Bishop Harry Jackson: Moral Values in the High Court
CBN.com ABOUT THE COURT
Regarding the judicial nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. said Brown is the daughter of a sharecropper. “Born in the segregated South, Janice Rogers Brown is a role model for all those born to prejudice and disadvantage, and she has overcome adversity and obstacles and since 1996, has served as a member of the California Supreme Court," said Jackson, who is also senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in College Park, Maryland.
Bishop Jackson organized a judicial rally in D.C to show support for Janice Rogers Brown, and he and the coalition of black pastors from across America at the rally, all strongly defended Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who is also black, against all naysayers. Janice Rogers Brown is not only a legal hero for black America, she is a legal hero for all America,” says Bishop Jackson. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also showed his support by attending the rally.
Blacks know that American justice is not blind as she is often depicted. The statue of Lady Justice outside of the Federal Supreme Court shows the venerable symbol of our legal system sitting down. Perhaps this depiction best describes our legal woes today. Justice isn’t blind –she is just sitting down for a while.
Racial profiling, excessive sentencing, violent prison terms and inadequate prison aftercare are all part of the African-American experience with justice. The criminal justice system is broken and needs to be reformed. Yet, there is a subtle, perhaps more dangerous threat to African-American freedom peering through the doorways of the hallowed halls of justice. This threat is at the root of the legal problems in the U.S. The threat is activist judges who shape and create law instead of simply enforcing the law.
The average American doesn’t understand the real danger behind the legal wrangling on Capitol Hill about the selection of judges. To most of us, it seems that partisan “politics-as-usual” is happening inside the Capital Beltway. We’re half right about politics-as-usual going on, but it’s a little deeper than that. What happens with judicial appointees over the next two or three years will affect the interpretation and enforcement of laws for the next twenty years.
The question of same-sex marriage, the application of civil rights laws and many other issues of concern to African-Americans will be determined by a small elite class of unaccountable people called judges. These people are defining our values and shaping our culture. Cultural elites are exalting themselves above the law of the land. Years ago, men with white robes and hoods threatened African Americans and other specified groups. Today, black robed vigilantes operating in the guise of American tradition have taken away the true rights of an entire culture.
ABOUT BISHOP JACKSON
Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., a national evangelical Christian leader, launched a new national nonprofit organization called the High Impact Leadership Coalition. The grassroots nonprofit organization's mission is to help educate and empower church, community and political leaders in urban communities across America regarding moral value issues important to us all, especially among African Americans.
"I have been praying, preaching and talking about these issues locally for many years, said Bishop Jackson, senior pastor of the nearly 3,000 member Hope Christian Church just outside Washington, D.C. "Our nation is in a moral crisis and the Church must lead the way to healing our nation. It is time for both righteousness and justice to reign in America and strong biblical principles must lead the way," continued Bishop Jackson, chairman of High Impact Leadership Coalition. One of the issues Bishop Jackson will continue to speak out about is the importance of the biblical definition of marriage, which is the marriage between one man and one woman. However, Bishop Jackson and the High Impact Leadership Coalition have five other important moral value issues they believe are as important as the biblical definition of marriage for all. Bishop Harry Jackson is a conservative evangelical Christian. He is also the author of several books, including co-author of High Impact African American Churches with George Barna. He was a vocal advocate for the re-election of President George W. Bush and is interviewed frequently by both the national and international news media. Bishop Jackson founded the High Impact Leadership Coalition, which is a grassroots nonprofit organization with a goal to educate and empower Christian, community and government leaders in urban communities across America regarding moral value issues from a biblical perspective. High Impact Leadership Coalition is also the organization which developed the Black Contract with American on Moral Values.
