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