Daughtry, H. (1997, March/April). "Who will weep for Tupac Shakur?" Sojourners, pp. 32-36.

OVERVIEW

This article, actually the sermon that was preached two days after his death, peers into a different side of Tupac Shakur, the 25-year-old rap singer who was shot in Las Vegas. In the words of Reverend Daughtry, Tupac’s friend and pastor of The House of the Lord Church (of which Tupac was a member while growing up in Brooklyn), "what shall I say of this young man who lived such a flamboyant, violent, tumultuous life, and who died at 25 years old?"

Tupac frequented the church, at age 10, with his mother and sister. They became members, but shortly thereafter, Tupac’s mother took him to the Performing Arts School in Baltimore, Maryland, where his talent became evident. From there, Tupac moved again—West—to find his niche. There were typical hard times for this struggling artist. Eventually, through determination, Tupac made it.

Even after escaping the ghetto and climbing the ascent to a successful career, Tupac maintained his relationship with Reverend Daughtry. They met sporadically, and Tupac shared many burdens of his heart. He dreamed of building a retreat center for inner-city kids to develop their skills in a trade and gain inspiration and encouragement by working with celebrities.

In their conversations, Daughtry pressed Tupac to speak about the challenges of his faith and of God. At one point, Tupac said, "Reverend, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s hard for me to believe in the same book as the white man...." In this rare moment, one gets a glimpse of the wounds of racism scarring this young brother. He couldn’t understand the hypocrisy of the white man’s Bible, which mingles words of love for one’s neighbor with the deliberate acts of hatred and oppression that the white man tread upon the world. It was in this conversation that Reverend Daughtry shared his own experiences and struggles to accept the Bible—despite coming from four generations of black preachers—and his discovery of the black roots of Christian faith. This may have been a turning point in their relationship, as Tupac really trusted Reverend Daughtry.

Tupac desired to be revolutionary, and in some ways, by his music and Iyrics, he was indeed. He wrote of the things which he saw in his short life. But his death did not halt the violence which ended his life and many others. In this way, Reverend Daughtry writes that he himself will weep for Tupac and others like him, for their mothers who have lost sons, for the fathers who walk out long before, and for a better society where there is no violence.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What is the Church’s responsibility for reaching the youth of the ghetto?
2. How can the Church maintain its upright, holy ways and also work in the mire of the inner city?
3. How can people respond to the questions about faith that Tupac had, when many fail to recognize the overarching issue of racism?

IMPLICATIONS

Today, it is assumed that people with successful careers have overcome all odds. And yet even with the glamour of success, many are still searching and seeking to fulfill that void within the human soul that desires relationship. Many young stars were raised in single-parent homes without male role models. Such children quickly learn to be "street smart," living in survival mentality. Yet, while it is easy to blame the problem on the missing fathers, others—including some churches—may also be implicated in shirking the needs of children. There is much to be done to save the next generation of youth.

Melissa Craig cCYS