I’m not knocking the six black pastors who have signed on for a new reality show on Oxygen called “Pastors of L.A.” — a detailed look at the lives of men of God in Los Angeles.

But I do question why the pastors chose to participate in the show. Are they truly hoping to use the program to minister to those who need spiritual guidance? Or are they simply using the high-profile media platform to rake in more cash and bask in the spotlight of a national television audience?

“Pastors of L.A.’ will give viewers a candid and revealing look at six boldly different and world renowned mega-pastors in Southern California, who are willing to share diverse aspects of their lives, from their work in the community and with their parishioners to the very large and sometimes provocative lives they lead away from the pulpit,” says a press release from Oxygen.

Like many viewers, I’ll watch the show with an open mind and see what revelations are presented and hope – and pray – that the show isn’t a mess. Some say the concept of a show about black pastors is “madness.”

There’s no doubt that Oxygen has assembled six charismatic characters to star in the show, some of whom have checkered pasts  and questionable backgrounds, others who are living large in ocean front mansions and enjoy rock-star status in their churches and communities.

So what can folks hope to get from the show? An entertaining hour of life behind the pulpit? Or will viewers actually learn more about how God works in our lives?

Meanwhile, the show already has its detractors.

“I really take issue with this…first it’s ‘Mary Mary,’ then it’s the ‘Sisterhood,’ then it’s ‘Preachers’ Daughters’ now it’s pastors on a reality show,” one woman wrote on Essence.com. “This madness needs to end.”

“Pastors of LA” stars Bishop Noel Jones, Deitrick Haddon, Bishop Clarence McClendon, Pastor Wayne Chaney, Bishop Ron Gibson and Pastor Jay Haizlip as they manage money and drama from the pulpit.

“This show documents a journey of transparency from one man to the next as they endeavor to lead others to their own truth and self-discovery,” said executive producer Holly Carter who holds a doctorate of divinity. She is also the daughter of a pastor and an industry veteran in faith and inspirational development and programming.

Miguel Suarez’s story ain’t passing the smell test, not with me, anyway.

Suarez is the Mexican national that was with Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X, the night he was killed in Mexico City.

Yes, the death of Malcolm Shabazz has bummed me out in ways I can’t describe. You can’t read – and re-read – The Autobiography of Malcolm X as many times as I have and not feel at least a psychic connection with the Little family.

It doesn’t stop with the autobiography. In my home library, you’ll find books with titles like “Remembering Malcolm”, “Malcolm X Speaks”, “The Life and Death of Malcolm X”, “Seventh Child” (a biographical tribute to Malcolm X written by his nephew, Rodnell Collins) and “The End of White World Supremacy” (reputed to be Malcolm X’s last Nation of Islam speech).

The best and most informative of all might be Karl Evanzz’s “The Judas Factor: The Plot To Kill Malcolm X”, a detailed account of who was in on Malcolm’s assassination, and why.

So when I learn that the X man’s grandson has been beaten to death under some very strange circumstances in a foreign land, I want some answers.

Suarez should have some of those answers. Indeed, in initial news stories, he seems to have tried to provide them. Here’s an excerpt of a news story from the Web site worldnews.nbcnews.com:

“Shabazz, 28, had traveled to Mexico to meet with a leader of a California activist and civil rights group known as RUMEC…..The leader, Miguel Suarez, had been deported last month to Mexico by U.S. officials.

“Suarez told the Associated Press that Shabazz had traveled to Mexico to support him and his movement. He said he was with Shabazz when Shabazz was beaten up at a bar near Plaza Garibaldi….

“‘We were dancing with the girls and drinking,’ Suarez said. Then the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1200 bar tab for music, drinks and the women’s companionship.

“Suarez said a man with a gun took him to a separate room and he heard a violent commotion in the hall. He said he escaped and came back minutes later in a cab to look for Shabazz, whom he found on the ground outside the bar.”

A Bronx judge threw out the manslaughter indictment against NYPD police officer Richard Haste, who fatally shot 18-year-old Ramarley Graham last year, over an error in court proceedings, according to ABC News.

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In the days before his decision, Supreme Court Justice Steven L. Barrett reportedly went on record to say that he was considering throwing out the indictment because prosecutors may have acted improperly by advising jurors that they did not have to consider what other police officers told Haste before the fatal shooting.

And on Wednesday morning, Judge Barrett followed through with his decision.

According to Barrett’s line of thinking, the grand jury that decided to indict Haste in Graham’s death, may have come to a different decision if they fully considered that his peers reportedly informed him that Graham was armed.

Stuart London, Haste’s attorney, explains further, “The whole case centers around justification and the reasonableness of his actions. Officer Haste’s mindset was formed by fellow officers from his team. The grand jury may well have made a different decision.”

This sole detail derailed the prosecutor’s case, solidifying Barrett’s midweek decision.

But the Justice’s decision reportedly brought Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm, to tears in the courtroom as justice for her son seemed cruelly elusive.

In response, Rev. Al Sharpton released the following statement:

This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and an insult to the family and supporters of Ramarley Graham. We demand that a new Grand Jury is convened immediately and that the case is re-presented. We will be rallying and planning direct action at National Action Network’s Saturday action rally. The family will be present.

RELATED: Ramarley Graham Update: Cop Who Killed Teen Turns Himself In

Obviously, the case isn’t over.

Even before Judge Barrett officially threw out the indictment, he reportedly said that he would allow  prosecutors to present the case again to the grand jury.

Still, the clandestine infringement of one of the nation’s largest news gathering organizations is a serious violation of civil liberties that Holder must own, address and fix.

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The AP in what AP’s top editor correctly called a massive and unprecedented intrusion and “obviously distressing.”

Holder said he had removed himself from the investigation because of congressional testimony he had given regarding his dealings with the news media and said he didn’t want the appearance of a conflict.

”I do not know with regard to this particular case why that was or was not done….I am not familiar with the reasons why the email was disrupted in the way that it was,” Holder told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “I have faith in the people who would actually be responsible for this case they were aware of the rules and they followed them. But I don’t have a factual basis to answer the question because I was recused.”

The probe reportedly related to a May 7, 2012, AP article detailing how the CIA had derailed a planned al-Qaeda-linked group. The story was published a day before President Obama planned to publicly announce the attack had been foiled, the AP said.

But the editors at AP said the Justice Department still hasn’t told them what the investigation is all about and leaves journalists to speculate who is at the center of the probe.

Are seizing telephone records from journalists now going to be an ongoing policy of the Obama administration?

“I’ve been in this business for more than 30 years. Our First Amendment lawyers inside the AP … none of us have ever seen anything like this,” said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll during an appearance on MSNBC.

As a journalist myself, this covert investigation is alarming. Journalists in Washington, D.C. are more skeptical of the government now more than ever and they wonder if their phone calls to confidential sources are safe and protected.

One journalist from CNN asked Holder during a press conference this week if the seized telephone records in an indication that the Obama administration plans an all-out assault on the media.

After an IRS official acknowledged that the agency flagged some 75 conservative groups for additional reviews due to their names including the words “tea party” or “patriot,” Tea Partiers and the people that suck up to them lost their collective minds.

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Tea Party lovechild Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) demanded the IRS commissioner’s resignation. Congresswoman and all around crazy lady Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) claimed the acknowledgments undermines the “credibility” of the 2012 presidential election.

How exactly?

And fellow loonboon Donald Trump is making the same argument, alleging this shows President Barack Obama might’ve actually lost last year’s election.

Meanwhile, Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), offered an alternatively refreshing view about the IRS targeting of Tea Party-affiliated groups earlier Tuesday morning on MSNBC.

Bond said he didn’t think the federal government is wrong for signaling out the conservative groups for extensive reviews given that they are “overly racist.”

Back in 2006, the NAACP was the subject of its own controversial review from the Internal Revenue Service, after they criticized then-President George W. Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign. Ultimately, the IRS ruled that the nation’s oldest civil rights organization “continued to qualify” as tax-exempt. In an interview with The Washington Post, Bond said of the investigation: “It was an enormous threat” and noted that had the IRS revoked its tax exempt status it “would have reduced our income remarkably.”

Bond went further, suggesting that the investigation was politically motivated and the end result ”meant that they thought they had harassed us enough and they could stop.”

So is there a double standard in Bond giving the IRS free reign to target groups whose views oppose his?

Bond told MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, “I don’t think there’s a double standard at all. I think it’s entirely legitimate to look at the Tea Party.

“I mean, here are a group of people who are admittedly racist, who are overtly political, who tried as best they can to harm President Obama in every way they can,” Bond explained.

I think about Mississippi.

The Magnolia State is the nation’s poorest. Thirty-seven percent of its residents are black. Next to the District of Columbia, it has the highest percentage of black people of any state.

And it has only one abortion clinic.

Even that one clinic, Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, based in Jackson, is hanging on by a thread. A state law, passed last year, was aimed at shutting it down by requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at hospitals; something that can be difficult to obtain if most of the hospitals are religiously affiliated and, as clinic owner Diane Derzis told the Associated Press, if those hospitals don’t want protesters outside.

A federal judge blocked the clinic’s closing until the fate of the law is decided. But if Mississippi is successful in shutting the doors of its sole legal provider, it could wind up creating an underground market for countless unsafe and illegal ones.

Illegal ones – like the ones who’ll exploit thousands of poor black women there who might seek an abortion, but who can’t afford a ride to another state.

Illegal ones – who’ll view desperate black women through the same opportunistic lens in which predatory lenders view poor black people who can’t get bank loans or access to lines of credit.

Illegal ones – who’ll treat poor, black women just like Gosnell did, except worse.

This week Gosnell, 72, was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing three babies who were born alive by severing their spines with scissors. He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of a patient; according to prosecutors, he heavily dosed up patients, most of whom were seeking unsafe, late term abortions, with painkillers.

Investigators described Gosnell’s clinic as a “house of horrors,” with furniture stained with blood, body parts and fetuses in jars, dirty instruments and foul smells. That’s almost as bad as the days when a fraudulent doctor would pull out a dirty knife and folding table to operate on poor women.

The main factor, according to news reports, that abetted Gosnell’s horrific, unlawful practices was the fact that Pennsylvania stopped regularly inspecting abortion clinics 17 years ago, and only resumed them in 2010.

When I was growing up, we knew every single person that lived on Hinsdale Court and we were very involved in each other’s lives. In fact, more often than not my neighbors knew more about what was going on in my life than I did … in a good way.  I was raised in a loving community.

Back in the day … It was the one neighbor you DIDN’T know in your hood that was the person of interest.

These days, we tend to only know one or two neighbors – if that – and now, we’re wondering whether that needs to change.

Who knew the practice of not reaching out to your neighbor actually had a name?

Well, it does.  Cocooning.

“Cocooning”, according to those who study it, is a growing trend of people retreating into their homes and socializing less often in public.  Some of the reasons given are dependence on social media for everything from chatting with friends and family to shopping.  Many of us have designed our homes to provide every single comfort making it almost unnecessary to leave … not even to go to work.  One in 5 or 60 percent of Americans forfeit their daily commutes to do their jobs from a home office.

The recent wave of crimes like the Boston Bombing and the New Orleans shooting spree at a parade can’t help either.

But for me and my family it’s more of a scheduling issue.  I’m at work when most people are sleeping and when I’m home most of my neighbors are at work.  Throw in errands, baseball practices, homework, etc., I can’t imagine having the time to meet and greet neighbors much less bake a batch of cookies to show signs of goodwill.  I only see the ones I do know when I’m dashing to and from where ever I’m going and even though my kids have friends in the neighborhood they have less time to play outside than we did as children. Plus, a lot of their friends are from their sports teams and church and live further than walking distance.

The bottom line is, I don’t know my neighbors as well as I should, and I’m not even sure I want to.  Once you open that door literally and figuratively, it’s not easily closed.  Being neighborly is great at our own convenience, but the thought of someone popping in to have coffee in the middle of day sends me right over the edge.

It would be cool if we could put signs on our doors like they have in hotels to let the people living around us know when we did and didn’t want to be disturbed … if we could vet everyone within a one mile radius and be sure it was okay four our kids to be in and out of their friend’s houses and that their parents knew it was safe to be at ours. But that’s not the way it is and the truth is, we can’t really pick and choose when it’s convenient to be neighborly and when it isn’t. That sort of defeats the whole purpose.

Becoming a good neighbor takes time, work and sacrifice too. Chances are, if you’re like me, you’ve developed a network of family members, parents of your kids’ school friends  and co-workers so that in the state of a crisis someone will come to your aid.

But what about that one time when nothing is as it has been?  What about when the power goes out, or there’s a fire or an explosion in your town, or a manhunt and you’re on complete lockdown.  Or let’s turn the tables for a moment.  What if your neighbor is in dire danger, and he or she turns to you?  What kind of neighbor will you be?

Charles Ramsey has been the butt of lots of jokes because of his appearance, his animated interviews and later the reports that he had a checkered past.  But when his neighbors needed him, he was there.  The woman that ran to his arms might not have given him the time of day if she’d seen him on the street and neither would a lot of us.

We might not know who lives next door, and then again we might know but hope we never have to be bothered, and they may feel the same about us.  We should all pray that when the time comes we’ll put away our fears, doubts, prejudices and all that stuff that makes us human and do what’s humane.

If we can learn anything from Charles Ramsey, it should be that.

Both letters are below.

 A Love Letter To My Baby Boy – May 9^th, 2013

Dear Willis,

My sweet baby boy, you have been such a joy in my life. You came into the world a little bit earlier than I was ready for. I should have known then that you would be the kind of child that moves according to your schedule and not mine.

But you were such a quiet, happy baby … always so content to just be held and loved and cared for. You never cried, just called out patiently when you needed me and you slept through the night from day one. Just a dream baby. I think you knew your mama was already tired from running around after your feisty toddler brother and I so appreciated you for it.

Now that you are older and coming into your own, you are not so quiet! But you are even more loveable every day. You are growing out of being a baby but I love that you will always be my baby and will still come look for me at times when you need a cuddle.  You are just the right mix of independence and sweetness and I can’t wait to see the young man you grow up to be.

I love how much patience you have when Tyler tries to “big brother” you.  I love that you are always willing to help. I especially love that you are willing to stand up for yourself and others when you know something isn’t right.

I just wanted you to know how much I love you on this day – May 9th, 2013 – your 10th birthday. You are my 2nd child, but loved equally and infinitely. Some people think that a mom can’t love their children equally, but you have proven to me beyond doubt that love doesn’t divide but it expands and cannot be diminished. There is something so special inside of you. I can’t wait for the world to get to know you like I have.

There will never be an end to my love for you, baby boy. Keep smiling and laughing … you bring me pure joy!

A Love Letter To My Oldest Son – November 12^th, 2012

Dear Tyler,

When God gave you to me, He knew I would need you. You taught me so much about love and life in your first year – it was amazing. When your brother finally came along, you were so happy to finally be a big brother. You held him and read to him and couldn’t wait to teach him everything you knew. Now that you are older, you don’t always get along, but I know you still love him. You have always been an amazing brother.

And an amazing son.

You fill my days with chatter and questions I never knew an 10-year old would ask…but then again, you’ve always been smarter than you should be. You challenge me in so many ways and you teach me about things I never knew I’d be interested in. You dive into your school work and you soak it all in like a sponge. And I love to see the way that you light up when you learn something new and interesting.

I’m a little nervous (in a good way) now that you are 11. I think the questions get harder.

This year, you may grow to be taller than me. I didn’t know that would happen so soon. I have such mixed feelings about the young man you are becoming. I am so proud of you for being smart and loving and courageous. But I’m not ready for you to be so grown up already. I still see you as a little boy with chubby legs, chipmunk cheeks and your arms always open to give a hug.

I just wanted you to know how much I love you on this day – November 5th, 2012 – your 11th birthday. My world is so much better because you are here. I can’t imagine my life without you being a part of it. Thank you for being an amazing son. Thank you for helping me so much around the house and with your brother.

It’s hard to be the oldest child. I know I have learned a lot raising you and I know I will continue to learn. You still have so much to teach me about being a good parent. Thank you for being patient with me and for accepting my apologies with grace when I haven’t been patient with you.

You are incredible. Never forget that. And never forget that I am always here when you need me. I can’t tell you how much of my heart you fill, but I can tell you I would be empty without you. You truly are the best part of me and I love you dearly.

He’s a brave black man who deserves recognition for his unselfish efforts and I hope police acknowledge his courage.

Ramsey was responsible for freeing Amanda Berry and two other women who had been held captive at his neighbor’s home in Cleveland for 10 years, and today, the women are free from terror and Ramsey is being praised, correctly, as a hero.

What if Ramsey hadn’t shown the guts to help these women? Would they still be captives?

Even though the police have downplayed Ramsey’s role in freeing the women, the 911 tapes tell the true story of a man who stepped up to save Berry, 27, Michelle Knight, 32, and Georgina DeJesus, who is about 23.

All three women vanished when they were teenagers between 2002 and 2004. Police said they were raped and forced into multiple pregnancies over a horrific span of a decade. Police also said the 6-year-old girl is Berry’s daughter.

“I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms,” Ramsey told CNN. “Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.”

What a revealing statement about race. And here’s another noteworthy comment: Ramsey said the little girl had to be “homeless” or “got problems” to rely on a black man for her safety. He’s probably right. I can’t recall a situation where a black man has shared his feelings about race so candidly after being involved in a dramatic rescue.

So it Ramsey also an unsuspecting racial healer?

A CNN anchorwoman suggested that Ramsey may have helped improve race relations in America. That may be a stretch, but it’s uplifting to see a black man on television associated with a positive news event; a black man being hailed as a hero instead of being vilified as a defendant. Perhaps some who only see black men as thugs and gangsters may view black men differently after hearing Ramsey’s story.

“Bro, I’m a Christian, an American, and just like you,” Ramsey told CNN. “We bleed same blood, put our pants on the same way. It’s just that you got to put that — being a coward, and I don’t want to get in nobody’s business. You got to put that away for a minute.”

Ramsey wasn’t trying to make race a central issue in the rescue of the three women. He’s not a college-trained expert on race relations. He was simply speaking from his heart, but in speaking openly, and without a political agenda, Ramsey indirectly shined a bright light on race in America – a topic most folks tend to sidestep.

Indeed, Ramsey’s poignant remark about a pretty little white girl running into a black man’s arms has gone viral and is perhaps a more powerful summation about race than any professional pundit could ever articulate.

Junior’s father, former NFL star Deion Sanders, widely known as “Prime Time,” tweeted a picture of his son chilling on the glitzy Versace sheets.

As a parent, I’m not criticizing Deion Sr. for buying Junior the high-end bed sheets. After all, Sanders has gone through a tough divorce with an ex-wife who appears to be a bit unstable, and, by most accounts, Sanders seems to be a devoted and responsible father.

It’s no secret that Sanders likes expensive toys and is naturally drawn to bling; it’s part of his “Prime Time” brand and there’s nothing wrong with that. My only question is this: What message is Sanders sending to Junior when it comes to practical spending, saving money, and wise purchases?

“As a young adult, even if you don’t have or earn a lot of money, the financial decisions you make today can affect your lifestyle now and for years to come,” Luke W. Reynolds, Chief of the FDIC’s Community Outreach Section, told Black Enterprise magazine. “The good news is you don’t need to be a finance expert to take charge of your financial future. A few basic concepts can go a long way.”

Perhaps Prime Time has already had the financial talk with his son since Deion Sr. has earned a good sum of money from the NFL, CBS Sports and endorsement deals. He seems to be a smart self-marketer and knows how to earn a high-profile living so he could indeed be passing along his wisdom to Junior.

It’s not like Sanders can’t afford Versace sheets: He’s worth an estimated $40 million.

Sanders has earned his net worth as one of the most versatile athletes in sporting history. He played for the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Ravens, playing multiple positions such as cornerback, but also occasionally as a wide receiver, kick returner, and punt returner. In baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants. He is currently an NFL Network analyst.

In February 2011, Deion listed two of his Dallas area homes for sale. One was listed for $7.5 million and the other for a $21 million. The $21 million mansion is 30,000 square feet and has eight bedrooms, 10-car garage, movie theater, bowling alley, basketball court and a 12-acre lake.

Still, with all of Sanders’ wealth, young adults like Deion Jr. need guidance and financial direction earlier in life these days as college, housing, cars, and life’s expenses become more costly.