By Nonie Darwish

Beyoncé's right. Whether listening to Cowboy Carter or reading theology, diversity is a good thing.I wasn’t planning to listen to Cowboy Carter, the eighth studio album from American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. I’ve always had a love for her music—but country has never been my thing.Plans changed when I started to read what people were writing about the record, from comments on social media to reviews in major publications. Their reactions were bitter, even cruel. “Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ isn’t a country album. It’s worse,” proclaimed one review in The Washington Post. “Beyoncé has chosen to do Dolly Parton karaoke,” writes the reviewer. “She sounds like she’s doing Wild West bedroom cosplay in outer space.”“The lefties in the entertainment industry just won’t leave any area alone, right?” asked an interviewer on a One America News program. “They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park,” responded the interviewee.It’s not that Cowboy Carter is exempt from criticism. Its genre-blending experimentation won’t be to everyone’s taste. Some listeners may have reservations about Beyoncé’s departure from her earlier pop and R & B records. That’s fine. Music, like all art forms, is subjective. Thoughtful critique can serve as a means for musicians to grow as artists, and to engage audiences in meaningful ways.But that’s different from implying that Beyoncé can’t and shouldn’t sing country music simply because of who she is: not a white man from a rural small town, but a Black woman raised in Houston. A “stay in your place” undercurrent cuts through how critics have spoken about her ...Continue reading...

Several suspects arrived in vehicles and motorcycles to the prison area to hold a celebration for his release.

Montgomery County police have charged an 18-year-old trans-identified high school student in connection with plans to commit a school shooting. Authorities discovered a 129-page document that detailed her plans to carry out the shooting at a high school and elementary school, stating that “little kids make easier targets.”

By John C. A. Manley For today’s solar eclipse, USA Today reports: “Some schools are planning early dismissal, late drop-off, switching to e-learning or closing...Is “safety” the real reason schools are closed for today’s solar eclipse?

We had another great Sunday at Vision Baptist Church this past Sunday. This Sunday was a unique Sunday, in that we had our first lunch/ afternoon service of the summer. We are planning to have a lunch/ afternoon service once a month this summer to give church people the opportunity to fellowship together. Sunday morning […]The post Sunday In Review! appeared first on Vision Baptist Church of South Forsyth.