A. D. Lumkile Thomason - Permission to Be Black: My Journey with Jay-Z and Jesus

MY JOURNEY WITH
JAY-Z AND JESUS

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com

2021 by Adam David Thomason

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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

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Author photos by Jaylon Ashaun
Cover design and image composite: David Fassett
Images: author photo by Jaylon Ashaun
gold foil background: Katsumi Murouchi / Moment Collection / Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-8308-4728-0 (digital)

ISBN 978-0-8308-4727-3 (print)

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M y people are in trouble, and we dont know it. We all chase after a goal that Solomon says is ever before us but that we rarely grasp. What is before us and what do we miss? The ability to be healthy. The health Im referring to is not physical health; its internal, mental, and soul health. What we define as Blackness is, in a lot of ways, a result of trauma. Ignorance plays a big role too, ignorant of (1) the fact that we need to be healthy, (2) the tools we need to achieve healthiness, and (3) how to get these tools. As Jay-Z explains in Family Feud, We are all screwed because we never had the tools.

Why did I name this book Permission to Be Black: My Journey with Jay-Z and Jesus? Because I want to give you some insights (some would call them cheat codes)the tools of mental, spiritual, and psychological liberation to release you from the pain of being screwed because you did not have the tools.

Why Jay-Z? Ha-ha, why not? On a serious note, I did not grow up as a Jay-Z fan or stan, but more a rap appreciator for what it did for my people, Black people. At a time when we needed a voice to express our emotions without violence in the 70s and beyond, pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Kool DJ Dee, and Afrika Bambaataa brought what we know as hip-hop to life. This subcultural expression spread like fire to a main stage like none could predict. My number one MC will always be Andr Benjamin of Outkast fame. However, as a rap appreciator, in my humble opinion I believe that Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time.

I found solace in a lot of his lyrics, especially the songs expressing the burden of life in concrete jungles, like Where Im From. On the other side of the spectrum were songs explaining why we dont have emotions, like Song Cry. I even appreciated some of the more boastful songs indicating a need for celebration because of our pain, like Encore. Jay-Z spoke to my cultural story. God used him to keep me and many other Black men alive until we could appreciate Yeshua (Christ) without other folks cultural baggage.

Side note: In this book, I will use both Jesus and Yeshua as names for Christ. I call him Yeshua because that is his Jewish name. Jesus, though I have no problem saying it, is an imperfect transliteration into the English language. Mary would have called him Yeshua. So, in the words of Coming to America, His momma named him Clay... Ima call him Clay. But I digress.

Jay-Z gave words to my pains that my body knew I had but my mouth could not put into words. He spoke to places I was in, Black places, places I was ashamed to admit even after I became a follower of Christ who still needed healing. Jay-Z gave me permission to be Black when most Christian branches said the way I was created and the experiences that formed memy Blacknessneeded to be dissolved. Early on I became a closet Black man, so I read the books of Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ida B. Wells. Alongside the books I listened to Jay-Z and others for affirmation. This was the affirmation that evangelicalism never understood or thought I needed.