at that time (more than 7,000 units altogether), the large family developments suffered the most from interior and exterior decay, according to the audit.

     Several units were boarded up due to a lack of demand; others were extremely dilapidated. And deteriorated plumbing, electrical, walls/ceilings, and floors, among other infractions, were declared “unsafe.”  

     HUD’s Office of Inspector General had made it crystal clear that “MHA’s housing stock and grounds are in poor condition due to age, lack of maintenance and ineffective use of modernization funds, and have been for many years.”

     There was rampant theft, too, and people were vacating the developments, Lipscomb added.

     HUD put the city on notice with a recommendation that MHA be declared “in default of its Annual Contributions Contract (ACC), and initiate steps to obtain new management of MHA’s maintenance and modernization operations.”

     Translation: HUD was threatening to take over MHA’s operations.

     “The OIG report was horrible,” said Lipscomb, who was asked by MHA’s board of directors to replace Jerome D. Ryans, who was MHA’s executive director. Lipscomb took over in February 1999. Prior to his new duties, he’d run the city’s Housing and Community Development agency and left in 1996 to take a post at The LeMoyne-Owen College, his alma mater.

     “We were on HUD’s ‘troubled housing list’ for years (along with MHA’s Section 8 program) and was about to be taken over by HUD,” said Lipscomb.

     Problems were widespread. At the behest of Herenton, the city’s first African-American elected mayor, Lipscomb went to work. One of the mayor’s goals was to increase affordable housing for Memphis citizens.

Transforming public housing…

     MHA is the second oldest housing authority in the United States. The Memphis City Commission created it in 1935.

     The serious deterioration of public housing over subsequent decades and the “horrible” OIG report, however, precipitated a move by the Herenton administration to create something different for the city’s low-income residents.

     By the time the second African-American mayor moved into City Hall, the city was well on its way to becoming a “A City of Choice,” a tagline Mayor A C Wharton Jr. has used to pitch Memphis. The pitch includes transforming MHA’s public housing stock into a beautiful oasis of mixed-income communities with manicured lawns and ample amenities.

     Lipscomb is now working in tandem with Mayor Wharton to finish the job. The mayor once called the transformation of public housing a “revolution.” He is just as determined to make affordable housing a reality for low-income residents as his predecessor.

     LeMoyne Gardens was MHA’s first development to be demolished after receiving a $481,000 HOPE VI planning grant in 1994 and a $47.2 million HOPE VI Implementation Grant in 1995. LeMoyne Gardens was redeveloped with public and private funding and renamed College Park. A statue of Dr. Herenton, the fifth-term mayor, stands upright on its base facing his alma mater, The LeMoyne-Owen College.

     MHA has received five HOPE VI grants altogether from HUD, which set in motion the “revolution” that transformed public housing. “We had to do something,” Lipscomb said.

     Hurt Village, for example, was transformed into homes and apartments called Uptown, which was redeveloped in phases to include Metropolitan Apartments, Magnolia Terrace, Greenlaw Place, and scattered site rental units.  

     Lamar Terrace morphed into University Place. Dixie Homes was replaced with Legends Park Place and McKinley Park (on-site homeownership phase). And Cleaborn Homes is now called Cleaborn Pointe at Heritage Landing.

     Lauderdale Courts, another large family development, was redeveloped as Uptown Square with the use of mixed financing. It is also located in the Uptown area. Altogether, all five HOPE VI grants totaled $144 million.

     The unsightly developments were transformed into aesthetic environs, both residential and commercial. The HOPE VI grants were a game-changer for MHA. Still, there are other residential communities in its housing stock that have been – or are being – redeveloped, rehabilitated, or renovated.

     Foote Homes is the last family development to be demolished, which is targeted for a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. The grant “supports those communities that have undergone a comprehensive local planning process and are ready to implement their ‘Transformation Plan’ to redevelop the neighborhood.”

     The Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant replaces the HOPE VI grant. The Feb. 9 deadline is looming and Lipscomb and his team are making haste to meet it.

     “Around 2016, you’ll see some evidence of people moving forward,” said Lipscomb, keeping a positive attitude that the last age-old family development will go by way of the wrecking ball.

Brown Baptist stands in the gap for cancer survivors

     “We want you to get well, stay well, and be healthy,” Pam Taylor Verdung told a group of cancer survivors and supporters recently at the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Mid-South Division’s first monthly meeting at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss.

     More than 20 women, including two men, reflected on the past year, discussed new business, and remembered those among the group who recently lost the battle to cancer – Jackie Evans and Joe Harvey.

     Although the death rate from cancer has fallen 22 percent since 1991, there will be 1,658,370 new cancer cases this year and 589,430 deaths from cancer, the American Cancer Society’s journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians reported recently.

The Brown Missionary Baptist Church Cancer
Support Group. (Photo: Wiley Henry)

     “We’re diagnosing cancer earlier,” said Verdung, the senior director of community engagement for the ACS’s Mid-South Division. “That’s why you’re seeing better treatment. And it’s because the volunteers and doctors help us to get the word out.”

     Brown MBC is playing an active role in disseminating information through its partnership with the ACS and expanding its reach in “the communities to support those that are dealing with this dreadful decease.”

     “We believe that ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me,’” said Dr. Bartholomew Orr, the church’s senior pastor, referencing a Bible verse that denotes his belief in the power of healing through faith and prayer and his support of the church’s Cancer Support Group.

     “Our belief here at Brown Missionary Baptist Church is to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and, mindful of the rules of our Saviour, (and) to obey it without delay,” Dr. Orr said.

     In 2011, the Cancer Support Group sponsored a Cancer Prevention Study, or CPS-3 study, of which Danita Brown, an ACS volunteer, coordinated. Brown is also a breast cancer survivor and member of the “Community Action Team of Shelby County” CHA program. CHAs (Community Health Advisors) are volunteers who advise, advocate, mentor, assist and refer women to appropriate resources for screenings, treatment and care.

     “We reach out to men and women with all cancers,” Brown said.

     “The support group promoted the study through the churches internal organizations and health ministry,” said Bert Fayne, a health initiatives representative for the ACS of Tennessee. “Pastor Bartholomew Orr made announcements at all three services encouraging members to participate in the study.”

     Dr. Orr enrolled in the CPS-3 study himself, Fayne said.

     “After Pastor Orr came down from the pulpit and enrolled, additional members followed. The event was so successful, we ran out of screening supplies.”

     Without the church’s support, Fayne believes the ACS would not have made its goal of African-American enrollment and participation. Because African-Americans have a higher mortality rate of cancer than whites, their participation is essential for cancer prevention studies.

     The ACS is second in the nation to the federal government in supplying funds for cancer research. Breast cancer is among the cancers that ratchet up the mortality rate and drive Brown MBC’s support of cancer survivors and its advocacy of cancer research. African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer before age 40 than non-Hispanic white women, the ACS reported in its Surveillance and Health Services Research in 2013.

     The support group is very active in the community, steering women to get help and participating in such initiatives as the annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” (MSABC) walk to “finish the fight against breast cancer.”

     MSABC unites the community to honor and celebrate breast cancer survivors while raising money to fund life-saving research, support programs, and provide free resources to help women through every step of the cancer journey.

     In 2013 and 2014, the support group donated to benefit MSABC. The group also sponsors an annual brunch for breast cancer survivors from Memphis and Mississippi.

     Free mammogram information also is given to women who are uninsured and in need of a mammogram, Fayne said.

     “We go out into the community and educate women and men on the importance of knowing their bodies,” added Brown, who participates in community educational programs at local churches. She also makes media appearances to reach African-American women and the underserved population.

     Fayne attends meetings each year, too, at the behest of the support group. She keeps them updated on the latest information and services of the ACS.

     Community Health Advisors also make their rounds at church events throughout the year. Besides advocating for women, they set up educational displays on cancer awareness and detection, programs and services, such as transportation to the doctor’s office for cancer patients.

     Although cancer can be successfully treated, Brown said, “We’re determined that if cancer comes back, it just has to catch us.”

     (For more information about the American Cancer Society, contact Bert Fayne at (901) 725-8629.)

New playwright stages first-time play at The Evergreen Theatre

     Last year in June, Cassandra Kaye Clements wrote a 20-minute skit for a family life class at Belhaven University, where she was trying to finish her Bachelor of Arts degree in human services.

     The skit turned out to be an impressive undertaken, which sparked an idea that Clements decided to pursue. She transformed the skit seven months later into a full-length stage play that will run Jan. 9-11 at The Evergreen Theatre, 1705 Poplar Ave.

     The show starts at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The ticket price is $18.

     “God dropped the idea on me in June, and I wrote the play in a day,” said Clements, who would transfer to Lancaster Bible College to finish her coursework in time for graduation this summer.

Cassandra Kaye Clements (center) transformed a skit
into a full-length play. (Courtesy photo)

     Lancaster, in partnership with MCUPS (Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies), accepted Clements’ credit hours from Belhaven, which allowed her to move expeditiously toward her original goal: to become a counselor.

     But then Clements had an epiphany and changed course. She is founder, playwright, and director of Vision Made Plain Productions.

     “I was going into counseling,” she said, “but I wanted to continue my drama ministry. That will be my career; that’s where I’m headed.”

     Clements also plans to continue studying theology, which undergirds the stage play that she aptly named “And Humbled He Stood.”

     “It’s a story that was inspired by God,” said Clements, the product of a difficult childhood. The storyline, she said, is based in part on “my crazy childhood.”

     “My misery has become my mission,” said Clements, born to an 11-year-old mother and raised by her grandmother in the Fowler Homes public housing development.

     “My life could rival any Lifetime movie,” she said, “and I have made every effort to walk the path that God has ordered for me, realizing many mistakes along the way.”

     The play is moving and filled with scenarios of emotional and mental abuse. It is a real-life story of a couple struggling with terminal illnesses and the reality of families and church leaders being tricked by the devil to disobey God’s covenant.

     Clements plays the role of Rubie Gatlin, the first lady of the church. The central character, Dale, “is a man of wisdom, courage, honor, integrity, who exemplifies the fruits of the spirit in his everyday lifestyle.”

     True men of God still exist, she added.

     “This ministry has blown my mind,” said Clements, 43, a receptionist at Logical Systems, Inc. in Bartlett. “It’s bringing everybody together. It’s for the people who don’t go to a traditional church.”

     Clements said she’d like to run the play to the Orpheum Theatre; and, from there, “to nation to nation to tell the story through my drama ministry.”

     “We’re almost sold out,” she said, and added that she has other stories that she plans to convert to stage plays.

     Meanwhile, Clements is eager to graduate college and take home her 4-year college degree. The mother of two children – a 14-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter – she is determined to stay her new course.

     “My daughter was the one who challenged me to pursue my goal. She will be graduating from U.T. Chattanooga the fall,” Clements said.

     (For more information, contact Cassandra Kaye Clements at 901-288-5511 or by email at cassandraclements76@yahoo.com)

One man, one play: Bringing Dr. King back to life

       Rabia Louis Haynes was 13 years old when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. Forty-six years later, the spirit of Dr. King is embodied in a one-man stage play entitled “If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Were Alive Today.”     

       “I wanted to keep Dr. King’s legacy alive,” said Haynes, an actor, writer and director, who will perform the play at the Harrell Performing Arts Theatre in Collierville at 440 West Powell Rd. The show dates are Jan. 29 – 31 at 8 p.m.; Feb. 1 at 3 p.m.; Feb. 5 – 7 at 8 p.m.; and Feb. 8 at 3 p.m.

       The play is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes without intermission. General admission is $20; students and seniors: $15; and groups of 12 or more: $10. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mlkplay.eventbrite.com or at the door on the day of the play at no additional cost.

Rabia Louis Haynes plays the role of Bobby, who relies on
the iconic civil rights leader's guidance to overcome some
unfavorable situations. (Courtesy photo)

       Haynes has loaned his thespian talents to the stage play numerous times since 2011, the year he fleshed out the script. In fact, he’s rolled out the play in Memphis five times in four years before a bevy of theatregoers.

       “Our greatest enemy is forgetfulness. Non-violence is still the way to go even in 2015,” said Haynes, adding that young people in particular need stimuli in the form of entertainment. “They don’t have the attention span to listen to Dr. King’s words of non-violence.”

       Haynes wanted to do something that’s entertaining, yet maintain the seriousness of the message that Dr. King tried to convey. “Society as a whole did not hear Dr. King,” the actor said. “Society often responds out of fear.”

Haynes brings “Dr. King back to life as the audience follows the experiences of a man named Bobby who finds himself in unfavorable situations and relies on the guidance of his hero, Dr. King, to overcome whatever obstacle it is that he is facing in that moment.”

The hypothesis of Haynes’ stage play is as close to reality in 2015 as it were during the turbulent civil rights movement when throngs followed the iconic civil rights leader and looked to him as their moral compass.

Whether there is one person or 100 people in the audience, Haynes said the play has earned the respect of the audience and kudos for him. In fact, “I’ve never done a show where I didn’t get a standing ovation.”

Haynes ventured into acting at Laurence Merrick Drama College in Los Angeles in 1975 when he was 20 years old. He’d migrated from Chicago’s South-Side and took up residence on the west coast, where he’s lived since.

Raised by a single mother in the crime-ridden, 4,400-unit Robert Taylor Homes public housing project, Haynes and his seven siblings endured the conditions in what was declared the nation’s largest housing project.

Haynes admits he was the class clown in school. The attention he sought no doubt took his mind away from the travails of life and provided the impetus he needed to pursue a career in acting. Laurence Merrick was his launching pad.

“That’s when I began to take acting seriously,” he said. “At that time, I was chosen as the No. 1 actor at the school.” 

The acting bug was seriously chomping away at Haynes, who’d completed Dov S-S Simens Hollywood Film School in New York City as well. For 40-plus years, the 59-year-old thespian wrote, directed and produced more than eight plays.

During those years, Haynes honed his skills in other areas such as sound, casting, editing, composing, cinematography and production. Using Leon Isaac Kennedy, Jermaine Jackson, Akon, Eve, and Swizz Beats as references, he’s added to his repertoire improvisation, dancing, comedy, Martial Arts and voiceover.

A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Haynes has shadowed noted director Stephen Spielberg on the set of “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks. He also has performed for Saudi Emirs and worked as a director for PBS.

Memphis is ground zero for “If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Were Alive Today,” Haynes said. “The dream began April 4, 1968, and Memphis is the most important place where this play should be.”

Haynes is contemplating taking the play on the road to Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and hopes to start scheduling the play at certain theatres in those cities very soon.

Although Haynes is comfortable with his performance as Bobby, he’s assembled a tight-knit crew of light and sound operators to help him transform the legacy of Dr. King into a meaningful stage play that awakens one’s consciousness.

“I believe God has put this in my heart to do this,” said Haynes. “I won’t stop. If I do, I would be disobedient.”