Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

 - Class of 1972

Page 30 of 168

 

Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1972 Edition, Page 30 of 168
Page 30 of 168



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Page 30 text:

Tom Skinner: ‘A Prophet of Love’ by Syl Jones Tom Skinner was easily the most dynamic individual the Black Student Union had ever met as a group. In several head-to-head confrontations with him we were at first unable to mask our suspicions. He seemed to dress loo meticulously, sporting solid colored lies, double breasted sports coats, pastel shirts, and winglipped brogues. For all we knew he could have been a mafia man or an ego-tripping detective a la John Shaft: but he soon revealed that he was a truly remarkable man. gentle but firm. Some of us wondered aloud where he had been all of those years when we seemed to need him the most. It turned out that he had been growing up in Harlem all of those years that we and other young blacks needed him. Born in 1942, he hardly had time to grow up before his Har- lem buddies made him the leader of the most powerful gang in the nation: the “Young Lords . Most of us can relate to that kind of background. We knew what he meant when he talked of bloody gang wars, thrill killings, and mass drug addiction. We'd been there ... at some other time and place maybe, but we’d been there all the same. He almost took us by the throat when he came here to Augsburg and spoke to us of Jesus Christ. Few of us knew what it meant to be “good Christians”. The example set for us by our white Lutheran brethren was hardly adequate. Skinner said Jesus was the most radical, revolutionary per- son ever to reveal himself to the human race. He said Jesus laid down stringent demands which mean '‘putting our lives under His lordship and authority. We told Tom that the Christianity we had seen at Augsburg was muted and deaf: “see no evil, hear no evil ; therefore, no evil existed. And he said to us. Maybe you need to be more organized so that you can show them the evil. Organized? What did he know about organization? Wasn't he just a preacher, somebody who had no idea what it meant to be involved in power strug- gles? He smiled and explained that it was his business to know howr to organize, and that power struggles were a

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definite part of his theology. At that point he became a kind of enigma for us. Here was a man who was trying to do the impossible and was succeeding. Tom Skinner united the BSU in a way that it had never before been united. At the same time he caused many people to tear themselves apart with indecision and guilt. The questions he raised were questions that many thought were no longer relevant, such as. Is the BSU a Christian organization? If so. what are our goals? Our resources?” One man. Tom Skinner, helped us see ourselves as an organ- ization and as individuals. There were times when his idealism became a bit too pre- tentious. Once he very plainly stated that he would give away everything he owned if another man desired it. That kind of rhetoric wins friends, but reflects Skinner's lack of basic common sense, the only fault that he possesses. True, it was a gracious gesture on his part, but an unnecessary one. Tom Skinner was a good experience for all of us. He is what most people would like to be. what some hope to be in the future, and what few arc right now. His affect on the white community was immediate. The black community is still considering his message. After so many years of living with hatred it is hard to accept a prophet of love. 27 LEFT and ABOVE: Tom Skinner appears before Augsburg studenls as a 'prophet of love’. TOP RIGHT: Shown in a press conference a( another time. Black Student Union members discuss their situation at Augsburg.

Suggestions in the Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) collection:

Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1968 Edition, Page 1

1968

Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1969 Edition, Page 1

1969

Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1971 Edition, Page 1

1971

Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1973 Edition, Page 1

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Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1974 Edition, Page 1

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Augsburg College - Augsburgian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN) online collection, 1975 Edition, Page 1

1975


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