The Critical Cleric

The Critical Cleric featured in Grio article on Letter From Birmingham Jail

(My colleague Mashaun D. Simon wrote an article for the Grio.com in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's letter from the Birmingham jail.  In his article he was nice enough to include the insights of Dr. Clayborne Carson and myself. Check it out below.)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Fifty years later, these eight simple, yet powerful words are what many remember from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s’ Letter from Birmingham Jail.

They have become a sound bite, a snippet, of King’s clarion call to clergy in and around Birmingham to bring an end to the unethical practices of segregation and economical injustice.

However, while many remember the letter simply by those eight words, those familiar with the letter want to clarity there is much more to the writing missing on society today.

Addressing a crisis of Christian faith

King’s letter reflected the religious challenges of his time, addressing the crisis of Christian faith for southern Christians at the time, said Billy Michael Honor, pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

“As I understand it, the initial purpose of King’s letter from the Birmingham jail was to respond to the criticism of certain white and black clergy who claimed that King’s protests were unhelpful to the peace and unity of the segregated south,” Honor told theGrio by email.

In the letter, dated the 16th of April 1963, King responds to critiques from those he identifies as “white, moderate” clergymen. They have questioned not only his “present activities” in Birmingham, but also his presence in their city. For them, he is an outsider, bringing unnecessary ruckus to their city, and has no business in their affairs.

MLK’s responsibility as a religious leader

But for King, it is his responsibility as a religious leader to be there.

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny,” he writes.

Dr. Clayborne Carson, professor of history at Stanford University, said King’s writing to white clergy defends the idea of non-violent demonstration on religious grounds. As director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, Carson is the consummate historian and authoritarian on King.

What Carson wants to highlight, he told theGrio by phone, is that King’s entire argument is from memory alone.

“It’s from what he knows. He is in jail and trying to defend himself without access to consultation and a library,” Carson said. “He called upon every rhetorical device he could use to make that case. I get the impression that being in jail focused his mind.”

This, for Honor, is perhaps the most significant impact the letter had for King and cements his legacy.

“His writing of such a phenomenal letter without the use of notes or reference materials cemented King’s legacy as a public theologian and theological ethicist,” he said. “In particular, the charges against King’s academic credentials due to allegations of cheating and plagiarism were also quelled by the impressive intellectual quality of King’s missive.”

King was at a crossroads

Today, we look back and remember King as a great leader who changed the course of history, Carson points out. However, at the time King’s leadership was being questioned.

“He was under severe pressure,” Carson told theGrio. “Over the course of the six years he does not do very much. Other groups have started taking the initiative to bring about change, Malcolm X is gaining in publicity, and grassroots leaders in the community are saying, ‘We admire you, but what have you done recently. What have you done since Montgomery?’”

So King’s entire reputation of whether he can properly lead a campaign is at stake.

“If King had failed in Birmingham, there would not have been the March on Washington; there would not have been the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. There would not have been any of that other stuff we know him for if he had not succeeded in Birmingham,” said Carson.

His decision to go to jail represents his deeply religious roots, Carson adds.

“Some were saying, ‘If you go to jail, all is lost.’ And others were saying, ‘If you don’t go to jail, all is lost.’ In the end, he makes a decision based on faith.”

These are facts, realities that are lost upon the larger society today. Part of this can be attributed, said Honor, to a lack of knowledge overall about the actual content and details of Dr. King’s life.

We must remember MLK the theologian

“For example, much is said about Dr. King as a civil rights leader but very little is said about King as a theologian, public theologian and social ethicist; which makes his letter all the more important,” Honor said adding, “It is also important to understanding the ideological and intellectual mind of Dr. King; this point is very important as the King legacy continues to be co-opted by forces that would like to sanitize, conflate and misappropriate it.”

Carson compares this lack of knowledge to the realities of most Christians across the world. He calls it intellectual laziness.

“It is a problem we have with a lot of people who profess to believe in something who really do not have an idea of what they believe,” he said. “Not many Christians, if you asked them to summarize the Sermon on the Mount and what it means, could fulfill the task. I’m not even sure many people of a certain generation have even read King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail.”

So how do we rectify this problem? Honor has some thoughts.

“In order to ensure that the legacy of the King letter is understood, individuals with knowledge of its history, context and content must continue to share the story,” he said. “In addition, religious practitioners, like myself, must continue the legacy in our work and ministry.”

Follow Mashaun D Simon on Twitter at @memadosi, or follow his blog, http://theparkinglotblog.wordpress.com.

 

Billy Michael Honor and Other PC USA leaders talk about Seminaries and Starting new churches

 

I had the opportunity to have a conversation with some of my favorite ministry colleagues about the value of seminaries and their role in helping start new churches.  In particular, we discussed a new church development called Pulse Church that will officially begin this fall in the downtown Atlanta area. 

Check out some of our convo...it might inspire you or at least make you smile!

Compassionately and Critically yours, Billy Michael Honor

The Cornel West We Forgot When We Met President Obama

In the wake of our country’s 56^th Presidential inauguration where Barack H. Obama was sworn into office as the nation’s 44^th president, there arose several less significant yet attention grabbing sideshows.  For example, there was the media tomfoolery that’s now infamously known as Beyonce-gate which involved speculation about whether or not the multi-platinum, Grammy award winning, recording star lip sync the singing of the national anthem (as if anyone needs proof that Beyonce can sing live). Then there was also the circulation of a video clip of Dr. Cornel West speaking with self-righteous indignation in response to the fact that President Obama chose to be sworn in with his hand on the personal bible of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

According to the professor it was offensive for the President to use Dr. King’s bible “in a moment of presidential pageantry without understanding the challenge that [Dr. King] presents to all of those who are in power, no matter what color they are.”  Dr. West went on to declare that Obama’s usage of the King bible reduced the righteous indignation of MLK to a moment of political calculation which made his (that is, Dr. West’s) blood boil.   

If you’ve heard Dr. West share his views on the Obama administration over the course of the last few years these recent comments will not surprise you.  In fact, I think it’s safe to say that Dr. West and Tavis Smiley have been on their own self-sponsored Obama truth-telling campaign for most of the President’s term in office.  As a result, they’ve become (in the eyes of many African Americans) little more than two jealous, counterproductive, self-serving, and egoistical defected leaders. 

From my viewpoint, though I share many of Dr. West and Mr. Smiley’s concerns about the Obama administration and the unfortunate mistaken conflation of the King legacy with the political success of President Obama, I DO NOT, however, share their negative assessment of the value, effectiveness, and political progressiveness of the this presidency.  Nor do I agree with past comments that Dr. West has made about the President’s ontological blackness or lack thereof. 

On the other hand, I don’t agree either with those Smiley/West detractors who simply want to reduce their criticism to mere hater’ation and professional jealousy.  Though there is clearly a degree of personal animosity within their commentary, I still believe that at the core of their criticism and pointed speech is a genuine concern about the current political moment we find ourselves.  In particular, when you consider Dr. West’s history as an academic, activist and public intellectual, it’s hard to make a case that he has been more critical of President Obama than he was critical of previous administrations and presidential candidates (though the same could NOT be said of Tavis Smiley, in my opinion).                   

In an interview conducted in 1993 by Charlie Rose with Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Dr. Cornel West, Rose asked Gates what was the biggest disagreement between he and West as premiere black intellectuals?  Gates responded, that “West could be described as a clear eyed liberal, while I [Henry Louis Gates] am a messy middle kind of guy.”  This I recalled to mind when I heard certain critics of Dr. West suggest that his recent critiques of POTUS “don’t sound much like the Cornel West they know and whose work they respect.”  In truth, those who’ve read or listened to Cornel West over the last three decades will know that he has always voiced a rigid allegiance to a particular set of political and social values; and he’s never been afraid to critique others for failing to line up to his articulated moral standards.    

Moreover, those familiar with the literary works of Cornel West will attest that he has always viewed his intellectual pursuit as “a scholarly endeavor against systems of power that yield undue influence in the lives of citizens.”  For example, West argues in his chief academic work The American Evasion of Philosophy (1989), that the task of a revolutionary intellectual was to develop a counter-narrative to the hegemonic texts and narrative of the prevailing order. In other words, West has always viewed himself as an intellectual freedom fighter and advocate of progressive policies directed at increasing the standard of living for poor and working class Americans. 

Sadly, too many of Dr. West’s detractors have forgotten the politically subversive ethos of his vocation and work.  As a result, they’ve given the faulty impression to the uninformed that West’s stern criticism of President Obama is somehow uncharacteristic of him, when in fact, just the opposite is true.  Consider West’s harsh characterization of Obama as a “wall street mascot” and “puppet of plutocrats and oligarchs.” Many have suggested that these comments were the result of West having a personal vendetta or need to settle an old score. However, I would have readers recall West’s vigorous opposition to Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, when West declared that: “The rise of an ugly imperialism has been aided by an unholy alliance of the plutocratic elites and the Christian Right, and also by a massive disaffection of so many voters who see too little difference between two corrupted parties, with blacks being taken for granted by the Democrats, and with the deep disaffection of youth.” Furthermore, West argued that since the Republican and Democratic parties were both owned by corporate money and interests; choosing between them was like choosing between “the left-wing and right-wing versions of the Dred Scott decision!”

 

Interestingly, some critics of West have asked, where was his criticism of the Clintons and the Democratic Party during the Bush administration when the gap between the rich and poor widened exponentially?  However, just a modicum of research will reveal that West argued in 2004, that Democrats like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton were “paternalistic nihilists and slick professionals who spoke blandly for democracy with no heart-felt rage at the injustices of the system.” Moreover, West also described the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush as “a political ice age where it became fashionable to be indifferent to the suffering of the weak.”     

It should also be noted that President Obama is certainly not the first black political figure to be the target of West’s harsh criticism. During the Bush administration he dismissively described the two highest ranking African American government officials Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell as nothing more than “cogs in the American imperial machine.”  And how can one forget West’s controversial assertion that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is “beautifully black in phenotype and skin pigmentation but lacking in the fundamental quality of blackness because he chooses to side with the powerful over and against the weak.”       

Given these facts, it’s hard to conclude that Dr. Cornel West has changed that much since the country elected its first African American president because in so many ways he’s still the same straight talking clear eyed political progressive he’s always been.  Instead, I suggest that the ones who’ve changed are those of us who constitute West’s audience; and the reason we’ve changed is clear.  We’ve changed because for the first time Dr. West’s criticism, which we’ve grown to respect, is directed at someone that we’ve grown to revere—The 1^st African American President of the United States.  So if Dr. Cornel West doesn’t sound much like the Cornel West you remember, maybe it’s because you forgot him when you met Barak Obama.

Compassionately and Critically yours, Billy Michael Honor

Critical Cleric Book of the Month

For nearly two decades Brian Mclaren has been provoking audiences to think deeply about faith and life through his numerous books, articles, speeches, sermons and songs.  Ever since his first book Church On The Other Side Brian has been building a faithful following of progressive, sometimes disgruntle, critical thinking Christians.  Now, with his 19th publication, Brian is still building his audience by focusing on the nature of interfaith relations in our world.     

Intentionally released on September 11th (the memorial date of NYC Twin Tower attacks) Mclaren's book Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World attempts to answer the age old questions: Can you be a committed Christian without having to condemn or convert people of other faiths? And is it possible to affirm other religious traditions without watering down your own?

Whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindus, atheist, or otherwise, I hope you'll consider reading this book which promises to add a measure of thoughtful civility to the often divisive area of interfaith dialogue.   

Compassionately and Critically yours, Billy Michael Honor

James Cone and Anthony Pinn Lecture and Dialogue about Theology, Liberation and Humanism

James Hal Cone & Anthony B. Pinn from Revolution Books on Vimeo.

 

Selective Memory and My Top 5 MLK Books

Last week while watching the Boston Celtics compete against the Oklahoma Thunder I was reminded that despite the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. is arguably the most celebrated non-elected US citizen in the history of the United States of America there continues to be a general public ignorance about many important aspects of his life.

This fact became apparent as I listened to a TNT basketball analyst rattle off what he termed as “lesser known facts about Dr. King”. These so-called “lesser known facts” were well documented details of Dr. King’s life such as his being a PhD student at Boston University in the early 195o’s and his later migration back to the South to pastor an Alabama church.

Admittedly, my initial thought in response to these facts was “uh, I’m sorry sir, but on what planet are these lesser known facts?” I thought to myself “everybody and their cousin and their grandmother know that Dr. King was a PhD student at Boston University before he became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. But then I began to think about the diverse viewing audience of a NBA game and I remembered that the vast majority of the general public has very little knowledge of the intellectual and cultural forces that shaped MLK into an American civic hero.

To the average American, their knowledge of Dr. Martin Luther King begins with the fact that he was a Southern preacher who delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech at a civil rights march in Washington and it ends with him being assassinated in Memphis five years later. Though these facts are certainly important to the life of Dr. King they do not, however, help people understand the forces that shaped Dr. King’s intellectual and moral formation. As a result, we have a significant segment of society that celebrates the life of a man that in reality they know very little about. To be sure, this type of myopic biographical admiration is not unique to Dr. King. For example, many studies have shown that though 8 out of 10 Americans profess to be Christians (followers of Christ), the vast majority of these same Americans have very little knowledge or understanding of the person and work of the historical Jesus whom they profess to follow. Which begs the question, who and/or what really is the foundation of the faith that American Christians profess to follow? And, in like manner, who is the true Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that Americans profess to cherish?

As a student of the life and thought Dr. Martin King Jr., I think it is very important that US citizens understand the true essence of the man that many believe is the “greatest American ever produced on American soil”. So in an effort to be helpful to those who may be interested I have produced my list of the top 5 books written on the life and thought of Dr. Martin Luther King. Let me be clear, I am in no way suggesting that these texts are the best books written in the history of all writing on MLK. Believe me; I would never be so presumptuous. So before someone gets upset that I omitted their favorite King book that they read in college or that their uncle wrote or something, please remember that this is simply MY list of favorites. Nothing more and nothing less. 

1) The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume I/

 Called To Serve, January 1929-June 1951. I recommend this work first because it provides a great basis for the familial and adolescent development of King. It contains a detailed account of his family’s history in Atlanta and their historical connection to the Ebenezer Baptist church. But the most important feature of this resource is that it chronicles the original letters and papers of young Martin King from his days at Morehouse College to his days at Crozer Theological Seminary. I consider this indispensable resource for anyone interested in understanding King as a thinker and minister.

2) Martin Luther King Jr. for Armchair Theologians/
 This book is a part of the armchair theologian series which is a collection of texts that feature the thought of a famous theologian as understood by a contemporary religious scholar. This book that features the thought of MLK is written by seminary professor Rufus Burrow whose work specializes in theological social ethics. The great benefit of this book is its accessibility and reader friendly composition (it even has pictures). In fact, I imagine most folks could read this entire book fairly quickly and at the conclusion have a general understanding of the substratum of King’s theology and thought.

3) I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr./
This book has been heralded as one of the most important texts written on the life of MLK. Penned by the famed professor and social critic Michael Eric Dyson this book is a collection of extended critical essays on the life of Dr. King. Upon its release this book was greeted with a mixed reception due to the fact that it contained detailed accounts of King’s extra-marital sexual affairs and his alleged same gender sexual encounter. In my assessment, Dyson has provided a wonderful MLK biographical book of social and cultural criticism that helps readers view the life of King from the context of our current contemporary moment. I highly recommend this book for individuals who have the courage to engage both the blessings and the banes of the life of MLK.

4) King Among Theologians/
 This was the first book I read that took seriously the fact that King was an actual theologian. In this unique book, Dr. Noel Erskine (a former professor of mine) compares and contrasts the theology of MLK to the theologies of Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, James Cone, and a few womanist theologians. For the student of theology this book will be a treat. For others this book will be an important window into the mind of Dr. King as a religious thinker and scholar. However, I would recommend that readers who are not students of theology read King For Armchair Theologians before they read Erskine’s text so that might gain a better understanding of the concepts and language.

5) Martin & Malcolm & America/
I debated whether or not to include this last text on this list, mostly because the book is not primarily about the life of MLK. Rather, the legendary theologian Dr. James Cone sought in this book to compare and contrast the southern integrationist rhetorical strategies of Dr. King with the northern separatist ideology of Malcolm X. Though this book is about both Martin and Malcolm I contend it can be a pivotal resource for those seeking to understand some of the challenges and limitations of King’s thought. In particular, it can help readers understand the Black Nationalist critiques of King that were pervasive during his life and in fact still endure to this day.

Okay, that’s my list. I hope it’s helpful.

Compassionately and Critically yours, Billy Michael Honor

New Life and The Power of Great Preaching by Dr. Ralph Watkins

(The dissemination of encouragement is a powerful thing, especially when you are the recipient.  So let's just say I'm feeling empowered today.  Yesterday, our congregation was blessed to have Rev. Dr. Ralph Watkins (Associate Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at Columbia Theological Seminary) and his wife join us in worship.  Though I have followed the work of Dr. Watkins for years now, I hadn't been given the opportunity to meet him until about 6 days ago when I was invited to preach at Columbia Seminary.  During these brief several days knowing Dr. Watkins what's clear is his sincere love and enthusiasm for God and God's Church and his commendable willingness to encourage young preachers like myself.  Evidence of this fact is his recent blog post about his visit to our church in which he shares positive insights about his experience.  Because his words encouraged me so much I thought I might share them with you as we continue our endeavor to promote pastoral scholarship and organic Christian intellectualism.  Read and Enjoy!  Blessings, Billy Michael Honor) 

--This blog post is from the site It's The Church facilitated by Rev. Dr. Ralph Watkins  

  The Power of Great Preaching

As our search for a church home in Atlanta continues this Sunday we visited New Life Presbyterian Church where the Rev. Billy Honor is the pastor.  Rev. Honor is young enough to be my son but today he preached like he was my father.  I needed a word from God in the worse way.  The transition from California to Georgia hasn’t been easy.  Sunday is a time for revival and key to any revival is great preaching.

What I learned today was when a pastor / preacher is prepared and they have prayed hard, studied long and put quality work into their sermon it shows.  When preaching makes you think and shout simultaneously that is when preaching is at it’s best.  Rev. Honor engaged culture and theology with perfect harmony and put the text in conversation with popular culture, personal struggle and God’s vision for God’s people.

When preaching is great it has the potential to grow a people, glorify God and actually grow a church.  Preaching with excellence elevates the entire worship experience and moves the congregation in ways that shows the power the Holy Spirit.   Rev. Honor is brilliant and he has been well trained. A mature, intelligent God led pastor makes a difference.  The future of the church is good hands.  Vanessa and I will be seeing New Life Presbyterian Church and Rev. Honor again!  Preach preacher. 

New Life Presbyterian Church of Atlanta: Learn, Connect, Serve!!!!

 

A Charge To Pastor From Seminary Professor & Ideological Critic Randall C. Bailey

(This is a revised version of the charge Rev. Dr. Randall Bailey presented at my Ordination and Installation service this past Sunday. I hope it inspires someone who reads it. Critically and compassionately yours, Billy Michael Honor)

 
I charge you to be faithful to the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ and to help others to be nourished in this understanding through the best of the Black religious traditions.

I charge you to take seriously the ravages of the corporate sins of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, ethnocentrism, and all other forms of oppression and internalized oppression, helping the congregation to become aware of these and to develop skills of resistance to the oppressive forms.

I charge you to be active in community struggles, bearing witness to God's love for the world and thereby being a sign and symbol of Emmanuel, God with us in times of trouble, standing with the least of these.

I charge you to take seriously the ministry of presence as expressed in visits to congregants in times of joy and in times of sorrow. Continue to develop a listening ear so you can be an effective pastoral counselor to those going through shadowy valleys and climbing mounts of transfiguration.

I further charge you to continue your education, reading materials which will sharpen your analyses of the world around us and the spirit within us. As you do so, share with others through formal Christian Education venues, blogs, and other forms of social media, being mindful that pictures of yourself are not necessary to get the messages across.

I charge you to take care of yourself, physically and emotionally, and to keep close those who love, nurture and support you in your career & personal development. Also, always find the time to nurture and support others with whom you share your life, whether they be family, friends, spouse and/or children.

I also charge you to keep a healthy sense of humor. 

I also charge you to preach in powerful and liberating ways, bringing to the pulpit strong spiritual power, immersed in social justice, contoured by sharp intellectual and hermeneutical insights, engaging cultural criticism, pointing always to Jesus, who wants us to be responsible agents of his love and promise to always keep our back.

Randall Bailey, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Interdenominational Theological Center

June 1st and A Life of Love, Art, and Inspiration

 

I’ve always thought that one can choose to view the day that commemorates their birth into the world as an annual event of regression or progression.  This is to say that we can view getting older as an opportunity to remember how we used to be or it can be an opportunity to envision what we have yet to become. Personally, I choose the latter.  Call it whatever you may, whether it be youthful optimism or delusions grandeur, I still believe that the future has good things in store.  It is this hopefulness about the future that keeps me excited about life and getting older.  

Today is June 1^st 2011 and it has been exactly twenty-eight years since I was birthed into this world.  A whole lot has changed since 1983 and yet a lot remains the same.  One thing that remains the same is the truth that at the core of human experience is the reality of evolution.  Try as we might, it is nearly impossible to deny that a fundamental aspect of life is cultivating the growth of one’s self.  However, let’s be honest, the fact that it’s fundamental to life doesn’t make it an easy part of life.   Robert Stepto once wrote that “narratives of ascent are often narratives of alienation,” I interpret this to mean that the more we evolve, the more we have to leave behind.  This can often be a painful and nerve-wrecking process but nevertheless a necessary component of personal growth.

I’ve spent the greater balance of this day contemplating my own personal evolution and during this time I’ve come to several realizations about my life which can be summed up in three words: Art, Love and Inspiration.  As I sit in this familiar place of work and contemplation listening to the soothing sounds of John Coltrane and Duke Ellington’s In A Sentimental Mood I am thoroughly aware of the role artistic expression plays in my life and evolution.  In fact, even as I write these words I am sporadically gazing at the bookshelf behind me that at times appears to be hovering over me like rows filled with a great class of witnesses.  In these rows sit literary titans such as Ralph Ellison
, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neal Hurston, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison and Bell Hooks.  There are intellectuals like WEB Dubois, Franz Fanon, Marcus Garvey, Harold Cruse, Shelby Steele, and Angela Davis. And there are religious luminaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Reinhold Niebuhr, Howard Thurman, Paul Tillich, Martin L. King Jr., and Karen Armstrong, to name a few. Through their various literary works these artist along with a host of musicians and spiritual leaders encourage and inspire me on days like this when I am most aware of the fleeting yet precious gift of life. 

Like so many, I am blessed with the love of family, friends, and an incredibly loving fiancée.  If it were not for the love of these precious folks I truly don’t know where I would be on this journey between womb and tomb; so I am indeed grateful for the gift of love for it is through love that I live, move, and have my being. 

In addition to love, I realize how profoundly I depend upon inspiration in my life.  I often seek this inspiration in the work and life’s witness of religious scholars, cultural critics, writers, public intellectuals, jazz musicians, and neo-soul artists both past and present.  In all of their contributions to culture and society I find my own personal sense of meaning and purpose in life.  From them I find inspiration to continue to teach, preach, write, and speak about the relationship of God, self, and the other in the complex matrix of human experience. 

It is with these three of life’s gifts that I boldly march into the days ahead.  And though I do not know totally what life has in store, be it days of joy and/or pain, what I know for sure is that it will be all worth it if I can look at myself and by the grace of God say “well done.”   

Compassionately and Contemplatively yours,

 Billy Michael Honor Jr.