FEATURE
Genarlow Wilson
Justice Deferred
by Roxanne L. Brown
Waiting for justice is truly trying business.
Genarlow Wilson
J
uanessa Bennett is hoping by the
time her birthday rolls around,
the waiting will be over. With the
Georgia Supreme Court expected
to deliver a decision this fall that could free
her son from prison, she and her daughter
Jiaya are both imagining their autumnal
birthdays will be buoyed by good news, giv-
ing their family reason to celebrate.
Genarlow Wilson is waiting as well, anx-
iously watching the days slip pass at Burruss
Correctional Training Center in Forsyth,
GA. When not working out, he spends qual-
ity time with the prison chaplain, attends
. Photo by Roxanne Brown
worship services and reads biblical scrip-
ture. Having freedom come just within
his grasp this past summer, only to be
snatched away, his mother says he is edgy
and frustrated. Yet, Wilson remains hopeful
TRUMPET .NovemBER/DECEMBER 2007 9 www.trumpetmag.com
he will soon be reunited with his family—
and birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas
will once again have profound meaning.
Now 21, Wilson has served almost three
years of a 10-year mandatory sentence for
having underage, consensual oral sex with a
15-year-old girl when he was 17. A star ath-
lete and high school honor roll student, the
young man’s future derailed at a 2003 New
Year’s Eve party where drugs and alcohol
were present, and where he and several of
his buddies engaged in sex acts with girls.
Under a poorly written law, Wilson was
convicted of aggravated child molestation,
which was a felony in Georgia at the time
and carried the mandatory sentence with-
Wilson’s mother, sister and attorney
out parole. Under an exemption of the law,
sexual intercourse between minors was
considered a misdemeanor while oral sex
was not taken into consideration.
“When Genarlow’s mom came into my
office, if you had said 31 months later
we’d still be dealing with this and all of the
things that happened, I would have said
‘No way,’” said Brenda Joy (BJ) Bernstein,
Wilson’s attorney. “When I looked at her, I
said, ‘Oh, we have to get the law changed,’”
she recalled. “In retrospect, that was cor-
rect and yet a little Pollyanna—thinking
that people would just see—just like in
the Marcus Dixon* case they saw—and we
would eventually get this righted.”
The Georgia State Legislature
amended the law last year—
largely because of Wilson’s
case—so conviction for the
crime for which he was charged
is now a misdemeanor, carry-
ing a maximum sentence of 12
months. But for whatever rea-
son, the legislature declined to
apply the law retroactively to
Wilson’s case.
In June of this year, Georgia
Superior Court Judge Thomas
H. Wilson, citing Wilson as
the victim of cruel and unusu-
al punishment, ordered the
young man freed. He wrote in
the order granting release: “If
this Court, or any other court,
cannot recognize the injustice
o continued on page 10

An
Empowerment
Interview
by Rhoda McKinney-Jones
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
I
t’s not often that one gets to interview an icon. Someone called
by a singular moniker and everyone knows of whom you speak—
a person who can walk into a room and cause pause because of
his physical presence and historical significance. That’s exactly what I
was privileged to do a few days ago from my humble kitchen perch.
I interviewed the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan by phone on
everything I could think to ask in 15 fleeting minutes.
The Minister’s voice was strong, smooth and steadfast, giving
no hint of the health challenges that have plagued him the last few
years. He talked about the future of the Nation of Islam, his hope
for the faith, his pride in African American people, his love of music
and the state of Black America. Then of course, when prodded, he
talked of his legacy. I asked questions in quick succession and he
willingly responded, eloquently quoting biblical scripture, speaking
in parables and peppering his answers with references to the Quran,
Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad. He spoke and I couldn’t help but listen and learn.
“When Minister Farrakhan speaks, Black America listens,” says
the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, likening the Minister’s influence to
the E. F. Hutton commercials of old. “Everybody may not agree with
him, but they listen…His depth on analysis when it comes to the
racial ills of this nation is astounding and eye opening. He brings a
perspective that is helpful and honest.
“Minister Farrakhan will be remembered as one of the 20th and
21st century giants of the African American religious experience,”
continues Wright. “His integrity and honesty have secured him a
place in history as one of the nation’s most powerful critics. His love
for Africa and African American people has made him an unforget-
table force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere
about his faith and his purpose.”
The Louis Farrakhan story is one most of us already know, but
that does not diminish its import or impact. Born Louis Eugene
Walcott, 73-years ago in the Bronx and raised in Roxbury, MA, the
TRUMPET .NovemBER/DECEMBER 2007 15 www.trumpetmag.com
COVERAGE
former Calypso singer and classically trained violinist, knew there
was a greater calling on his life. That calling began with his joining
the Nation in 1955 and changing his name to Louis X. Since that
time, the rest, one could say, is history.
The Minister helped breathe new life into the Nation after the
death of Elijah Muhammad, attracting thousands upon thousands
of young, eager, African American men who found a home in the
faith, pride in themselves and a leader in the Minister. From the
streets of Chicago’s South Side to the Million Man March and to the
greater Islamic world, the Minister has and is making a difference.
But that road has not been an easy one, as his friend Father Michael
L. Pfleger of St. Sabina Church in Chicago explains.
“Minister Farrakhan is probably one of the most misunderstood
and mis-defined leaders of our day,” says Pfleger. “When you don’t
want to deal with someone’s truth, you try to destroy their charac-
ter or redefine them…That’s what the media has sought to do with
Minister Farrakhan. His truth causes America to face its racism and
its hypocrisy.”
“Minister Farrakhan has been a personal friend for more than
20 years,” continues Pfleger. “His leadership has evolved, and I
believe the coming days will see him as a unifying force, calling real
Christians, real Jews and real Muslims to come together on princi-
ples of truth and justice… Contrary to those who want to make him
anti-white and anti-Semitic, I believe Minister Farrakhan is presently
building the umbrella for people of conscience to come together no
matter the race or creed. I am honored to call him my brother.”
Because of the Minister’s influence in the African American
community, Trumpet Newsmagazine honors him this winter at its
Sounds of the Shore gala with an Empowerment Award. It seemed
a fitting tribute for a storied life well lived. And as our brief interview
drew to a close and he thanked me for taking the time to talk to
him, I could not help but think, the Minister, the man with whom I
had been so casually speaking, truly epitomized greatness.
o continued on page 16
 FEATURE
Rev. Dr. Charles G. Adams
Inaugural William and Lucille Nickerson
Professor of the Practice of Ethics and
Ministry at Harvard Divinity School
e congratulate
our trustee, the
Rev. Dr. Charles
G. Adams, one
of the most
prominent and
dynamic ministers
in the United
States, as he joins
Harvard’s faculty of
divinity as the first
William and Lucille Nickerson Professor of
the Practice of Ethics and Ministry. He started
a five-year term this past July.
“Charles Adams is one of the country’s
most accomplished religious leaders,” said
Dean William A. Graham, in announcing
the appointment in June of last summer.
“He is not only a widely acclaimed preacher,
but has been just as influential as a pioneer
in linking the church’s mission to urban
revitalization through economic, educa-
tional, and social initiatives. This range of
experience makes him an especially apt
choice to inaugurate the Nickerson profes-
sorship, which was created, in part, ‘with
special attention to economic policies and
practices as they affect both the profession
of the ministry and society as a whole.’ “
Adams, a Harvard divinity degree gradu-
ate, has been pastor of Hartford Memorial
Baptist Church in Detroit, since 1969. Under
his leadership, the church has established
social, educational and recreational pro-
grams for a congregation whose number
now exceeds 10,000 members. Its various
TRUMPET .NovemBER/DECEMBER 2007 20 www.trumpetmag.com
economic development initiatives have
gone even further in helping to revitalize
much of northwest Detroit.
Beyond Detroit, Adams has been integral
to the World Council of Churches’ efforts
to combat racism. In this regard, for exam-
ple, he spoke before the United Nations on
South African apartheid. He has been presi-
dent of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP
and holds memberships on numerous
boards, including the National Council of
Churches and Morehouse College. In 1994,
he accompanied President Bill Clinton to
Jordan to witness the signing of the peace
accord between Jordan and Israel.
In addition, he has acted as one of Harvard
Divinity School’s (HDS) most trusted
advisers over the years, and has won
several of the School’s alumni/ae
awards. He was a founding member of
the Black Alumni/ae Network, now
known as Alumni/ae of African Descent.
He played an integral role in raising the
money to create the Black Seminarians
Fund. He has also been a guiding force
in the development and growth of HDS’
Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), an
annual two-week program, begun in
1998, that trains pastors and lay leaders in
community and economic development.
Not only has Adams served on the SLI
faculty each year, he has engendered a fruit-
ful cross-fertilization between Hartford and
Harvard, bringing Harvard professors to
speak at his church. l