The Penny Dropped

My name is Claresa Baggs. I do not possess a title of Pastor, Minister, Reverend, or Prophetess. I don’t sit on any boards. I do not have a big certificate of degree handing on my office wall. I never expected to stand before you in this format, on this day. Quite frankly, I learned that I can only run for so long, before God caught me and wore me down. Who am I, to stand before you and allow teachings to flow from my mouth that I would otherwise keep to myself? I am but a retched soul, desperately in need of prayer, on a twisted and potholed path trying to find my way back to God. I have nothing to offer you but my own truths. I do not speak of things I have not experienced. I have been on a sad, angry, lonely journey. How could God; therefore, require this of me? How could He ask me, out of all who have suffered to stand before you and provide guidance? I cannot quote a bunch of biblical passages to support this presentation. I cannot list authors of self-help manuals used as refer...

The scandal at Syracuse has me up in arms. The mere idea that a person can get away with virtually destroying a childhood, simply by crediting the passage of time is quite possibly the worst form of injustice to be perpetrated upon victims of rape. Time does not erode the scar tissue left behind on the hearts and minds of the survivors of these crimes. Having suffered the shame and humiliation as a rape victim, I can attest that the idea of coming forth is in some ways more terrifying than the very rape itself. Therefore, for someone to decide that the victim did not come forth soon enough just boggles my mind. When did it become okay to invalidate someone's suffering due to an expiration date? When did it become okay to provide greater protection to the perpetrator of such a heinous crime and leave the victim out in the cold? This has got to change. When we allow this type of injustice to prevail, the rape victim is victimized again. This time on an even greater scale. Thi...