Afemo and Elizabeth Omilami I was privileged to be amongst a family that has true love. This day called Thanksgiving has been turned around and upside down to help people feel good about celebrating one of the many wicked days in Amerikkkan history. I don’t get mad at people for what they celebrate or believe I just ask that they don’t get mad at me for not wanting to participate.

I met Elizabeth Omilami over 6 years ago; I was still in school finishing up my last tour of college for a video degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta. I had to do a project on someone who was influential and positive in the community and I set out to interview Mrs. Omilami. I knew she had done films like ‘The List’, ‘Glory Road’, ‘Madea's Family Reunion’, ‘We Are Marshall’, ‘Ray’, ‘A Time to Kill’, ‘Last Dance’ and most recently ‘The Blind Side’. Her staff put me through all kinds of red tape to talk with her. I decided to call her directly and go down to the headquarters myself. I finally got through to her after leaving her a direct voicemail message. She called me back herself and spoke with me. We talked, setup an interview time and it was history from there.

I came down with my crew we were all confused and nervous about doing this project and with talking with this woman, Mrs. Omilami, who was the daughter of such a great Civil Rights pioneer. We walked in and the staff advised us to wait for her to come out. I was sitting with my crew thinking, ‘Ok! Here we go with this Diva thing.’ To my surprise, she came out the back, invited us to sit and talk with her and relaxed us all in about 30 seconds. We all realized we were with family. You know how you have those folks in your family who are just real no matter how much they have or what others may think they got. I promised her, for giving me the interview and also for full access to the warehouse, what would be called b-roll in film, on the full history on why her father The Honorable Hosea Williams started the “Feed the Hungry Program” in the first place.

She said that a man came up to her father asking for some change. When he asked him what he needed it for, the man said “I just want to buy me something to eat.” Hosea told the man, “Not only will I give you the money but I will take you to get something to eat.” He realized the real problem in America was that the wealthy didn’t care about anybody enough to feed him or her.  It didn’t matter if you were Black, White or Brown. If you were poor and you didn’t steal, you just suffered and starved.

I came out to my first volunteer session and I was surprised to see that she wasn’t just feeding the hungry, Mother and Daughterthey were getting haircuts, medical treatment, legal assistance, massages, and the list goes on and on. I realized quick that this was a program for the country on how to take care of the least of God’s people. I noticed here in Atlanta, we call this the Bible belt, but whenever I mention how Jesus talks about doing for the least of his people all the people at the mega churches look at me like they want to nail me to a cross.

I came out and met Mr. Omilami and I realized why Mrs. Omilami was the Queen she was. They say behind every great man is a great woman. To be politically correct, she is beside him.. I realized quickly when he started to preach to the homeless why his Queen felt like she had a King. You rarely hear about strong Black men supporting their women on such a powerful mission. I can tell you that just because you don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Have you ever heard about a man named Stedman?

I talked in the beginning of this article about true love. To me that’s when you and your partner serve God together. I don’t mean by going to church and giving all you money to Creflo Dollar or Bishop Eddie Long. I mean real service. I know people will say, ‘That’s Gods work!’ But the true work is in serving the people, not with your lips, but with your works. My God sent Sister Candice Hood, who once told me that when people are in their season, we need to just get behind them and let God do his work with them and we too will be blessed in the long run. I saw a lot of soup kitchens over the holidays but no program or a plan like Hosea’s “Feed the Hungry”.  It’s not just a temporary fix; it is a way of life we should all practice. I have pledged and will continue to pledge my time 3 times a year to get behind my family, the Omilami’s, and help in this Godly work. Until truth prevails my eyes will be watching.

Wikipedia on Elizabeth Omilami - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Omilami

Hosea's Feed the Hungry Program website - http://www.hoseafeedthehungry.com/

Volunteering Opportunities with the Feed the Hungry program - http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org49659.jsp