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Arts & Entertainment Book Review: ‘Stand Your Ground’ Explores Laws By Kam Williams For The Skanner News Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God By Kelly Brown Douglas Orbis Books Paperback, $24.00 256 pages ISBN: 978-1-62698-109-6 “Why is it becoming in- creasingly acceptable to kill unarmed Black chil- dren? Why are they so eas- ily perceived as a threat? How are we to keep our Black children safe? As the mother of a Black male child, I find these to be urgent questions. The slay- ing of Trayvon [Martin] struck a nerve deep within me. After Jordan [Davis], then Jonathan [Ferrell], then Renisha [McBride], I was practically unnerved. I knew I had to seek an- swers. This book reflects my search for those an- swers.” -- Excerpted from the Prologue (page ix) I t seems that once a month or so, with pain- ful regularity, another unarmed Black person is gunned down by a white civilian or white police of- ficer. What is the reason for this escalating epidemic? Is it really a recent develop- ment or merely a long-hid- den aspect of America’s social structure that’s come to light because of the pro- liferation of cell phones in circulation among the pop- ulation? That’s what Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas found her- self wondering in the wake of the shooting of Trayvon Martin. She also heard President Obama say that, if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon. That made Kelly think, “I DO have a son, and he DOES look like Trayvon.” So, for her, the crisis was more than a matter of mere rhetorical speculation. Not wanting her son to become the next statistic, she heed- ed an urgent inner call to action. As a Professor of Reli- gion at Goucher College, she decided her skills could best be put to use research- ing the burgeoning phe- nomenon. And the upshot of her research efforts is Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, an enlightening ex- amination of the deep-seat- ed roots of the racist rea- soning relied upon in the course of snuffing out Af- rican-Americans lives so cavalierly. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Film Review: ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ Faith-Based Film Finds Believer and Doubting Thomas Bonding En Route to Vietnam War Memorial in D.C. Kevin Downes and David A.R. White in ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News s Steven George (Sean Mc- Gowan) and Edward Adams (Scott Whyte) became best friends while serving behind enemy lines in Vietnam, despite the fact that the former was a devout Christian while the latter was definitely a Doubting Thomas. Sadly, both the atheist and the believer perished in battle in 1969, with each leaving behind a child he never got to know. Fast-forward a quarter century and we discover that the apples didn’t fall far from their patrilineal trees. Steven’s offspring GI What ensues is a very eventful road trip in which Christ and the devil do battle for the heathen’s soul John (Kevin Downes) has been blessed with a strong faith like his late father, and Ed- ward’s son Wayne (David A.R. White) has somehow developed his own dad’s disdain for organized religion. This gulf in attitudes has ostensibly had a profound effect on the orphans’ respec- tive fortunes. John is stable and successful and on the brink of tying the knot with the love of his life, Cynthia (Candace Camer- on Bure). By contrast, Wayne is an under- achieving ne’er-do-well who has had more than his share of run-ins with the law. Since John lives in California and Wayne in Mississippi, the two never met until the still-grieving groom-to-be informs his very patient fiancee that, before he walks down the aisle with her, he needs to repair the hole in his soul by learning all he can about his dearly-departed dad. That quest leads to Wayne, who just happens to have a stash of letters his father mailed home from the jun- gles of Southeast Asia. The two soon hatch a plan to read the let- ters while making a pilgrimage to Washing- ton, DC where they plan to visit the Vietnam War Memorial. What ensues is a very event- ful road trip in which Christ and the devil do battle for the heathen’s soul. The flash- back-driven drama proceeds to alternate be- tween the sons’ spiritually-oriented sojourn and recreations of their dads similar discus- sions of the virtues of Christianity over the course of their fateful tour of duty overseas. Thus unfolds Faith of Our Fathers, a faith-based modern parable directed and co-written by Corey Scott (Hidden Secrets). Fair warning: while the movie does feature wholesome family fare, its occasional pros- elytizing (“Know that Jesus loves you and that you can trust Him.”) is distracting, but not so overpowering as to spoil the experi- ence. Look for Born Again Baldwin Brother Stephen in a scene-stealing performance as Sergeant Mansfield, the only character to appear both in the past and in present scenes. In 1969, we find him chastising Ste- ven for preparing the men in his unit to die. But, he’s singing a different tune 25 years later when he conveniently intervenes in a deus ex machina moment. A good versus evil morality play provid- ing proof that God still works in mysterious ways. Very Good HHH Rated PG-13 for brief violence Running time: 95 minutes Distributor: Pure Flix Entertainment View movie trailers at TheSkanner.com Page 8 July 8, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner
