Today, we're going to be looking at Mark chapter 13 verses 28 through 31. We're going to look at the parable of the fig tree. And as is my usual way of doing things, I'm going to highlight various things that we've already seen in chapter 13 to lead us up to and introduce the verses that we'll be looking at today, this parable that the Lord gives to us here in Mark chapter 13. So beginning at Mark 13 verse 28, reading to verse 31, Jesus said, Now learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branches already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near at the doors. Now, shortly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. And so let me give you the context here as we look at chapter 13. Jesus has prophesied that the temple would be destroyed. Remember how the men had been looking at the temple and marveling at its beauty and everything about it, but the Lord had said in verse 2, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down. Well that had caused his disciples to ask him a question. It's found in verse 4 of chapter 13, Peter, James, John and Andrew had asked him, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled? So chapter 13 here in the gospel of Mark is Jesus' answer to their question. Now throughout the chapter, Jesus has spoken of conditions that will exist prior to his return. He began by saying that there will be a time of general tribulation. That occurs in what has been called the church age. That occurs prior to the rapture. And in verse 8 of chapter 13, Jesus said, All these things are the beginning of sorrows. I mentioned to you that the word sorrows is a Greek word that speaks of birth pains. These are things, in other words, to prepare people for what is to come. And that would be his return. So the disasters over the centuries that have occurred have been fortates of the things to come. These are previews of events that occurred during the tribulation. You see, after the rapture, the tribulation, the seven-year period of judgment begins. It's going to start with the signing of a covenant between one called the Antichrist and the nation of Israel. And that's going to initiate a series of increasing judgments for the first three-and-a-half years of that seven-year period. Now part of the agreement may include the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. The temple has been destroyed since Titus of Rome destroyed it in the early part of the first century. And so what you have now is you have the temple mount, but you have no temple up there. And I've shared with you some things about that. But when we go to Israel, we'll go up normally, we go up to the temple mount. We have an opportunity to walk around that space of land there and all, but there's no temple there. It's right now under the control of the Muslims, and when you go in there, there are restrictions that you'll find yourself to have to undergo. They don't want you smiling or laughing when you're up there.  They don't want signs of affection. They don't want you to bring your Bibles up there. It's very restricted up there, and the regulations that they have there are strictly enforced. Well, the Antichrist in Israel are going to sign a covenant. And part of that covenant, that agreement, that treaty is going to be the rebuilding of the temple. But in the middle of the tribulation, that covenant will be violated. You see, according to Daniel, chapter 9, verse 27, Antichrist will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. That's a seven-year period. In the middle of the seven, in the third and a half year, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering, and at the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. So there's going to be something referred to as the abomination that causes desolation or destruction. Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 4, says it like this, Antichrist will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God, or his worship, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Well, when that takes place, Israel will be caught by surprise. They didn't expect anything like that to take place. So in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 3, Paul said, while people are saying, peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman and they will not escape. So this abomination occurs in the middle of the tribulation, and from there the great tribulation ensues. Now at the conclusion of the seven year period of tribulation, Jesus returns. Remember in Matthew in chapter 24, verse 3, he was asked, what is the sign of your coming and the end of the age? And in his answer he made it clear that his second coming is as real as the first. So by answering this question, Jesus is making something clear to his men. The reality of his return is to motivate all who serve him. In 1 John, chapter 3, verse 3, we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. We make ourself ready. We prepare to be with Christ. You see the return of Christ, the rapture of the church, then in the second coming we'll look at that in a moment. But the anticipation of being with the Lord is what is to prepare us to be with him. It's like a bride who prepares herself to meet her groom. Whenever the young lady prepares herself to meet the groom, she beautifies herself to the most that she can. She wants to appear to him as beautiful as is possible. She's prepared herself. It just causes me to remember something when I did a wedding one time, and it was one of those things. I didn't really know the couple, but they were well respected and all. And it was one of those things where you have to, like I said, okay, I'll do it for them, but I had never seen them. And so they came up and it was awkward, as I think it. It was awkward how, you know, I was giving them the, you know, preparation and all she had available. It was really amazing. And he says to me, this is so awkward. I don't even know what I'm telling you. But anyway, he said, what do I owe you? And you don't owe me anything. So I looked at it and I said, look at, and I was laughing. I said, just give me what you think she's worth. So he gave me a dollar and I lifted her veil and I gave him 50 cents back. No, I'm just kidding. Are you with me? Are you awake? Don't hate me. It just came to my face. The guy's like that. I don't know. I didn't say that for a service. I just felt like it. Forgive me. You still appreciate me. I'm sure you do. Anyway, getting back to the Bible study. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. So the desire to be with Jesus Christ is what motivates us to live a life that is better. And we live and we act as if we expect to see him. And so we prepare ourselves to be with him. In Titus chapter two, verses 12 through 14, Paul said, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us. That he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people. Zalas for good works. So we prepare ourselves to be with him. We live in a way that that reveals that we have an anticipation. We live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age. Why? Because we're looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us. So you're in preparation. See there's a growing longing to see him. That's an earmark of a genuine Christian. It reveals a genuine love for him. In Matthew 24, Jesus said it like this in verses 48 through 51.  The master of that servant will come on a day when he's not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of tea. It's the evil servant who says the Lord delays his coming. It's the one who loves him who's prepared at any given moment for the Lord to be with him. So there are those who remind us that Jesus said he'd return. It's been almost 2000 years and he hasn't. So they asked the question, well where is he? He said he's going to return but he hasn't. Well this too was spoken up to give us hope. It's the sign of the last days when somebody is saying where is he? He's promised but he's not here. In 2 Peter chapter 3 verses 3 and 4, the apostle says knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days. Walking according to their own lust and saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep. All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Where is he? He said he's going to come. He hasn't come yet. Well Paul referred to this to stir believers to keep them from losing hope. In Romans 13 verse 11 he said do this understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber. Because he said our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. He's closer to coming back now than when I almost 52 years ago first believed. Every day makes it one day closer to his return. Now in our last study we concluded with the second coming. Here Jesus continues his answer by giving his disciples a parable. And he gives a parable of the fig tree illustrating when he would return. You see in this parable Jesus used a fig tree to represent the nation of Israel. In Scripture the fig tree is one of the seven crops that represented Israel. In Deuteronomy 8 7 and 8 it says the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. A land with streams and pools of water with springs flowing in the valleys and hills. A land with wheat and barley vines and fig trees pomegranates olive oil and honey. Now earlier Jesus had used a fig tree to symbolize the nation of Israel as being fruitless. In Luke 13 6 through 9 he told this parable a man had a fig tree planted it in his vineyard and went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard for three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down. Why should it dig up the soil? Use up the soil. Sir the man replied leave it alone for one more year and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year then fine. If not then cut it down. Well that fig tree symbolized national Israel. It was a spiritually dead nation and that fig tree still symbolizes the nation of Israel. It has the appearance of life that isn't producing spiritual fruit. You see Israel during the time of Christ had the outward trappings of a deeply religious people. They were known for being the people of the book. I've mentioned to you how one of our guides is pointing out that that the children would be raised with the knowledge of scripture. They would actually at a certain age memorize the first five books of the Bible. They were people of high literacy and they were known as people of faith. That's why they called them the people of the book. They had an outward trapping of religiosity. They had an appearance of faith but in fact the nation was spiritually dead. They had religious zeal but they didn't have a relationship with the Lord. When Jesus was speaking about their outer trappings he spoke of the way that they would pray. He spoke of the way that they would give. They would fast. These are all outward trappings of a religious people. They had a religious priesthood and these people were well respected. They had a temple where sacrifices were offered. They knew their scripture. They memorized their prayers. They had every outer appearance. They were like a fig tree that was producing no fruit. So Paul spoke of this in the letter to the Romans in chapter 10 verses one through three when he said brothers my hearts desire and pray to God for Israel is that they may be saved for I can testify about them that they are zealous for God but their zeal is not based on knowledge for they being ignorant of God's righteousness seeking to establish their own righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God. You see in Romans Paul said Gentiles were open to Christ but Israel rejected him. They believed that they could be made righteous by the law by obedience to the law. They didn't seek a right standing with God through faith but by works. So in doing that they rejected the righteousness that comes by faith alone. Paul again in Romans chapter three verses 21 and 22 said it like this. He said but now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. That's why to the Galatians in chapter two verse 21 he said I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness came by the law then Christ has died in vain. So the Jewish nation was living up to certain exterior standards. They had a priesthood they had sacrifice but they had rejected the grace that comes through faith in Christ and so Jesus is about to give a parable to his men and as we look at this parable what would be the point that Jesus is making? Well Jesus is revealing the signs that precede his second coming. He's given an outline of the events that are going to occur before his return. He had told them what would happen but they had wondered when it would happen. So he's giving to them the parable of the fig tree. That was your introduction. Let's get into our study. Verse 28. Now learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branches already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near. Well Jesus is there during the time that the fig tree would be producing leaves but summer is when it was going to produce the fruit and so he's speaking concerning this when he says that the branch has become tender. See at that point the sap has begun to flow into the branches and that's when the leaves begin to appear. That would be a picture of the closeness of his return. Now many believe that Jesus is speaking of the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel and in its restoration to political statehood the fig tree had budded. There are many who point to that you see because the nation of Israel is a one miraculous nation on the face of the of the planet earth. The nation that that had been abandoned there was no nation of Israel since Titus of Rome came in and destroyed and sent all the people so many of the people throughout the world they were dispersed and all there's always been a presence of Jews in the nation there's never been a time since that point that there weren't Jewish people still settled and still using the land but it was not the nation that it had at one time been during the time of Christ and so people will point to the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel as a sign that the tree has budded that it's close to the time when the Lord Jesus Christ will return. So I want to look at that with you for just a moment. I want to look at that by if you will turn your Bibles to Ezekiel.  I want to show you something there. I'm going to give you a brief touch of a study here in Ezekiel 37 just looking at verses 1 through 14. We're going to be looking at the vision of the valley of the dry bones found in Ezekiel 37. Now as you're turning your Bibles those of you who are hunting for Ezekiel you'll find them. Ezekiel the book was written in 586 BC. We're going to be looking at this together in Ezekiel 37 1 through 14. Let me read to you and then I'll just give you some things to build up the study so you can see what's going on. The hand of the Lord came upon me and and brought me brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley.  Then he caused me to pass by them all around and behold there were very many in the open valley and indeed they were very dry and he said to me son of man can these bones live.  So I prophesied as I was commanded and as I prophesied there was a noise and suddenly a rattling and the bones came together bone to bone indeed as I looked the sinews and the flesh came upon them the skin covered them over but there was no breath in them also he said to me prophesied to the breath prophesied son of man say to the breath thus says the Lord God come from the forewinds oh breath and breathe on these slain that they may live so I prophesied as he commanded me and breath came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet and exceedingly great army then he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel they indeed say our bones are dry our hope is lost we ourselves are cut off therefore prophesy and say to them thus says the Lord God behold oh my people I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves oh my people and brought you up from your graves I will put my spirit in you you shall live I will place you in your land then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it says the Lord now basically that passage has been interpreted in various ways I'll give you a couple of them some see this as a general picture of the resurrection from the dead some say that the speaks of Israel is regathering from the captivity of Babylon they believe it refers to them being brought back into the land of Israel it would speak of the nation awakening to life again after their release from Babylon there are others who interpret this as a political revival of the nation but there's a fourth way of seeing this and this is what we hold to this speaks of their spiritual condition during centuries of dispersion it points to the national resurrection and restoration of Israel to the land verses 21 and 22 of that chapter seemed to point that out because Ezekiel 37 21 and 22 reads then say to them thus says the Lord God surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations wherever they have gone and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land and I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel one king shall be king over them they shall no longer be two nations nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again this would seem to be obvious the national resurrection and restoration of Israel to the land again the nation of Israel as we know was scattered throughout the world for over 1900 years it would be speaking of the rebirth of Israel prophesied by Ezekiel there's never been a nation that has been scattered in the way that Israel was that it's ever reconnected with its roots and once again became a nation after 1900 years never it's the miracle of Israel so in verses one through three Ezekiel is brought by the spirit notice how he was sat down sat down in a valley of dry bones these bones are described as being bleached by the sun they'd been there for some time there's absolutely no life physical nor spiritual to be seen so the question was asked in verse three when god said can these bones live and Ezekiel responded by saying god you know so that emphasizes first the hopelessness of the situation can these dry bones live that's hopeless but it secondly it requires more power than man possesses to make these bones live that's why Ezekiel said god you know I don't have the answer because it requires more power than I have to make these bones live and so in verses four through six again he said prophesy to these bones say to them oh dry bones hear the word of the lord thus says the lord god to these bones surely I will cause breath to enter into you you shall live I'll put sinews on you bring flesh upon you cover you with skin put breath in you you shall live then you shall know that I am the lord so he said prophesy to these bones and say to them the life-giving word of god is going to accomplish this impossible task god said I'm going to restore the nation and it was he who would do this impossible thing in Psalm 33 verse 6 by the word of the lord the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth Psalm 33 verse 9 he spoke it was done he commanded and it stood fast and that's why in verse 5 god said surely I will cause breath to enter into you nation of Israel you will once again come to life the ultimate result they're going to recognize that that god is their lord verse 6 says you shall know that I am the lord in verses 7 through 10 again I prophesied as I was commanded I prophesied there was a noise suddenly a rattling the bones came together bone to bone indeed as I looked the sinews and the flesh came upon them the skin covered them over but there was no breath in them he said to me prophesied to the breath prophesied said a man say to the breath thus says the lord god come from the forewinds oh breath breathe on these slain that they may live so I prophesied as he commanded me and breath came into them and they lived stood upon their feet and exceedingly great army so Ezekiel prophesied over the dead bones obeying god's command to do so once again they're clothed with flesh and yet they're still dead that would be a picture of Israel the Israel of our day reassembled but without spiritual life when you go to Israel you see that the first time I went to Israel I honestly thought I'm going to be walking the land of well it's the land of miracles it's the land where Jesus walked it's the land that God had established through Abraham and you get very excited but it doesn't take long for you to realize that the nation by and large has rejected their god and in your first trip there you might feel even a little disappointed in that but it's a fact they've been reassembled but there's no spiritual life at them it reminds me of Adam when Adam had been formed and yet there was no life in him it says in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 that the lord god formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being there he was perfectly and beautifully fashioned with no life in him it took the breath of God for him to become a living soul the nation of Israel is being reformed and as it's being reformed it's taking shape but it still has no breath of God in it well after the tribulation God will once again be there God it says in verses 11 through 14 again of Ezekiel he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel they indeed say our bones are dry our hope is lost we ourselves are cut off therefore prophesy say to them thus says the Lord God behold oh my people I will open your graves cause you'd come up from your graves bring you into the land of Israel then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves oh my people and brought you up from your graves I will put my spirit in you you shall live and I will place you in your own land then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it sayeth the Lord he's going to do that he's going to breathe into them after the tribulation and so many have gone through the purging process he's going to breathe into them and the nation of Israel once again say God is my God and so Jesus is speaking of this notice in verse 29 so you also when you see these things happening know that it is near at the doors this would be speaking of those who are alive during the tribulation those who have been saved in the tribulation and the events unfolding will be preparing them believers at the end of the age will see the events of the tribulation and be ready the judgments that fall on earth will be signs of Jesus's return remember in verse 14 Mark had added the words let the reader understand I mentioned to you that he's speaking as if you were talking directly to future believers these are the ones who survived the tribulation and experienced his return these are the ones who've gone through it and they're aware of the promises and the words that God has spoken and when they see these taking place these things they're going to be aware that Jesus is returning these are last day believers these are indicators for us these are indicators that his return is near for those who are going through it it'll indicate that his return is soon even as Israel is regathering right before us we know we know that God's word is true the sap is moving in the branches the leaves are budding the summer is near and Jesus is coming soon so we need to be prepared for the rapture we need to be aware that he's coming to take his bride we need to be prepared we have this hope within us and we prepare ourselves we purify ourselves we live lives that are holy and blameless to set apart for him in anticipation we're ready in ourself to meet him to go with him those who go through the tribulation these things will be indicators that his return is soon and for them they're going to be prepared also now notice what he says in verse 30 assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place this generation those alive during those times who are viewing these signs you see for us when Israel became a nation it revealed that we are at the end of history that the rapture is about to occur but for others before the rapture multitudes did not embrace Jesus Christ after the rapture many will be saved and will await his second coming you know there's a benefiting growing old as I have is that you have an opportunity to look further back and see how things have changed over the years and for me and people around my age and all we see an entirely different world whereas at one time when when we were young we would see things differently than we see today there was a time when when there was no such thing as being canceled that didn't occur there was there were times when when when it was recognized and accepted as a nation that there were Christian holidays that that that the nation actually celebrated together I can still remember in earlier days of my life watching television around the time of Christmas and and you would have Jewish comedians having the Christmas specials and they weren't offended because the word Christmas was used in all of that but things have changed the world has changed and and as we've tried to kick God out of everything that we can possibly kick him out of as we've kicked him out of city council meetings or out of schools and all while we are reaping the consequences we've sown to the wind we're reaping the whirlwind as a nation right now there was a time when people would actually regard the things that mattered the things that we knew would keep us together that we knew as a nation that faith was very important that raising your children to believe in God was very important we knew all of those things but those things are fading fast that's what's taking place what's happening is it's going to continue that way the rapture is going to occur there's going to be a removal of the church and then the antichrist will be able to make his entrance after the rapture when the church is gone people will be remembering messages that had been spoken things that they had read in the Bible or heard or knew that Christians believed there will be people who are preaching there will be a continuation of a of a evangelization of declarations of Christ and things like that that will take place those of you who are familiar with revelation or who have gone through revelation with us recently you know that there'll be various witnesses and there'll be a great a great multitude who come to faith in Jesus Christ there'll be a purging in the nation of Israel many will come to faith in Jesus Christ but many did not many did not embrace him now the rapture many get saved afterwards they're waiting in second coming they will go through affliction but ultimately many will see his return and so he said I say unto you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place and then he says in verse 31 heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away this present world is temporary but in Christ we have eternal life in 1st John 2 17 the world is passing away and also its lusts but the one who does the will of God lives forever the Bible teaches us that the universe itself will ultimately be recreated in 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 10 the day of the Lord will come as the thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with the great noise the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up and when the Lord Jesus Christ rules and reigns after his second coming there's going to be a thousand year what is called a thousand year rule of Christ at the millennial reign the devil unbelievers will be judged at the end of the reign and after this there'll be a new heaven and a new earth revelation 21 verse 1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away also there was no more mercy so Jesus makes it very clear notice again verse 31 heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away heaven and earth themselves will pass away but my word is eternal God's word endures forever God's word is permanent and it cannot fail in Psalm 100 verse 5 the Lord is good his mercy is everlasting his truth endures to all generations there's no such thing as my truth in your truth there's simply truth and all truth is God's truth and his word is true and that's why we sang even today in preparation for our Bible study that every word is true we believe his word if he said it that that settles it it finishes it for me he said it I believe it that that settles it God's word is true now there are people who would say I don't believe the word of God is the word of God well come on Wednesday night we'll look at the reasons why the word of God can be trusted but the bottom line is I figure it kind of like this if I can believe the first few words of the book of Genesis I can believe the rest of the book in the beginning God if I remember the first four words the rest is easy if I believe the first four words in the beginning God then everything else is going to flow with that if I don't believe that I might as well not read the Bible but I believe in the beginning God and God's word is true let every man be a liar his word endures forever if he has said it will he not do it our God is able to do that which is declared why our God is not a liar man may be but God is not in 1 Peter 1 24 and 25 all flesh is as grass the glory of man as the flower of grass the grass withers the flower thereof falls away but the word of the Lord endures forever and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you and that is why we take time to do what I did today to try and give you an actual Bible study not my stories not my history not my testimony not my opinions but God's word why because it is God's word that is true I want to equip you the church for the works of service I've been doing it here in this church for 41 years and I want to see God be glorified in your lives it would be easy for me to come up with stories and jokes it's easy to do that but that doesn't save you what saves you is God's word knowing what it says and knowing how to apply it that's what Christianity is but we're living in a time when people want entertainment it's been said that we want to entertain the goats instead of feeding the sheep goats want to be entertained sheep want to be fed and sheep are fed by the word of God that helps me to know when I'm when I'm in a Bible study whether or not I'm actually a goat or a sheep if I'm listening to the word of God and I'm growing thereof if God is working in me I'm being fed his word I'm a sheep but if I'm there saying oh I want something different this isn't funny this isn't exciting this you know we ought to be juggling as he's talking entertain me well I think that's the state of the church today that's why a lot of pastors have stopped teaching the word of God and are giving their opinions every time they gather but we're not going to do that we're going to give you the word of God why because it's a word of God that saves you when you embrace God's word your life is transformed that's how it works and so God's word endures forever he says this is a word which by the gospel is preached unto you what Jesus has said about the tribulation his return and his return is completely true you can be certain about it he said it and trust it completely numbers 2319 God is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should change his mind as he said it will he not do it as he's spoken and will he not fulfill it God has said it I believe it that settles it so we need to be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ the rapture is going to happen soon it's my prayer that it happens in my lifetime it's one day closer than when I first believed I got saved in 1970 it'll be 52 years in a couple of months and I've been waiting every day for his return and it's going to happen he's going to call the voice of the archangel the dead and cross will rise first and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air and thus shall we always be with the Lord and at that point I'm not going to be saying man I wish I'd about that other car I wish I had that cool cool those cool shoes I'm not going to be doing that all I'm going to be doing along with you is looking into the face of the one who loved us who went for us in that garden who put his hands on a cross so that he could die for me and all I'm going to be doing is adoring him and loving him and worshiping him and thanking him for eternity and there I'm going to see my mom and I'm going to see my dad and I'm going to see my friends and I'm going to see a baby that Marie and I didn't have when she miscarried I'm going to see that and I know that's going to be mine and I'm going to be with my family my family forever and ever and ever because God has said it that settles it I believe it and one day I'll experience it and I pray that every one of you are able to be there too so together we can celebrate the reality of what God has done for us God's word is true and every man let him be a liar God doesn't lie has he not said it and will he not do it and that's why the Lord said heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away because every word of God is true not one of those words will fail and we thank God for his word bless you Lord


archives education team. My name is Missy McNat and I'm an education specialist in Washington DC and welcome to the National Archives Comes Alive Young Learners Program. You can find information about future programs on the National Archives website, archives.gov, under events, and on the National Archives Facebook page. This morning we will meet Alice Paul, supreme strategist who revitalized the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century with her determination, resolve, and unique plan to convince the nation that women deserve the right to vote and her efforts resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote in 1920. Alice Paul is portrayed by Taylor Williams Esquire, inspirational and talented actor with the American Historical Theater. In the holdings of the National Archives we hold numerous records related to the women's suffrage movement and this first photograph is suffragist on March 3rd, 1913, the day before the first inauguration of withdrawal Wilson. Over 5,000 suffragists marched down, paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue that day and we see Inez Milholland on the white horse in the lead. In the next photograph from 1917 we see members of the National Women's Party who are picketing in front of the White House because they are frustrated with President Wilson's inaction on the women's suffrage question. Next we have our DocsTeach activity for the program today and it's a photograph analysis. It's docsteachdocsteach.org. We will share this again at the end of the program. So we will have a question and answer session with Alice Paul after she completes her presentation. So please write your questions in the YouTube chat box and we have a National Archives staff member who is monitoring it and let us know where you're watching from today. This program is brought to you by the National Archives Education Team, the National Archives and the National Archives Foundation and now we're ready to meet Alice Paul. And to meet Alice Paul we are going to go to the Greenleaf Nursing Home in Worstown, New Jersey and the date is January 11th, 1977 and it's Alice Paul's 92nd birthday and the phones at the nursing home have been ringing off the hook with people from across the nation and around the world calling to give birthday wishes to Alice Paul. And I hope that Ms. Paul will talk to us on this cold morning and tell us a bit about her life, her work and her many accomplishments. Hello and happy birthday, Alice Paul. Well, thank you. Thank you. Yes, I was born in 1885, but I was not a Victorian. Oh, no, no, no. You see, Queen Victoria believed that she was powerful and independent because of the divine accident of birth, not because women should have equal rights with men. Well, she even admired those philosophers who said there were no good women and that women weren't as smart as men. Oh, no, no, no. You see, I was not a Victorian. We were progressive people working for equality in the years leading up to World War One. I graduated from Swarthmore College in 19 and five, and I got involved in settlement housework on New York's Lower East Side. Today, you would call me a social worker. Then in 19 and six, I was in England studying at the University of Birmingham, a dirty industrial city, but I bicycled to hear Christabel Pankhurst speak about votes for women. Well, she tried to speak, but she was heckled off the platform. Still, I had met my first suffragette. Then the next year, while I was studying at the London School of Economics, I was invited to join a procession of women to petition the Prime Minister for the right to vote. Well, I was thrilled to be asked, and when they asked me to join, I paid one shilling and I signed up. So there I was, a full-fledged member of the Women's Social and Political Union. What's a rebel? Well, no, no, no, I was not a rebel, but only in as much as I came from a Quaker family who believed that women were as strong as men. We believed in the divine inner light in each person, and in the right of conscience. My pattern was Lucretia Mott. Have you heard of Lucretia Mott? She's in the capital building in a statue, of course. No, no, no, my family was not particularly well. Well, maybe you could say my family was well off. My father was a farmer, yes, but also president of a bank whenever he had anything disagreeable that had to be done. He used to say, I banked on Alice, but he died while I was young and in college. But back in England, I got more and more involved in the fight for the women's vote. I started out by selling, that's right, selling like a street vendor, a newspaper called Votes for Women. Then the Pankhurst family, who were leading the suffrage movement in England, asked me to go up to Norwich, where Winston Churchill was to speak at the town hall. Well, I'm not a good speaker. I was frightened, but every day I got up on a soapbox in the market place, and I addressed everyone passing by. Friends, this is our opportunity with Winston Churchill speaking here at the town hall to let the Liberal Party know that we will not rest until we have the vote. Well, when the day came, it turned out I had roused quite a crowd, and we were all promptly arrested for obstruction. Well, you see, at that time, no women were allowed in political gatherings in England. Why you asked? Well, because one might be a suffragette and might seek to know the politician's stance on votes for women. So we were barred from all meetings. So we had to find some very clever ways to get in to buildings, to confront the politicians. Well, sometimes we went in as women, as cleaning people, or as kitchen help, and we would wait all day until the time for the politician to speak would come, and then we would confront him and throw him off his guard. Once I was sent up to St Andrews Hall, a big hall in Scotland, and I couldn't find a way to get into the hall. Finally, I saw a large chimney. So I climbed up on the roof. And I thought, well, I can slide down the chimney if need be, or I can call from the roof. But before I could do either, I was discovered. And I was forced down. I was arrested, of course, and taken to prison. But the crowd followed me, shouted for my release. And finally, the authorities asked if I would ask the crowd, please, please do remain calm. Well, as a Quaker, I was not prepared for the violence. But I was getting used to it. If we tried to enter any of the halls, the police would whack us with their truncheons. We rolled bats of cotton underneath our clothing to protect us from their blows. When I was in England, I was arrested and put in prison seven times. When we were in prison, we would go on hunger strike. And then we were fed against our will. It was terrible torture, really. But then I came back home. The hunger striking had weakened my heart muscle. So I came back home and I was working on my PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, which I earned in 19 and 12. That same year, I asked the National American Woman's Suffrage Association, if I could go to Washington and work on a federal amendment, you see, at that time, nine states all in the West already had votes for women, women could vote out there. So the National Association decided that they would go state by state by state and ask each state legislature, all men, if they would please give women the vote. Well, I saw that as wasted effort. We can't go begging state by state. No, we must have a federal amendment. And that way all the states must obey. Well, I moved down to Washington and I decided to draw attention to our glorious cause. We would have a procession of women right down Pennsylvania Avenue. Well, nothing had ever been done before. So I got a list from the National Association, but it was absolutely outdated. How would we ever have a procession? And in time for Woodrow Wilson's inauguration on March 4, 1913. Well, I contacted women teachers, the teachers throughout the United States, they were supportive. I contacted doctors, lawyers, there were some female lawyers even then. And eventually, we were able to have a huge procession. We wore our best white garments and sashes of purple, golden light. And we marched right down Pennsylvania Avenue in step. Well, it was said that when Woodrow Wilson appeared at Union Station for his inauguration, he was asked, Where is everybody? He said, Well, he was told on Pennsylvania Avenue, watching the suffrage parade. But it turned very ugly. The police were unprepared. The crowds pressed so close and they heckled us, they beat us with with our own banners. Several women were injured, seriously injured. And finally, to allow us to continue to march, troops had to be called in from Fort Meyer. Well, I thought that was a big success. Nothing like that had ever been done before. But the National Association thought I was too militant. And they asked me to step down. Well, I couldn't understand it. But I told them, No, no, I'm a shy Quaker woman. But I became involved in founding my own party, which became known as the National Women's Party. And we got an office near the White House. We sent deputation after deputation to Woodrow Wilson, but he refused to see us. He said he was too busy, too busy with the war effort to worry about women. Well, what should we do? I know. We will pick at the White House. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter Harriet Stanton Blatch carried a sign which read Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty? We kept watch fires burning day and night. And we burned Woodrow Wilson's speeches about democracy. Democracy, Mr. President. Oh, no. Oh, no, not when half of the population is unable to vote.  Pickets were attacked. We were attacked again with our own banners. People saw us as unpatriotic. They broke the barricades. But again, we were the ones who were arrested. Now, when we were arrested, we were put in Occoquan Workhouse. Do you know Occoquan? Well, it's filthy. The food was filled with worms. The mattresses were filled with vermin. Well, that made it easy to go on hunger strike again. And then right here in the United States for simply asking for the right to vote. Again, we were fed against our will. Well, I was told that I was to be sent to St. Elizabeth's. I see you are not from Washington. It's the insane asylum. Doctors came to see me. They asked me questions. Why are you so obsessed with Woodrow Wilson? Well, I answered their questions as honestly as I could. And at the end of their examination, they decided that I indeed was saying and put out a press release that enraged the public. And we were let out of jail early. Well, Woodrow Wilson was against the suffrage amendment. But he came to my own state New Jersey and made me very angry by saying that he would support the amendment on a state by state by state basis. No, we must have a federal amendment. We kept working. We worked through World War One. Finally 1918 came and the war in Europe ended. Woodrow Wilson finally jumped on the bandwagon with both feet. May 2 1918. The house is voting. And yes, the house passes the amendment for suffrage. But what about the Senate? It doesn't look good. Let's contact Woodrow Wilson and see if he'll lean on those undecided Southern Democrats. June 4 1919. The Senate votes. And yes, the Senate passes the amendment by one vote. Now don't go looking so jubilant, friends, because if we are to vote in the next election, and remember, it is the presidential election. We must have ratification by 36 states. Well, I wish you could have seen the tricks that were used to try to stop us. For example, in Tennessee, the liquor lobby put it around that women were responsible for the 18th amendment for prohibition. So they kept free liquor a flowing day and night. But in the end, Tennessee ratified by one vote. And in November 19 and 20, women went to the polls for the first time. Now, don't misunderstand. My father was a farmer, remember? And he always said, once you place your hand in the plow, you don't let go of it until you get to the end of the row. I knew we were not yet at the end of the row. I went back and studied law. I got so engrossed in the subject I ended up with three law degrees. Then in 1923, we decided to hold a big convention for the National Woman's Party to celebrate, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first woman's rights convention at Seneca Falls. Well, I'm not a very good speaker. But of course, you realize that the minute we opened our mouths to speak, we were arrested. So I thought, well, what shall I do? I got a basket and asked everybody to put their questions in the basket. But as I took them out, I realized they were all the same question. And that was this. How can we give our children a paper ballot to chew? How did getting the vote really help us? So I approached the convention and I said, I believe that everyone here would agree with me that getting the vote only gave us equality in voting and not in earning a living or seeing that the laws about earning a living are equal. Therefore, I propose our next step to be a federal amendment for equality of all people. Well, the entire assembly stood up and shouted, hooray. And I was able to use my legal training to fashion an amendment that became known as the Equal Rights Amendment. But our work was not just at home. No, I went to the League of Nations to try to get gender equality into treaties. But another war intervened.  Well, we did get gender equality in the United Nations Charter and in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. But what's that? Oh, excuse me. It is my birthday. I must take this call just this one. Yes. Well, hello Betty Ford. Yes, my Mrs. Ford. Thank you. But can you get the president out to Indiana? We need help with the Equal Rights Amendment out there. You see, we needed ratification again. The Congress had passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, but with a seven year time limit. Now it's 1977. I do not think we will get the necessary states. We need three more. But I will ask the president and I will ask you, what can you do to help us pass the Equal Rights Amendment? You see, I've always believed that the fight for equality is like a mosaic. If each one of us does one small thing, puts in one small piece, together, we will create a great work of art. Equality. Thank you, everybody. I'm Taylor Williams and I'm going to step out of Alice Paul's shoes. I could never have filled them. She was an amazing strategist, an amazing strong woman. But I wanted to step out of her shoes simply to talk with you about the status of women today and the status of the Equal Rights Amendment, too, if you're interested in that. And I can't do that if I'm stuck in 1977, because you see almost immediately after this birthday, she died a few months later. So she is stuck in 1977, but I'm here with you in 2021. And we can talk about what's been happening since Alice Paul left us. So if you have some questions, I'm ready for you. Well, thank you so much. Wow, I learned so much. And what a dynamo. You know, I don't think of Quaker women as being dynamos, but certainly Alice Paul was just that. So I was motivated by her Quaker faith. She was motivated by her Quaker faith because she was so sheltered in that Quaker community, which believed in equality of all peoples that when she went out into the broader world, she said she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. So she had to become a dynamo. She was, she was advancing her faith when she was working for equality. Well, that's, I mean, that's, that's amazing. Amazing. All that she did. I mean, I'm just overwhelmed with the number of degrees that she got, too. Amazing, isn't it? Well, well, we think people pursue degrees today. So thank you for everybody who are joining us. And if you want to include where you're watching from, please do so. Right now, we just have somebody from Oregon. So I hope we have more folks, you know, from around, let us know. We have a question here that so this question is that did did Alice Paul ever say a quote by Mark Twain about politicians and diapers? Does that ring about with you at all? I don't know anything about it. It's not something that I've ever heard. She did work very closely with some politicians. She was actually quite friendly with many of them. Teddy Roosevelt in particular was a good friend. And when she got discouraged, Teddy Roosevelt told her, you know, a politician will not do anything before it's time. When it's time when he and at that time, it was all these when he sees that that the that there is an advantage to doing it. That's that's when it'll happen. And that's what happened exactly what happened with Woodwell Wilson, when he finally jumped full on for a federal amendment. And he had not supported it before that. But when it was time, he did come through. Now never mind over a century of struggle for us. But but he finally came on board and made it happen, helped it happen. So we do have a question here. Another question. How did Alice Paul earn a living? Doing all these amazing things? Well, she she did have an inheritance. And you can go to see her family home, which is now on the National Register near Moorstown, New Jersey, Mount Laurel, New Jersey. So you can see what was once the family farm. But remember, her father was also president of the bank. So she had some inherited resources, not so many. She had had to fundraise. She had a lot of fundraising to do because when she went to Washington, they told her, you have to raise all the funds yourself to do the procession and to work on the federal amendment. So she became quite brilliant at fundraising. Her biggest fundraiser was a woman named Mrs. Alva Belmont, who was a very, very wealthy woman. And Mrs. Belmont bought a house in Washington. You can still go there. It's the National Women's Party headquarters. It's called the Belmont House. It's very close to the capital. And she was able through her fundraising efforts and through the efforts of those people who had money and their concern that women get the right to vote. And then later the ERA that they came through to a large extent for her. But yes, she lived at the headquarters. She had no real home of her own. And in fact, when she became elderly, she did not have the resources for a very nice home at nursing home, until an amazing story happened. And that is one of the Jewish people who she had put out of harm's way when she was in Europe and became a refugee center, read that Alice Paul was in poverty in a nursing home up in Connecticut. And she made sure that Alice Paul had the place in Moorstown, a very fine Quaker nursing home. So it's just a matter of what goes around comes around. She helped Alice Mueller and then Alice Mueller helped Alice Paul. Oh, that's that's wonderful. I mean, that's what I'm here. So we do have another question. So who were some of the people who inspired Alice Paul? Well, Alice Paul stood on the shoulders of many of the early suffragists.  Now, Susan B. Anthony was another inspiration. And she called Alice Paul named the 19th Amendment for Woman Suffrage, the Susan B. Anthony amendment. Both Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony were Quakers. So they came from this Quaker abolitionist tradition, equality tradition. And she looked up very much to them. But she admired all of the early suffragists. As she told you, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter joined her for the vigils and picketing at the White House. So there were many women who had fought and struggled. Certainly when she was in England, the Pankhurst family, Emmeline Pankhurst, and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia were great inspirations. And she worked with them and use some of the civil disobedient techniques that the Pankhurst had employed. So we look to the English suffrage movement as well as to our own as inspiration. So another question that's related. Did she know I mean, you mentioned Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter. So did she actually know Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony?  And, yes, no, Susan B. Anthony died about the time that Alice Paul was born. And Elizabeth Cady Stanton died when Alice Paul was a very young woman, late teens. So no, they did not, they did not intercept Alice Paul, only aside from working on suffrage with her mother, who was a member of the American Suffrage Association, her mother was, and she would she would work with her mother on that. But she didn't get involved until she had graduated from Swarthmore College. So she didn't get involved until about 1906. So after they had they had both passed. So and then were there other women who were getting advanced degrees when you were at Swarthmore and University of Pennsylvania and London School of Economics? Oh my goodness, I don't remember them all. There were a few very determined women. But again, the background of Quakerism always felt that women should be educated. And and Alice Paul did not have the advantage of going to many institutions. But Swarthmore College, which her grandfather helped to build actually was intended from the very beginning to be a college for men and for women. And a lot of the colleges had separate places for women, as you as you may remember, and they taught very different courses. But Swarthmore gave her some equality. But then at the graduate level, women were allowed in many graduate schools. And that's why she was able to study at the University of Pennsylvania. She did hit a roadblock when it came to studying law. The only college that she could study at that time was what is now American College of Law, which was built originally for women, exclusively for women to try to get women into the legal profession. So that's that's where she really reached a stumbling block. But she was well aware of the difficulties of women getting a full and complete education and not just an education in etiquette and in deportment. Wow, pretty. So another question going back to, in a sense, her relationship with Woodrow Wilson, did she did she associate with Edith Wilson at all?  The good question do. Yes, Edith Galt was was the second wife of Woodrow Wilson. He was actually quite distorted with her. But she was against votes for women. She was against it. And a lot of women actually were against it, you know, they were put up on a pedestal or so it seemed. Poor women, of course, had no pedestal to stand on. But some of the wealthier women felt that they liked being, you know, having a man earn the living and they didn't have to earn the living. But Edith Galt, Wilson did not have any of the obstructions that most poor and even middle class women women had. You must understand how dire some some things for women were at that time. If if they lost their husband or didn't have one to begin with, they had very few rights. And it was a very, very, very difficult road. But Edith Wilson from her station in life did not see that. We were fortunate indeed that Woodrow Wilson finally came came around. But you know, I always like to point this out. It's it's not whether you're born male or female. It's how you think on these issues. And we had many, many, many male supporters, both at the equal rights level, and at the suffrage level, men who came through and supported us. And we had a lot of women in the era movement, it was Phyllis Schlafly, which is a famous name for being anti equality. But a lot of a lot of the women were against it, you know, they they couldn't see any other life, but the one they had, which was dependent on a man. So we won't blame them too much. But it is just a truth that it didn't matter. A lot of the men were for us. And a lot of the women were against us, both in suffrage, and inequality. ERA. So that kind of connects with the next question, because it's asking about the Equal Rights Amendment. So what was the wording of that? And, you know, has that changed over time?  Well, the the wording that Alice Paul originally settled on was men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States. But eventually, that was changed again by Alice to conform with the text of other amendments, equality of rights under the law should not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. And it passed in in Congress in 1972, but with a seven year time limit, the seven year time limit was not part of the text of the amendment, but it was in the resolution proposal clause. Now, when Alice Paul died in 1977, there were 35 states, we need 38 to ratify now, since Alaska and Hawaii had become states since the time of suffrage. So we needed we needed the 38. But we had an extension to 1982 because there was such a fervor and such a positive feeling about putting our guiding principle into the Constitution. But then questions began to be raised again, the name Phyllis Shaffley pops up. She said things like men and women will be using unisex toilets. And men and women will both have to be drafted. And she had concerns about gay people getting rights that she she did not want that to happen. And she also had concerns about the abortion issue. Alice Paul said none of those things enter into the Equal Rights Amendment. As far as I can see, she said has nothing to do with any of those things. It just has to do with basic equality between men and women. And the era did not pass. In fact, for states, and if you count South Dakota, five rescinded their votes.  The amendment is introduced into Congress, but it never gets out of the Judiciary Committee where it's put to die every year. And then suddenly, a few years ago, Nevada wakes up and says, we ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. What? That's 36 states. And then Illinois says we ratify. And then just last year, Virginia said we ratify, we now have 38 states. Now, a lot of people think the era was actually ratified on a federal level. It wasn't. It was never ratified. Now our argument is it has been ratified. We just need to get rid of that time limit. So just yesterday, just yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to illuminate the timeline and let the ratification stand with the Virginia ratification. Now it goes to the Senate. Will the Senate agree that the time limit should be taken off and the the amendment declared ratified? We can only wait and see. So you're going to have to check your news daily to see the progress of that. In the meantime, however, you recall that Alice Paul didn't like this state by state by state thing. She thought, no, we can't go begging state by state. Well, the irony is that 25 states have an equal rights amendment. And some of those amendments use almost the same wording as Alice Paul's federal amendment. And that's true where I am sitting here in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. So its equality of rights shall not be abridged by Pennsylvania. So as you travel throughout the United States, whether you're a woman or a man, your rights may change because some states have an equal rights amendment, which recognizes equality between men and women. And some states do not. Isn't that something that your rights can change state by state? But they do, they actually do. Now some people will say, well, do we really need an equal rights amendment? I mean, come on, it's 2021. And my answer, and I think Alice Paul's would be yes. And I'll tell you why. Right now, statutory laws are all we have. We have title seven, which gives us equality in getting a job and holding a job, discrimination is forbidden on the job under title seven. We have title nine for education. We have the Pay Equity Act. We have, we have various statutory laws. Notice I say statutory. And Congress can lift those any time they please. There's no no limit on what Congress can do regarding those laws. They can amend them, amend them, dissolve them, do whatever they want. But if it's in the Constitution, they won't be able to do that. It also affects how the courts interpret rights between men and women. And remember, the Equal Rights Amendment is certainly in Pennsylvania, where we've had one from for many years. It equalizes the rights for men as well as for women. It's equality. So it helps everybody. But the courts have also put some limits on title seven and on title nine. So it goes through a court interpretation. And as the courts change, that interpretation may change. It also affects the way women and men are regarded under the 14th Amendment. If we were in the Constitution, then the any laws that were passed by the United States or by a state would undergo very, very strict scrutiny. They couldn't just give any old reason. They would have to have a very, very firm reason for making any distinction in a law between men and women. But Alice Paul would tell you, and you may agree with her, I hope you will, that it doesn't matter. None of this matters. If it's a guiding principle, why wouldn't we put it in our Constitution, in our guiding document? Shouldn't equality be in the Constitution so that everyone has an equal chance at a good life here in the United States? Well, that's, that's amazing. I mean, I feel like I need to study constitutional law. There's so many parts, pieces in there. But and it's incredible to me that this goes back to so much of it goes back to Alice Paul's work, one woman's work. And what she did, it's unbelievable. But it's fantastic. So we have one more question that's actually very different than what we've been talking about you, but you had mentioned early on in Alice Paul's life that she had worked at a settlement house. And so the question is about settlement houses, what they were like. Does the name Jane Adams mean anything to you? You may have studied her. If not, you can easily look her up. She was the motivating force of the settlement houses. And they were basically poor houses where where people worked to get people out of poverty to help find them jobs to make sure they had a place to stay. And it was the very, very raw beginnings of what today is a broad network of social work. And Jane Adams was the key to that. Jane Adams was on the board of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. And when Alice Paul decided after she came back from England, to get involved in the fight for suffrage again, she approached Jane Adams. So she had a friendship with Jane Adams. And that likely is from her early days working with Jane Adams on the settlement house work, or the social work. That makes perfect. Well, thank you so much. We are we are out of time. And wow, this has been an amazing presentation. I cannot thank you enough for joining us and educating us in so many different topics. I mean, just you know, from Alice Paul's incredible life to so much about the the passage of the 19th Amendment, the ERA, it's just been fantastic. So thank you, thank you, as well. And really have enjoyed having you. So thank you. And thank you to all those who are watching from Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Farmingdale State College, and anybody else wants to pop it up. So thank you again for joining us this this morning. And this, again, as I said, I would share with you our activity for this program today. This is the suffrage photograph analysis in DocsTeach. It's docsteach.org. And you can see it's looking at one of those photographs of the woman who were picketing the White House and really examining it closely. So please check it out. And check out the other documents in DocsTeach on the women's suffrage. You can do a search. And then the last thing I wanted to ask you is to join us in April for our Young Learners program. And in April, we will be talking to Walt Whitman.  And we're going to actually be in Walt Whitman's birthplace when we do this. So please join us. And thank you so much. And hope to see you in April. And have a good day.


Welcome back to the YouTube channel, it's your boy Mr. Ghana, baby and I'm back again with another video and today's video is the continuation of the last video that I did about the inhumane discrimination against Africans living in China specifically Guangzhou They are chasing us away They are not even allowing us to... They don't even allow us to... We are just walking on the road You see, we are just... They cannot give us house They cannot give us hotel They cannot provide a place we can stay They are just following us You see, they are just following us They don't want us to stay one place If I don't talk about it, I don't know who else is gonna talk about it because people are saying that I complain a lot I'm not here to complain but I'm here to create awareness because what our fellow brothers and sisters are going through in China is really terrible this happening and sad at the same time I don't even know the exact word to describe what is going on at this very moment and as a young African who have lived in China who knows how it feels like to be discriminated and having this platform of over 340,000 subscribers I cannot keep quiet I have to come in here, create awareness so that you and I as an army on YouTube spread a message to the world to know that what is happening in China you just have to do your best share the video tag your ministers tag your president tag people in position in Africa to see what is going on in China I'm not making things up people are insulting me people are telling me that it's so sad to see Africans insulting me telling me that oh, blame our own people people are telling me that oh, tell them to go back to their country people are telling me to come and develop your own country so are you trying to tell me that the Chinese people living in Africa it means that China is not developed that's why they are here come on it's about time you forget the countries that we are coming from and come together as one Africa and support our fellow people the self-hate is too much among us wake up Africans I just don't get it this is sad just take a look at what our fellow brothers and sisters are going through right now we are too many we are too many we are too many they keep pushing us they keep pushing us they are chasing us again they are chasing us again they are chasing us again they are chasing us again no house, no where we go they are chasing us we have a lot of difficulties we are going through right now because we have been in a lockdown for at least 3 months now and we have a lot of challenges that we are going through at this time and the most challenge is racism we are facing racism in a way that we cannot access medical care in hospitals when we go to hospitals and we need any help all they tell us is please go away after checking our passports and finding out that we are blacks actually finding out that we are from Africa another challenge we face is we cannot use the public means because when we try to use that if you want to use a bus and you enter a bus all the Chinese come out they all come out and they leave you in the bus they are protesting they can't travel with an African another challenge is we are not allowed to go to the supermarket to buy what we want we cannot use the hotels when we go there after checking your passports the only thing they tell you is please go away another challenge is some of our friends have been thrown out of the houses they have been renting with no reason not anything the landlord just comes one morning and tells you please make sure that today you leave my house and another thing is another challenge is they are forcing us to test for COVID-19 because they come to our houses with no notification they just come to your house and ask for your passport if you are African they tell you that we have come to test for COVID-19 if you are not African they tell you and when they come after testing they only tell you that we shall call you after 3 days when you are positive and if you are not positive no one will call you they don't leave you with any document to see that you have tested or that you can show to any other person that you have tested we also face a challenge of food we don't have food as for now we don't have money for rent and we ask the government to please intervene now these people don't have places to sleep they are all over the streets of Guangzhou and the police are still chasing them so where do you expect these people to be they cannot be on the street right they cannot be outside so I suggest that hotels also we have a check if they check the foreigner and the foreigner is okay the foreigner has no virus they can lodge him in a hotel instead of denying him not to lodge in a hotel it could be dangerous also and after chasing them all day in the night they have to sleep on the streets Afrikaans will never treat Chinese people this way in Africa and I cannot keep quiet till something is done when something is done when African leaders decide to help them I will keep quiet and if don't help them I will continue pressing on this story no new video till something is done on this issue even some Chinese are speaking against what is happening they are tweeting that please do not use vulgar language on the internet to attack a nation especially black people Africans do business in our country only tens of thousands we are in Africa in the United States in Japan breathing in other countries and our numbers are even more than this law breaking or not legal or not on laws or supervision treat other nations in a civilized way treat other nations in a civilized way like I've seen some Chinese people going out at night to give blankets to black people it's happening brother I'm not making things up this is something that is wrong forget about the people who came to China to do business what about the black people living in the country specifically Guangzhou they were chased out of their house listen to what they are saying the police came to our place and they evicted us and not me I wasn't there alone I was there with my wife and my daughter at least even if you have to evict us like that look at the small daughter and you ask us to move out and you send us to the streets and then you brought our things pack everything on the streets and then you left it's true they came to evict us because they said foreigners cannot live in these apartments because we have the virus hello world hello Africa this is your girl from South Africa and today I'm going to share my experience with the COVID-19 in China guys this has been the craziest two days of my life I've never been so pressured like this in my life especially living in China so basically yesterday morning my landlord came to my door to tell me that I need to leave my apartment I was given a two day notice of which today was supposed to be the day where I have to leave my apartment and of course I'm confused and panicking I'm asking him what's happening what's the problem and of course he couldn't directly tell me that we don't want foreigners the community doesn't want black people the community doesn't want you here so it just gave me some wack excuse that the police don't want foreigners in the building that's what he gave me so I'm panicking right now I'm thinking what to do I'm asking people what's happening and some friends are telling me they're experiencing a similar situation a lot of Africans have been kicked out so our landlord gave us an hour quick notice only in China that the landlord would just come switch off your light and give you an hour quick notice to leave when you have legal signed documents with him you have contracts of a six month rate you're paid upfront with the taxation and everything and then the landlord would just come to your door and tell you he's coming up in ten minutes that he's giving you an hour with the whole situation out there and the saddest thing is that when this whole COVID-19 broke out it was Africans who came together to support China they started chanting so now Africans are the target you're always looking for an opportunity to discriminate against Africans now you're calling it the African virus it means that the virus started from Africa when Donald Trump said the Chinese virus most of you were mad do things in a civilized way I just don't get it because Africans are only the target the black people are only the target Thursday April 9th China Guangzhou I live here with my lady we sit in here waiting for the Chinese government to go check us and then we'll be quarantined for the next 14 days and the worst part of it is that none of us is sick or has the virus or traveled recently we've been back to China over two months now but actually she wasn't supposed to be quarantined no I was at first and then they gave me a choice because I'm white they gave her a choice that she can be somewhere else she's my wife but they gave her a choice to be somewhere else and the African black dude should be in the quarantine we just sit in here waiting for them to come they're going to put an alarm on our door so nobody is going to open the door for the next two weeks unless they come to check our temperature and stuff and that's because we are the lucky ones are the people are being kicked out forced to go to hotels to quarantine some are forced to go to quarantine centers and some are kicked out their apartment or their hotels they have no food no clothes no way to sleep no way to go because even the airport is closed so like there's no flight coming in and out and most of those people there's only cargo flights coming in and out Guangzhou right now what is happening it's really sad they can't go to restaurant to buy food where are my dunks here where are the women they can't go to hospital even a pregnant woman they refuse to check on her because she's black she's pregnant you don't attend to foreigners where we come from is how you have to treat us people that have shops immediately they see a black man coming they start running away you this is happening in Guangzhou, China even McDonald's they don't even allow foreigners not to eat in McDonald's now in China you know why can I see do you see how many ham cheese places they don't even want foreigners not to eat in McDonald's and eat them this is crazy and the world is quiet about this something has to be done before I keep quiet you and I together as an army on social media to spread the word help me spread this message if this is your first time of seeing this face don't forget to subscribe and be part