monetary grants from this Fund and we continue to raise money to help as many as we can. STILL WE RISE. Our normal course of operations was disrupted as we postponed our ma- jor meetings and chapter business like the election of officers. We have established a COVID-19 Task Force comprised of talented brothers from all professional disciplines to guide us with the best possible recommendations for reopening based on local government regulations, sound medical science and good common sense. STILL WE RISE. Brothers have populated the streets in cities across the nation to strongly voice the demand for police account- ability and social justice. Brothers have led peaceful protests and joined other
National Pan Hellenic Councils organi- zations to push for real political reform and measures that will help ensure that our black and brown children won’t have to deal with this nonsense in their lifetimes. STILL WE RISE. Brothers, I could go on but Brother Cleveland Ferguson, has me on a strict word count that I have already ex- ceeded. I will conclude by reminding all that we were founded on Christian principles and there is a strong spirit of strength, wisdom, courage and faith that permeates the Bond. We have survived other pandemics, world wars, a great depression, the civil rights unrest of the 1960s and more. There is no doubt we will get through this and come out bet- ter than we were when we entered this very volatile and uncertain time. I am
not afraid because God did not bring us this for to leave us now. I am always inspired by the Maya Ange- lou’s Poem, “Still I Rise” that embodies her resilient spirit and gives hope to the oppressed and downtrodden. The Bond sheds that same spirit as a beacon of light and it is our duty to share it with the world.
TOGETHER WE RISE.
Yours in the Bond, Reuben A. Shelton III, Esq. Grand Polemarch
“I have learned early in my spiritual education that it is impossible to have "Fear" and "Faith" at the same time and I am not afraid.”
THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2019 | 9
Publishing achievement for more than 105 years
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