Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
OPEN LETTER TO JAMAL HARRISON-BRYANT
I recently read the open letter you wrote to Ebony Magazine in response to an article they published in their March 2013 issue that discusses various high-profile scandals. The magazine mentioned the allegations of your extra-marital affair and impregnation of a 17-year old that surfaced, which was immediately followed by your former wife, Gizelle, filling for divorce.
How can you openly rebuke Ebony Magazine when the allegations that were mentioned in the article were publicized by a former staff member, another scorned woman with whom you allegedly had an affair? If the allegations are untrue, why not file a lawsuit instead of pulling a publicity stunt with writing an open letter? Why? Because it is common knowledge that the allegations are all true.
While at the prestigious Morehouse College, you were known for sleeping with numerous young ladies, taking advantage of their naivety and even impregnating one. Though you tried to hide it, your mother, Cecelia Williams-Bryant retained the services of a private investigator to find the young mother and the baby. This was not to ensure you stepped up as a father or to welcome the young woman and child into the family, but to ensure her silence and position in the background in expectation of you becoming a pastor. I am sure she was paid off just as the “alleged” 17-year-old was when she became pregnant. (You know the one your former wife slapped you about one Sunday morning in your office and in front of your mother?) Again, paying a victim of your deceit and perversion off in order to save your place as pastor.
Ezekiel 25:17
I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.
I am baffled at your audacity to rebuke such a reputable magazine as Ebony when your reputation is questionable at best. Not only are you father to several children you conceived with other women out of wedlock and during your marriage, but you have a history of assault, theft, and lying. The lie that comes to the forefront of my mind is your claim to have received a PhD from Oxford University, when you only took one course; and, I believe it was a correspondence course. In addition, not only have you admitted to having extra-marital relations while pastoring Empowerment Temple AME; but, wallowing in your arrogance and hypocrisy, you wrote a book discussing sexual sin within the church, gaining profit from your continued indiscretions. Perhaps this is why you are often referred to as a “pulpit pimp.”
2 Peter 2:22
What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
You have been a gallivanting womanizer since before your marriage, during it and continue to be to this day. For years, you have been having an ongoing sexual relationship with a young apolstolic girl out of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
You are a bully. Approximately 2 ½ years ago when you came to Atlanta to preach at a church, you asked me to take you to Piedmont Hospital to pick up your baby’s mama car. I personally witnessed you get into a very serious verbal altercation with the young lady, during which you were yelling and cursing at her, taking God’s name in vain, and appeared to be on the verge of physically assualting her. Though I have known you for years and had witnessed many things I know you’d prefer be kept quiet, I was speechless at how abusive you were in your interaction with your child’s mother.
2 Peter2:12-15
But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,[f] while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray…
You are a thug and a philanderer. In reviewing Baltimore’s court records, you have numerous cases in which you were the defendant, including assault, restraining orders, paternity, your divorce, and open traffic cases. Psychologists warn that abusers and other persons with deviant behavior and misplaced aggression often acquire multiple traffic violations.
When will you stop this deviant behavior and get right with God? Perhaps this is the reason so many churches have closed their doors to you, including The Potter’s House and Bishop TD Jakes. Why have you not been able to reconcile that relationship? Was he not your mentor and friend at one point in time during your ministry?
I know that your letter is yet another publicity stunt for you to gain more media attention as you try and rally support and jockey the office of president of the NAACP. That has been your dream and a goal since you were the NAACP Youth president. Let me state to you in the open, I and many others do not believe you possess the moral, nor ethical qualities a true leader should possess.
As with many pastors, you have fleeced your flock with your lies and lack of reverence for God. Oh, you can preach, make empty-hearted appearances at rallys, and even write another deceitful book; but, more and more the public will see your true character and you will become like the chaff which the winds drive away. For you are not only a whoremonger, but a heretic and a hypocrit; and, I am repulsed at your audacity to rebuke anyone! You’d better drop down on your knees and pray that the demonic spirit you spoke of in that trash you call a book and others be removed from you, lest you lose your church and your soul. I close this letter with a final verse on which you should ponder, the only way in which the word rebuke should leave your lying lips:
Psalm 38:1
O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Sincerely,
William G. McCray, III
Jamal Harrison-Bryant’s Open Letter of Rebuke to Ebony
For 67 years, Ebony Magazine has been the drum beat for culture in the African American community. John Johnson its beloved founder dedicated his life to safe guarding our image with great integrity.
The March 2013 edition has left a hole in my heart. On page 124 they published that it’s alleged I impregnated a 17-year-old member of my church. This accusation is categorically and completely untrue. To publish this with absolutely no source lends itself to reckless endangerment to my children, my congregation and my community.
Ebony is not the National Enquirer. A higher standard is required and the statement jeopardizes my ministry to the youth in my church and community. So it is on moral grounds that a retraction is necessary.
In 2007 I participated in an extramarital affair that resulted ultimately in the termination of my marriage to my incredible wife Gizelle. NO minors were involved but my minor children have been affected. I don’t want them to have to live through any further unnecessary pain.
Matthew 18:15 say’s if your brother has sinned against you go and tell him his fault. I solicit your continued prayers for my family, forgiveness for myself and accountability from Ebony magazine.
Flawed but faithful. I remain,
Jamal- Harrison Bryant
(A Father and Pastor)
Ebony’s Response to Jamal Harrison-Bryant’s Open Letter
EBONY’s mission is to inform, inspire, encourage and motivate. We are also committed to educating, enlightening and entertaining our readers. We do not waver from our brand mission. Our “Scandals” package in the March 2013 issue is meant to be a look at some of the more outrageous accusations and events in African-American culture. With this particular story, we examined actual incidents as well as reported rumors which have captured the attention of our community throughout the years. In some cases, the allegations were never verified; however, the very fact that they went public constituted scandal.
We understand that Dr. Jamal H. Bryant is now getting inquiries regarding a rumor we referenced in the magazine. We published the outrageous allegation as it was scandalous, not because it was confirmed. We did not intend to offend Dr. Bryant, and hope that our readers understand the spirit in which the editorial comment was presented.
