Christian

Everybody knows the stories of Martin Luther King, Jackie Robinson and George Washington Carver. But how many Americans can name three of the six African-American Academy Award winners and their winning movies?Throughout America, Black History month closes in February. But for Charles Christian, every month is Black History Month.The University of Maryland geography professor has parlayed his 1995 textbook, "Black Saga: The African-American Experience," into an annual scholastic challenge for Central Maryland elementary and middle schools.

The morality of war has been debated since men fought with sticks and stones. Combatants have wanted to believe that they were not mere brawlers, but took up arms in the service of right.The current fighting in Yugoslavia is no exception. The Belgrade government appealed to international legal norms this week in asking the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, to stop NATO's "merciless and savage bombing of the civilian population." And Western leaders have justified those airstrikes as motivated by moral and humanitarian concerns, not national self-interest.

MOSCOW -- It's kids against cops in a standoff in St. Petersburg, and the kids aren't flinching.The police have a court order, the might of the city government and plenty of guns on their side. On their side, the kids have nothing but their determination and the weight of Russian culture, which cherishes children.At stake is possession of a choice piece of real estate that for eight years has been occupied by a private Christian school. The city wants the site, which the school spent about $1.5 million fixing up. The city arranged the law on its side.

Carter "Bud" Christian, a retired bank official, died Sunday of Alzheimer's disease at Frederick Villa Nursing Center in Catonsville. He was 84.He was a real estate officer for Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Co. in Baltimore from 1962 to 1979. Earlier, he was a representative of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.Born in Ednor Gardens, Mr. Christian graduated from Baltimore City College in 1934 and from Strayer Business College. He served in the Army during World War II.He had been a member of Diamond Ridge Golf Course in Woodlawn and of Catonsville United Methodist Church, 6 Melvin Ave., where a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today.

The Rev. Dale H. Aukerman, a former pastor of several Church of the Brethren congregations and internationally known social activist and author, died in his sleep Sept. 4 at his home in Linwood, Carroll County. He was 69.As a pastor of Brethren churches, the Rev. Aukerman worked in Christian leadership and service roles in Maryland, Michigan, Indiana and in Europe for nearly 50 years. A plain-spoken man, he demonstrated against the war in Vietnam, the Afghan War, apartheid, the death penalty and nuclear arms.

Business leaders, politicians, office workers and homemakers spent the lunch hour yesterday in prayer.About 100 people observed the National Day of Prayer at noon in a Westminster park. The microphones failed, rain threatened, and traffic plodded by noisily. Still, the atmosphere was imbued with reverence.As four women softly sang "Sweet Hour of Prayer," a hymn "that calls us from the world of care," people closed their eyes, bowed their heads and folded their hands. Many clasped a neighbor's hand.

A project to transform a 130-year-old coffee warehouse into the nation's first museum honoring black shipbuilders and sailors is in jeopardy because the relic of Baltimore's sailing era might soon collapse.A nonprofit organization hoping to create the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park near Fells Point is trying to raise $600,000 to reinforce the waterfront building's teetering walls before winter storms knock them down."It's an emergency situation," said James Piper Bond, president of the Living Classrooms Foundation, which owns the property.

Professor Charles M. Christian had a question."In 1848," he asked nine teams of children sitting in front of him, "these two people escaped from slavery in Georgia. She impersonated a slaveholder, and he pretended to be her servant in one of the most celebrated slave escapes in history. What were their names?"Team seven -- Marisa Greenway, Erick Cruz and Jamie Acevedo, all from Maryland City Elementary School in Anne ArundelCounty -- answered correctly: William and Ellen Craft. Chalk one up for Maryland City.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- As a battle for the soul of Southern Republicanism, the Alabama primary that Gov. Fob James Jr. won so convincingly Tuesday reinforced a number of truths about the party and the region.Religious conservatives still wield immense influence. Strong stands against taxes still sell. Race still matters. And even as Southerners take a leading role in national politics, they still deeply resent federal intrusion.The results also buttressed another theme drawn from campaigns around the country this year, including last month's spending spree among Democrats in the race for California governor: Money does not always prevail.

"The Celebration" couldn't be better timed for the holiday season, when so many adults find themselves regressing into childlike behaviors and when the truth is so often sacrificed on the altar of domestic peace. The portrait of a family brought to crisis by an explosive act of brutal honesty, Thomas Vinterberg's film offers an inspiring glimpse at one man's dogged insistence on telling the real story and coming to peace with that story in the process.Ulrich Thomsen plays Christian, a successful restaurateur in France who returns to his childhood home in Denmark to celebrate his father's 60th birthday.

On October 14, 2009, JAMES L.; beloved husband of Deloris Sowells; devoted father of Fred Ruff, Sheila Doherty, Joel Sowells and Laurie Bruns; grandfather of 14 and many great-grandchildren; beloved Christian and faithful member of Brooklyn Bible Chapel. Friends may call at Gonce Funeral Service P.A., 4001 Ritchie Highway, on Thursday from 7 to 9 PM and Friday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 PM. Services will be held on Saturday at 10 AM at Brooklyn Bible Chapel. Interment Glen Haven Memorial Park.

On October 3, 2009 JOSEPH LEO. Beloved husband of the late Daisy Brooks, loving father of Gloria Davis, Agnes Griffin, Christian Tillman, Patricia Johnson, Sandra Titus and Charles Brooks. Friends visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC.,, 4300 Wabash Avenue on Friday after 8:30 A.M. where th family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. The family will also receive friends on Saturday St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church, 1546 North Fremont Avenue at 9:30 A.M. followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10 A.M.

On August 13, 2009 MARGARETTA P. beloved wife of the late James A. Christian; devoted father of Dion D. Christian and Sheila Christian Cannon. Also survived by eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, two sisters Odessa Pankey of New York and Arabelle McCoy of Virginia; one daughter-in-law Stephanie Christian; one son-in-law Bobby Cannon; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Friends may call at the CHATMAN-HARRIS FUNERAL HOME, 5240 Reisterstown Road Tuesday 4-8 p.m. and Wednesday after 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. After 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday Mrs. Christian will rest at Perkins Square Baptist Church, 2500 Edmondson Avenue where the family will receive friends at 6:30 p.m. Funeral Services will begin 7 p.m. Interment Springfield Baptist Church Cemetery, Gladston, VA Friday 2 p.m.

On April 12, 2009 MS. CHRISTIAN. Visitation Wednesday, 5-8 p.m. Family will receive friends on Thursday at 10 a.m. Funeral to follow at 10:30.

Is the Christian right finished as a political entity? Or, more to the point, are principled Christians finished with politics? These questions have been getting fresh air lately as frustrated conservative Christians question the pragmatism - defined as the compromising of principles - of the old guard. One might gently call the current debate a generational rift. The older generation represented by such icons as James Dobson, who recently retired as head of Focus on the Family, has compromised too much, according to a growing phalanx of disillusioned Christians.

Constantine's Sword, according to the credits, is "based on" the book by James Carroll calling for enlightenment and clarity on the history of Christians' relationships with Jews. But it's more like an eloquent sidebar to the book, focusing on Carroll himself. This ex-priest and son of a Cold War Christian soldier was drawn to the Catholic Church for Jesus' messages of peace. But he has spent his adult lifetime noting the disconnect of those teachings to Christian oppression of the Jews and other Semites (including Arabs during the Crusades)

Spend an hour on GodTube.com and you'll find that God is in the details of thousands of videos. He is benevolent. He is angry. He is forgiving. He is grief-stricken. He is ecstatic. He supports Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, too. He is there for Britney Spears, and He wants to save gay people from unholy desires. Created in the image of YouTube, the Christian video-sharing site presents a God of unlimited dispositions. "A Letter from Hell," a fire-and-brimstone drama chronicling the fate of a teen drunken driving victim, suggests a judgmental God. "Little Girl and Psalm 23," a home video of a toddler reciting the song's sacred words, argues for a God who meets cute.

Mentors can turn kids away from life learned on streets Julie Bykowicz captures the pessimistic attitude of city's juvenile justice system in "Arrest a child, rescue a life" (Dec. 23) - an article that underscores the incongruous correlation between incarcerating a child and delivering that same child from harm's way. But it is no wonder that expectations are so low for a child caught in a city juvenile justice system that is more often measured by its failures than its successes and in a city where we are more likely to note the number of yearly homicide victims and shootings among the young than the number of high school graduates and youth leaders.

Having a powerful offense is nothing new for Hereford and coach Steve Turnbaugh. The Bulls (12-0), who will play in the Class 3A state semifinals this weekend, have scored 555 points this season and are averaging 46.25 points per game. In 1997, Turnbaugh led the Bulls to the state championship and set state records for points scored in a season (602) and average points per game (46.31). Scoring points is the only similarity those two offenses have, however. "This team is a completely different style than the '97 team," Turnbaugh said.

On September 22, 2007, MARY L. CHRISTIAN (2004 SSA Retiree) passed away peacefully at the University of Maryland Hospital. She is survived by her loving friend Gregory Evans; her mother, Mary Taylor; two sisters, Sarah James and Marie Mozell Carlton; one brother-in-law, William R. Carlton; two grandchildren, DeAndre and Latrice Gaskins; and a host of other friends and relatives. On Thursday friends may call at the VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 5151 Baltimore National Pike from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. On Friday, Ms. Christian will lie in-state at New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N. Monroe Street, where the family will receive friends from 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. with services to follow.