Shelley's Father's Day Message from 1996

Today, we continue in the theme of fathers as we rebroadcast a show we released on near his birthday, September 27, 2023. It features a recording of a speech Shelley made on Father's Day when he was 63 years old at Friendship Baptist Church.

This Church plays a special role in Shelley's life. As a boy of five, he saw his mother murdered just a few blocks away. In spite of growing up without his parents, he would celebrate his graduation in this same Church. 

Without a doubt, the Friendship Baptist Church has held a special place in Shelley's heart. In today's podcast, he shares a message that he's shared all his life.

A message that tells hard truths but also triumphs love, mutual respect, and human rights for ALL people and that faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.

Today's episode is a heartfelt message from Shelley, one of faith. What we know is if you lose faith, you lose all. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello world, and welcome to Shelly's Plum Live. Talk on tough topics, hosted by Dr. Shelly Stewart.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

I'm Mark Jamaraz, one of the producers and executive editor of Shelly's Plum Line.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

And I'm Corlette Stewart, a producer, owner of Stewart Production. And if you haven't figured it out by now, Shelly's daughter.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

We have a special treat this week to celebrate Shelly's 89th birthday. Well, here we are in the third episode of the third season of Shelly's Plum Line. And I just have to look back at what brings me to the seat right here, right now, in front of this microphone. If you don't know, we're working on adapting Shelly's memoir, The Road South, into a miniseries. So I have been rereading the book. I forgot so many of the incredible stories and episodes of Shelley's life. How he saw his father murder his mother when he was only five years old. How he was separated from his three siblings, and then sexually and physically abused before he was even ten. How he still managed to go to school because he was determined to get an education. How he endured ridicule for being poor, wearing raggedy clothes, and being ungroomed, yet still he endured. There also seemed to be divine intervention when Shelley needed it. In spite of his hardships, he was guided by an inner voice to find and reunite with his older brother Bubba in a stable, and then find and rescue his younger brothers from a sharecropper's plantation in Mississippi. After he discovered his love of writing and performance while in high school, he developed that into an amazing career in broadcasting that lasted 60 years, and now he's reinvented himself again as a podcaster. There's no doubt Shelley's life was guided by personal courage on his part and divine intervention. And it makes me think of what brought me here. I came to work for O2 Ideas in 1997, the advertising agency Shelley founded. Little did I know that 26 years later we would be working together again to create Shelley's Plum Line and continue to share Shelly's life message. A message that tells hard truths, but also triumphs love, mutual respect, and human rights for all people. It is such an honor to be sitting here and creating this podcast with you and Shelly.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Now, we must let the audience know that this message is different from the previous episodes. Shelly gives some hard truth, as he always does. And as he says, if the truth comes from an aunt, accept the truth. When you hear this message, keep in mind that we understand the traumatic impact of structural racism. We also know the power of faith. Faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. Today's episode is a heartfelt message from Shelly, one of faith. What we know is if you lose faith, you lose it all.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Happy 89th birthday, Shelly. You are an inspiration to us all and a hero to me.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Happy birthday, Daddy. I love you. And now, without further ado, we present the oldest podcaster in the world at the young age of 89. Get ready. Here comes Shelly.

SPEAKER_08 3:31

Happy birthday, happy birthday, Julia. Happy birthday.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

Welcome to Shelly's Floor. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna say this to myself today. Happy eighty-ninth birthday. That's right. This is our first podcast after turning eighty-nine years of age. Give myself a happy birthday. It's one that I was very reluctant in doing. I'm 89, but I look back in our archives, and I recalled when I was 63 years of age, I was invited to return to my little hometown, little community, Rosedale, Alabama. That's uh homewood, but we the current community was called Rosedale. And the church was Friendship Baptist Church. I I, you know, I my career started in 1949 as a what they call DJ. I never was a DJ. Shelley the Playboy. You know, people all across the country, Shelley the Playboy. Then I became Dr. Shelley Stewart, then Shelley Stewart. Well, anyway, I'm that same guy, homeless kid, became homeless there in that community. Witnessed my father killing my mother just about. Matter of fact, two blocks from this church, the church where my mother was buried, about two blocks from this church, I was invited back to deliver a message for men. And I went back and I delivered this message. Uh, people did not really realize who I really was around the country, but I'm that same little kid. I had been observing so much. Then with Martin Luther King Jr. and going through the movement, which they later called the civil rights movement, I saw murders increase with black children, black fathers becoming not fathers, even you know, none of us are perfect. When I went back and delivered this message on that day, and I was reluctant. I talked to our staff here at the Plum Line, and I said, uh, do you think I should let the country hear this message? And what I was saying then, and then here it is 2023, and what we're experiencing in this country today. Ladies and gentlemen, I certainly hope that you will listen to this, call your friends, tell them to tune in to Shelley's Plum Line, each one, do one. I hope that millions will hear this message today. It's me at the age of 63 in 1996, Friendship Baptist Church, Rosedale, Alabama.

SPEAKER_04 7:10

Officers, members, friends, today I am honored. Today I am blessed, you know. I sitting here thinking and praying, and I said, you know, on this day, it's a day maybe that I look forward to, but didn't ever know when it would get here. And when it got here, I was so nervous, it seems as though I said, What am I gonna do now? Well, you know, I I I didn't feel this way when I was dining with the president of the United States on the White House law in 1979, Jimmy Carter, didn't feel this way. When I addressed the World Conference of Mayors in Montego Bay, Jamaica, I didn't feel this way. When I was honored along with Quincy Jones and others in Hollywood, California a few years ago, as one of the living legends, I didn't feel this way. When I received the drum major for justice award, sitting on the same stage with Harry Belafonte and Mario Angelou, I didn't feel this way. I I feel today better than I felt in many years. I'm at home. I'm at home. You know, I told uh Reverend Howard, I said, you know, he said, what am I gonna say? I said, Reverend Howard just put me on. And you know, we are so quick to judge. I don't like a long introduction. If I have not, if my work has not done it, then let it be. Let the work I've done speak for me. I I don't believe in passing judgment and judging and all of the other things. I think when I pass judgment on others, uh, I'm really condemning others and judging myself. And I don't like that. I believe that up to this point in my life, I believe that a person is made right through faith. I I'm gonna say that again. That a person is made right through faith, not necessarily by obeying the law. If you have faith, you're gonna obey the law, and another thing, you know, man has written, I'll guarantee you 30 million laws. Every day, some man is sitting down writing another law, 30 million or more. I'm gonna we're gonna pass a law to make you love one another. We're gonna pass a law to close the racial divide. Man written 30 million or more, and he has not obeyed the 10 that was written. If he obeyed those ten, he would need those 30 million. Man, they keep writing laws and these making laws, and and I, you know, on this Father's Day, man and I was so happy to hear the sister say that the men, the fathers, and the grandfathers were here with the children. I was so happy to hear that. Uh it makes me go back to Rosedale, where I was born, just three blocks from right here. And uh I recall as Reverend Howard was stating that uh here at this church, in this church, in this basement, that I went to school here. Church was the first school anyway. At least I had a start. They burned down Rosedale on Loveless, so we had to go to church here. That was God's way of saying, let us go back to the old Latin mark. I recalled, you know, here in Rosedale. I don't know another community, I'm talking about Rosedale. The men, what I would see, the closest of men, fathers in Rosedale. I it seemed like it was just yesterday when I could just hear that bell toiling over that belt up there when someone was sick. And how the men and the women would rush together to find out who was sick. And then when that bell would toil slow, how the men would get together, fathers, mothers would rush there and find out who's dead, and not only just go there, but go to the house and offer some help. It was it seemed like it was just yesterday that uh I would see little boys and and little girls playing together without fighting and hurting and killing each other right here in these streets of Rosedale. It seemed like it was just yesterday. I would not dare call Mr. Benson, Benson, I wouldn't dare call an adult by his first name or last name. I would say Mr. or Miss. But now, well, I wonder. Wonder what's going on in times like these. Ah, you know, it seemed like it was just yesterday, Doctor, that we would leave home and go down to the stove and was able to leave the doors open. Young boys, young girls playing around, but you could leave your doors unlocked. Going about your business, go downtown. Didn't have any problems. Somebody came by to visit your house and you had something on the stove, they take the top and see if any water was in there. It wasn't enough water, they put some water enough so it wasn't blue in. I think about we didn't have this so-called air conditioning. And fans seemed like just yesterday, that men could sleep on their front porch. You didn't have to worry about somebody coming by hitting the head. If you can just get better education than I got. I look at now, and and when you start saying certain things, uh, they said, Marjorie, you shouldn't say that, Shelley. You you shouldn't say these things. But I guess the truth hurts. Well, you're gonna be hurt today. You're gonna be hurt if the truth hurts. And let me go on through the facts here. Uh in this day, 1997, it says here, these are facts. I'm I'm gonna read these for you. The murder rate for black teenage males nearly doubled over four years, and homicide now is the number one cause of death among blacks between the ages of 15 and 24. Young black men are four to five times more likely to be murdered than black women, five to eight times more likely than young white males, sixteen to twenty-two times more likely to be killed than young white women, twenty-five percent of black males, listen to this, twenty five percent, we're talking about finding the fathers of the name of 2020 now. 25 percent of black males between the ages twenty three and twenty nine are in prison or on parole or probation. The truth hurts. Here's the next one. Talking about fathers now. Fathers. This is Father's Day, but we got to do something. Forty percent of black adult males, forty percent of grown men, forty percent of grown men, forty percent of grown men, forty percent of grown men are functionally illiterate. They can barely read the back of a cereal box. The truth hurts. Among black males, ages fifteen to thirty-four, homicide was the leading cause of death, and gone's figured in 88% of the cases. The truth hurts. Let's talk about where are we gonna go in 10 years, fathers? If we don't do some fathering now, we've gotta do some fathering now. When uh the Jefferson County Sheriff Department released these figures to me, and I called them, I said, uh, is there still a problem with our young males and gangs? They said, Well, I'll tax them to you. I said, Um, how many gang members are there in Jefferson County? They said to over 2,000. How many of them are violent? Oh, about 1,500 of them. How many of them have committed murder?

SPEAKER_03 19:02

2% of them.

SPEAKER_04 19:05

Name these gangs, the bloods, the crips, the vice laws, the disciples, the drug posture, the brickyard posture, the loan village posture, the lynch mall. They are still acting. In times like these man, what are we gonna do? That was uh I checked the internet earlier this year, and uh something came across I didn't like either, but I had it downloaded, and it was the top 25 predictions of 1997. I'm not gonna share more, but I'm gonna cook to a couple of them, two or three. I didn't like it, but then I said, if the truth comes from the mouth of an ox, accept the truth if you have to leave the office. Oh, I ain't gonna get mad about it. When listen to this man, prediction 1997. This came through the internet from black people, by the way. They were talking to each other. Number one, prediction, 1997, African Americans will do nothing but talk and not initiate 100% commitment. Number two, African Americans in 1997 will continue to kill one another as usual. Number three, African Americans will continue to treat each other ununified. Number four, African Americans that have made it financially will continue to look down on his people. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Number five, African Americans will not fight a system that suppresses each person that is unfortunate. African Americans will continue to backstab one another for greed or whatever. Don't get mad with me. African Americans will continue to be envious of each other. Better, so-called better than they are. Don't get mad with me. There is a way. If I'm gonna bring you all of that, then uh Shelley you surely put your that's gotta be a solution. If I'm gonna give you the the the the problem. There's gotta be a solution. We don't realize that in this day. We must address the fact that I'm talking about right now. The issue of that vanishing black. If we are to have fathers in 2010, 2020. We've lost so many people. Alternate lifestyles. But it's one thing that we got away from the basics. When I talked about what Rosedale was, what your community was, what's wrong with going back there. I didn't say you can turn the clock back, but believe me, you the deeper you go in the ground, the higher you can build your building. And I don't believe that this old house is damaged too far beyond repair. I believe we can repair it. I don't believe we can't gotta destroy it. I believe that it can be repaired. The quantity of things replace the quality of things. If you do things, listen to this one right here. And when I when I when I when I came to this came across my mind, I said, wait a minute. Oh mercy. Money is now more important than time. We do need a friend. There was a time here, this one now. When people love people and use people loved people and used things. But now people love things and use people. We need a friend. A friend, this is the solution, folks. We we need a friend who can give God us. But we gotta accept it and realize that there is a friend. A friend who uh one who loves you when you're up, love you when you're down. A friend will love you when you have money and when you're broke. A friend can is not based on on condition. Some folk will tell you that I'll be with you through thick and thin. Oh, don't let things get too thick. They go thin out on you. Love, unconditional love. Friends, I tell you right now, I know a friend. And one that's gonna always be with you. And that to solve all of these problems and and to to correct and to to take these predictions and say you're wrong. That these things don't have to come to pass. But you first gotta go back to that friend. A friend, maybe, maybe I could better go to maybe I could go to John in your book. John 15, verses 12 through 15. This is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if you do whatsoever I commend you, henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father, I have made known unto you. This should answer the question. For who told us to love one another? Who told us that? If you don't know by now, if you don't know by now, someone who will stick closer than a brother. If you don't know by now that until all of these things that we talked about, they are depressing, but it's it does not take a rocket scientist to solve it, it doesn't take that if you just have faith and and believe and and forget about those 30 million laws and what they told you. Oh well, you see, well, they do it because the white folks did it. I ain't worried about that. He didn't write that book. I'm going back to those commandments, yeah. The original, the laws that I'm gonna abide by, friends, if we don't go back, if we do not start being fathers, anybody can make a baby, anybody can have one too. Anybody can tear down a barn, but it takes somebody with some sense to be a one. And I think that if in fact we have tried to destroy each other so badly, the big eyes and the little easy and what the children and what the young folk are saying, they're saying they're putting money over mankind. We are teaching them that. We've got to remove that from our hearts and our minds before we can correct the situation. We gotta go back to the teaching that friend who told you the truth all along. All right, you gotta go back to it, folks.

SPEAKER_06 28:42

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

If we don't go back to it, life has no purpose. Questions, if you don't go back to Jesus, questions have no answers. If you don't go back, problems have no solutions. If you don't go back, labor has no rewards. If you don't go back, minds, we'll have no peace. If you don't go back, hearts won't have any joy. In times like these, we need to take advantage of this. Go back, folks. If we don't go back in times like these, if we don't straighten it out, souls have no assurance. If we don't go back in times like these right now, the word has no value. Love will have no meaning, prisons will have no doors, sheep will have no shepherds if we don't straighten it out in times like these. If we don't straighten it out in times like these, homes will not have any happiness. I said, in times like these, if we don't straighten it out, there won't be any happiness in your home. And you, if you don't have happiness in your home, what do you think is gonna come out of it? Trash in, trash out. I don't care how much you pay for a computer, how many megabytes and all of these things, if you've a trash in it, you're gonna get trash out of it. I don't care what how much money you have, if if you can have a mansion, but if there's no love in there, ain't no love coming out. In times like these, we we put so much on possessions, but if we don't go back, possessions ain't gonna have no work. If we don't strain it out, darkness has no light. If we don't do it right in times like these, churches, churches will have no unity. Everybody talking about heaven ain't going there. Many of us come and sit up in the church, ain't got more hell in us in times like these, yeah. Sit right up in church and laugh and smile and hallelujah and glory to God, and fire is burning in your soul, burning up with hell and hate. Don't like the preacher, don't like the deacon, yeah, don't like the preacher's wife, can't stand the deacon's wife, yeah, can't stand the choir members, yeah. Oh in times like these, if we don't straighten it out, I don't care how much you pray, prayer will not have any authority. Pray all day long, sir. If you ain't believing it through faith, trash in, yeah, pressure in, yes, sir, trash, yeah. If we do not look at in times like these, no matter what you say, no matter what the preacher says, if we don't straighten it out, preachers have no message in times like these. If we don't straighten it out, the future has no hope. It's so simple. It stops all the time. Someone said how I don't feel as close to God as I once did. I want you to guess who moved.

SPEAKER_06 33:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:15

Oh, I don't, we ain't as close to God as we once were. I want you to guess who made the move. Who made the move? Ladies and gentlemen, in times like these, we need a savior. In times like these, we need an anchor. Be sure. Be sure, be very sure. Your anchor holds and grips that solid rock. In times like these. In times like these, we need the Bible. In times like these, we need a revival. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_06 34:31

Be sure, sir.

SPEAKER_04 34:33

Be very sure. Your anchor holds and whoops, solid rock. This rock this rock this rock this rock this rock this rock this rock this rock is Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 34:59

Come on with us.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

Be sure. Be sure. Be sure.

SPEAKER_04 35:11

Be very sure. Your anchor hopes and grips at solid rock.

SPEAKER_06 35:19

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_04 35:21

For the friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to back. If we do not go back, if we do not realize that there is a friend, that God is still in charge. I don't care what you say in the White House, I don't care who you say in the mayor's house, God is still in charge. Until we realize that the mayor, the council, the governor, the senators ain't nothing go.

SPEAKER_03 35:59

Correct me, sir. It's gone.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

Be sure. Be very sure. Be sure. Be very sure. Be sure. Be very sure. Be very sure. Gotta be sure. In times like these.

SPEAKER_04 36:37

In times like these. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_05 36:40

In times like this.

SPEAKER_03 36:47

Now, by no means am I a preacher. My producer uh was said, uh, Shelley, uh, he I said, No, don't do that. I'm not a preacher. Don't call me a preacher. I'm not a reverend. Uh that day, just from my heart. Uh matter of fact, I didn't have anything written. It was just from the heart that day. And uh doing this podcast today is from my heart. I don't write anything down. It's just from the heart. There's so much more coming on the plumb line. Uh, and I just want to say this now. I certainly hope that each of you will contact another person or ten of your friends, or you want to call them soap-called friends, and introduce them to Shelly's Plum Line. There's so much more to come. We've done so much. So go back and look at our first episodes. I don't know to do this day.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

And once again, happy birthday to this episode of Shelly's Plumb Line was written, produced, and edited by Dr. Shelley Stewart, Colette Stewart Burns, and Mark Jamrise. It was produced by Stewart Production at the Plumb Line Studios in Starrett, Alabama. The podcast was introduced by Mark Jamrise and Colette Stewart Burns. If you are a fan of Shelley's Plumb Line, please remember to subscribe on your podcast platform of choice so you don't miss any episodes. Learn more about this week's podcast and see photos, articles, and artifacts of Dr. Shelley Stewart's amazing journey through life at Shellysplumline.com. Follow us and continue the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And if you like what we're doing here, please give us a review and share this podcast with others. This is Mark Camrods. We'll see you next week. Keep sharing the love, and we'll all grow stronger.

SPEAKER_07 38:57

You ought to praise him in the morning. You ought to praise him in the new time. You ought to praise him when the thoughts going down. And so many like this, I can count him everyone.