Above The Noise: Faith; Race; Reconciliation.
A podcast at the intersection of faith, race, and reconciliation. People of faith should be leaders of reconciliation however historically issues of race and culture seem to get in the way of rising above differences to find common ground through reconciliation. We discuss those challenges and sometimes we may also stray onto different topics but we'll always come back to reconciliation.
Above The Noise: Faith; Race; Reconciliation.
Episode 55: Grantley Martelly: Resilient Journeys in Faith and Culture
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This episode peels back the layers of my life, Grantley Martelly, and the vibrant path walked under the influence of my family, particularly a mother whose faith never faltered. Dr. Andre Sims, joining me in an engaging role reversal, delves into the depths of my narrative, exploring the profound impact of spirituality and the unexpected turns that have led to this point in my life.
The rhythm of Caribbean heritage beats at the heart of our discussion, where faith meets culture in a dance of delicate balance. The story of young musicians daring to weave reggae and Calypso into their worship is a symphony of struggle and triumph, resonating with a message of inclusivity and identity. Listeners will be transported to a world where the sanctity of traditional practices is challenged, and the beauty of cultural authenticity shines through, striking chords with a congregation as diverse as the melodies they celebrate.
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Podcast art by Mario Christie.
Faith, Race, and Reconciliation
Grantley MartellyWelcome to Above the Noise , a podcast at the intersection of faith , race and reconciliation , and I'm your host , Grantley Martelly . Welcome back . I'm excited about this episode , as usual , but today we're turning the tables . One of my first guests on this podcast , dr Andrea Sims , is here and he's co-hosting with me . He's going to turn the tables and be the interviewer and try to help me get the story out , why I do this podcast , where I came from , what it means to me , and begin some discussions that we hope to continue in the future on some very pertinent topics . I hope you enjoy it and write me and let me know what you think and some topics that you would like us to discuss together as well .
Andre SimsAll right , my brother , this is a changing of the guard , if you will for this particular podcast .
Andre SimsSo I've had the privilege of being on the receiving end of some very wise questions and your expertise as the guy that can lead a podcast for the masses , and so now we're allowing me to test my wares , see if I can't reciprocate some of your experience and wisdom in interviewing . And I really want to start off with your family growing up . Give us some insight as to where you are , from whom God placed in your life as stewards , since he's the owner .
Grantley MartellyThank you , Andre . Thanks for doing this and we can have this conversation together . I've been looking forward to it . I was born in Barbados , in the Caribbean , and I grew up there until I left to go to college at the age of 19 in Idaho . We were a big family . There was eight of us children . My mother , my father , was around some of the time , but not all the time . So we grew up in the Caribbean a pretty poor family , didn't know at that time what it was . I tell people all the time I had to come to the United States to be educated on what we were . We just thought was normal and that was something that we did then . Back then , my sisters and two brothers Wow , what number are you ? I'm number seven of eight . So we grew up with our mom there in Barbados .
Andre SimsYeah , so coming to the States , the objective and the goal , the reason , the motivation , educated says to .
Grantley MartellySo I came to the United States because I had a dream was to go to college and to become a doctor . Okay , that's always been my dream , because I'd grown up in the Caribbean . I saw three groups of people at my younger age that I saw were successful . If you weren't white , it was a doctor , a lawyer or a politician . Wow , okay , I chose to become a doctor . Want to become a doctor , I guess .
Andre SimsGrantley Martelly
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--tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">hard</span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="11" data-key="611 210 . 705" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="12" data-key="612time210 . 725" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">time</span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="13" data-key="613 210 . 885" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="14" data-key="614being210 . 926" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">being</span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="15" data-key="615 211 . 086" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; 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--tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="18" data-key="618politician211 . 207" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">politician</span><span data-v-ddf6351a="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="6" data-eindex="19" data-key="619 . 211 . 748" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246, . 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> . </span> could figure that out .
Grantley MartellyBut , that brought me to the United States to attend college , a university , there . I went to graduate school at Utah State University , studied biochemistry in preparation for medical school , but never made it into medical school . I ended up going into the environmental industry , the science industry , so being a quality control chemist in a research lab and then going into the environmental field chemists cleaning up hazardous materials , contaminated sites like you used to see on TV In those days with the people in the white suits and going into these places that were contaminated with highly deadly substances . I did that all around the country for a number of years . Wow , wow .
Andre SimsAnd so that transition to kind of go down the actual chemist route , as opposed to what I'm assuming would have been initially a medical MD route . Was some of that just your enjoyment of learning that field at the graduate level and that enjoyment transitions you there as far as the chemical route , or was that life in medical school didn't seem to be as feasible due to life ?
Grantley MartellyI've always been interested in science In high school in the Caribbean , what we call secondary school . Once you get to your last three years you had to choose a path of whether you want to follow a science path , a commerce or business path or a technical path a bit technical people like people who wanted to do architecture , technical drawing , that kind of stuff . I was drawn to the science field , always interested in science .
Grantley MartellyI came here and studied chemistry in college and , like I said , biochemistry , but it wasn't feasible . I came to conclusion . It wasn't feasible for me to go to medical school without a lot of debt and then even analyzing whether I could make it or not , we have some similarities .
Andre SimsSo I'm not seven of eight , my dad is 10 of 11 , and I too was a pre-med biology major in undergrad . So I just think that's interesting that you have that history . So tell us about your religious background . Coming from Barbados , obviously there are some religious underpinnings that would be different foundationally than if you were born and raised here in the state . So give us some history surrounding .
Grantley MartellyYeah , we grew up . My mother was from St Lucia , my father was from Barbados . St Lucia is a very Catholic country . Barbados is a more Anglican country .
Andre SimsWow Okay .
Grantley MartellyBarbados was a British involvement , their history there . Barbados was always a British colony that would change hands . St Lucia changed hands between the British and the French in a number of different times . So my mom was Catholic growing up and in our house you basically followed what your mom said . So we were Catholic growing up most of the time . My father didn't really go to church that much . So we were following a Catholic background , had to go to Catholicism , had to go to Mass , had to learn the prayers and the rosary and that kind of stuff . My mother was very religious , very devout follower of Jesus Christ . From a very young age we missionaries came and visited our house and my older brothers two older brothers started to go to the church of the Nazarene , which was an evangelical church . They started going there . We would go there periodically for special services , mothers there , christmas concerts , that kind of stuff .
Andre SimsOkay .
Grantley MartellyThen my mother . They had a competition Every mother's day at church that the family who brought the most people would win the Bible . And my brother's told my mother about it and she won like three , four years in a row , with her and her kids All in possession , and she decided well , if I'm going to do this , then I , as she , started going to the Nazarene church and she became a Christian there . Once she became a Christian in Nazarene church , she abandoned Roman Catholicism Wow and we all became members of that church because , like I said , we followed what our mother did .
Andre SimsYes .
Grantley MartellyYes , that became the place that we went and every Sunday went to Bible school , youth group , all those things . My mother was a very devout Christian and I always say in my life , if I could be as 10% as fearful as she was , then I would be satisfied that I have met the level of fear .
Andre SimsWow , just 10% would put you above the norm .
Grantley MartellyI love that she believed that God could do everything he said he could do , that Everything in his word was literal and that if he said you can move that mountain , she would stand before that mountain and said move until it moved . And I believe that she could pierce the windows of heaven . You know , you hear about that woman in the Bible who prayed , who went to the king and asked , and the king says you know , you know , why are you bothering me ? And the Bible says she persisted until he finally said OK , what do you want ? Yes , and that's my picture of my mother , who just hit the throne every day until God relented and said I will grant you what you need because I need to spend some time with some other people .
Andre SimsI love that . I love that . So , coming out of that Anglican and Roman Catholic history , what were some of the cultural clashes growing up in a missionary led church ?
Grantley MartellyWell , I think on the islands in the Caribbean and most places where there was colonization , you had that clash right up . You had Catholicism and then you had Anglicanism and , you know , moravianism and then you had what was called evangelical churches right , how to do it ? The Catholic and the Anglican were considered the established churches OK , the church of Rome and the church of England and they had lots of power and lots of presence , the nicest buildings and that kind of stuff . But we also saw , you know , as we were growing up , that there was some conflict there . You're living in the Caribbean and people are telling you things . Like you know , people are wearing suits to church , right , polyester suits to church
Identity Struggles in Christianity's Cultural Assimilation
Grantley Martelly, and it's 85 degrees outside .
Andre SimsThat kind of stuff .
Grantley MartellyI , you know , sweating profusely and that's the best clothes they had . You know , in the week they would be going to work and barely what they had . And then sometimes they were dressed up and we were like that doesn't make any sense . You know , you're just hot and sweaty all the time . And the music you know that we sang . I was in a school choir , you know we sang a lot of those songs like Jesus , you , joy of man's desiring handles , Messiah . You know , these big churches had organs and stuff in them that to some of us was like again , that doesn't make sense . We're in a poor country and everything in the church is worth more than everybody in our family is ever going to make in their whole life . Wow , wow . And you know things in Latin and all those kinds of stuff , which was okay . But within the Caribbean context , there seem to be clashes because what we were also being told was that your culture , your history , is not godly right .
Grantley MartellyIt's pagan , it's ungodly and in order to be a Christian you've got to give those things up and you've got to follow this European type lifestyle right . The kind of music you listen to has to change , because your music is not good , it's bad . You know Calypso , reggae and African type music and you got to listen to that . I had one , one Pat one , one missionary said you know , to be a Christian you got to listen to country and Western or or classical music . Growing up , for me that just never made sense , you know . And they call me .
Grantley MartellyYes , and my friends are rebels , so we'd be like , no , no , we're not doing that . So we formed our own band . At a young age , Some friends of mine formed our own band and we started playing music and , and you know , the churches , the evangelical churches , were pulling away from some of that . You know you'd have the formal thing and then they'll say you have choruses and and celebration , which would be Caribbean . So we started playing a lot of reggae and a lot of Calypso , and I love that . And then we also play Andrea Crouch and we played all those kinds of music too .
Grantley MartellyBut we got a lot of criticism for playing reggae , for playing Calypso , for playing soccer music . We wrote most of our own music but we got a lot of criticism for that . I remember one time , going through the downtown and in the city there was what we call a bus terminal , where most people catch the bus right or walked or rode a bicycle , and there would be these bus terminals and the preachers would rent space in the bus terminals to preach . We call them open air services right .
Andre SimsYes , sir , I understand .
Grantley MartellyI'm preach and there'd be all these people preaching and we'd be down there sometime hanging out . Sometimes we'd play up to some of them , but one day we were , we were . We were so poor that even while we , even though we were musicians , sometimes we had to catch the bus to get to our engagements .
Grantley MartellySo we'd be carrying the instruments with us through town to get to the bus , to get there . And this preacher was preaching and he saw some of us that he knew and he looked over there and he said you , you guys , you are going to go to hell because you're playing the ungodly music .
Andre SimsWow Out in public .
Grantley MartellyYeah , and everybody looking at us and we're just like we're in and we said , okay , but we're not going to quit playing it . You know , we just went along . So those were some of the contrasts that you saw . Right Is who we were as people of African descent . We couldn't hold on to that if we wanted to be Christian .
Andre SimsWow , there is so much there that I'm not going to say yeah , because I want to get to some other things about your , your trek , your journey . But at what point did you , just just because I can't let it go totally , at what point did God , the Holy Spirit , provide some additional confirmation slash , validation , slash , fruit of the spirit that you were on the right track , even though you were being taught and trained , told and instructed that you didn't have those liberties in Christ ?
Grantley MartellySo I think that one . There was a number of different manifestations . One of them was in our church , even though there were some people who believed that , there were some people that we consider to be mentors , who were speaking into our life , who were telling us keep doing what you're doing , it's okay . Right , keep doing what you're doing , it's okay . Some pastors , some teachers , some people like that . We also noticed that when we went to play , people were attracted to the music . Both believers and non-believers were attracted to the music .
Grantley MartellyYeah Right , they were Kim and they would want to listen . The churches had what they called fears , which was like harvest time . They would have a big celebration . Okay , and they would have a big celebration . They would have a big celebration .
Grantley MartellyAnd there would be music and there'd be food and stands around , sure and other bands would go there and they would play , and they would play good music , but they'd be most doing country western , that kind of stuff . But when we got up , man , and we start , you know you hear a pop , pop , pop , pop , pop and we get into some reggae music . The place just came alive .
Andre SimsYes , I know the difference From alive .
Grantley MartellyRight , and even the Rastafarians and people who were considered outsiders would come in and participate and stuff . And we would . We would see that and it would happen everywhere we go across the entire country and we were one of the few bands growing up that every , every band had its annual concert at that time . We would hold our annual concert and no matter where we were , we would pack the auditorium and these are just a little bunch of poor kids . Yeah , I mean , it took us a whole two years to buy one guitar , you know , but we could hold a concert and the place would be packed with people and that just kept telling me what you're doing is right . God is not caring about that stuff . God is calling people and we would see both Christians and non-Christians being drawn and to me that was okay . This can't be wrong if God's drawing people to it .
Andre SimsYeah , yeah , there's a difference between assimilation and integration , and yeah , I know . So my next question , just because I'm getting ready , I want to stay on task . So the assimilation expectation does delve into this idea of racist ideas , correct ? And so talk about that for a minute . Just what it felt like to be you in that season Again , what you were being told and what you were being taught , as opposed to what you were seeing God do .
Grantley MartellyWhat I saw was , you know , and some of times it was the missionaries who were teaching this . You know , the missionaries at that time were all white and then some of the local pastors and stuff would assimilate that , because they wanted to be pastor , they wanted to be promoted and that kind of stuff . They were our friends and we understood what they were trying to do . What we came to realize is what I call to their Christian nationalism . What they were teaching was not biblical Christianity they were presenting the Bible but the practices that they were telling us we had to follow . So one time you're preaching the word , but on over here you're saying to live the word , you have to become like us . Scripture doesn't tell us to become like the preacher , it tells us to become like Christ . Amen . So we began to and I was just thinking about this , you know , even with the slaves , right , because the slave owners tried to use the Bible and the church to keep the slaves in subjection . Yes , but the more they taught the Bible to the slaves , the slaves assimilated the word of God and became Christians . But they didn't accept , and they were not accepted by the people who were preaching the gospel to them . Isn't that something we're still seeing that today .
Grantley MartellyRight , most of the black churches and most of the church of the people of color came out of that . Yes , accepted the theology that God can be your savior and your lord and master , and you didn't have to become white . Yes , you didn't have to become like these other people . And whether it's colonialism or today , you know , christian nationalism that we see going on , it's all about the same thing . People are saying in order to become a Christ follower , you have to be like us . What me and my friends were rejecting was we want to be like Christ , we don't want to be like you .
Andre SimsYes , sir , yes sir , which also speaks to this idea that Psalm 139 has communicated that we are fearfully and wonderfully made . Marvelous are his works , we are , you are your peer group and friends in Barbados represented marvelous works . You don't need to conform to anyone other than the one who saved you .
Grantley MartellyThe one who saved you .
Andre SimsYes .
Grantley MartellyThe other thing about that was that we learned also , we had some pastors who really challenged us and because we would have these arguments .
Andre SimsYou know the Caribbean , in the Caribbean culture , you talk and you argue and you have these things Got hands moving and heads moving .
Grantley MartellyAnd then you go and you know you go and hang out together , you have dinner together . That's not going to stop you from being friends . You know we have arguments about everything , literally everything . But some of our pastors would say , if you guys feel so strong about that , you need to go and get in the word and see what it says . That's what it would tell us . So we would go and read the Bible and see what it says and we would buy books .
Grantley MartellyWe study different religions , we study the theology , we study the doctrines of the church . We would study these things ourselves because they're challenged us to . I love that . The more we did that , the more we find out that we don't have to be like them to be like Christ . And we had so much fun and church was so much growing up . For us . Church was so much fun because , even though that was the what I call the post-colonial era , we had pastors who just challenged us to get into the word , to find out what God says and to live what a word of God says . And even and they even told us , god never said you have to agree with everything we preach you have to agree with everything he teaches .
Andre SimsThat's so good . We have some adults that still don't understand that truth . I mean people that are today in the church today that don't know that the Holy Spirit is the best Bible teacher they're ever going to meet , yeah . Yeah , okay . Well then that automatically segues us into because God chose to use you and your friends at such an early age . How did your call to ministry come to pass ?
Grantley MartellyMy call to ministry was a long call . You know , when I came to the United States , I went to a Christian school and I also realized that that Christian school , there was some of these same things being taught , right , Some of these same racist ideas , right , I call . I come up with this new word I don't even know if it exists . I call it post-colonial traumatic syndrome .
Grantley MartellyPost-colonial traumatic syndrome . It's prevalent over there in the islands and it's prevalent over here . And I had one advisor at college . He never met me before , he never seen me before and I'm going through the line registering for
Challenging Stereotypes, Embracing Ministry Call
Grantley Martellyclasses and he had an advising line and then you go with your professors to get the classes . He said well , I think you need to start with some remedial courses . I'm not sure that you're ready to start , or at the college level . And I said what makes you say that ? He said well , you're from the Caribbean and I'm not sure you're ready for this . And I said well , who are you to tell me that ? I said I'm here to get an education , I'm here on the four-year plan , I'm starting on year one and I'm graduating in four years and what you think about me doesn't really matter .
Andre SimsHe had never heard anybody tell him that to him face before , I'm sure he never .
Grantley MartellySo my sponsor , who brought me to the United States such a godly man , who God gives so much wisdom , even though he was white , he had this heart of compassion and understanding . He had what I've learned today is called cultural intelligence . So he was a professor and he saw me . He was registering people and he looked up and he saw this conversation . Then he looked at my face and he saw me and he said he said come . So I went over to him and he said what just happened there and I told him and he said don't listen to him .
Andre SimsRight there on the spot , he said don't listen to him .
Grantley MartellyHe said take this piece of paper , go over there to that professor . He's in charge of the chemistry department . Tell him , introduce yourself , tell him what you want to do , he'll take care of you . So I go over there and I talked to him he's never with Dr Arthur Emil and I told him what happened and he said don't listen to him . He said I'll make sure you graduate in four years . Here's the courses that you want that you need to take . Wow . So I went to my first year of school and I'm not the smartest person in the room , but I learned how to study and I ended up on the Dean's list . I didn't even know what he was .
Grantley MartellyI got this email saying you're on the Dean's list . So I called my sponsor . I was at my sponsor's house and I said what does it mean to be on the Dean's list ? He said your grades are good enough that you're going to get an additional scholarship and it means that you're at the top of the class . So I'm walking across campus the next spring fall getting ready to register for classes . And who do I run across again ?
Andre SimsSame gentleman , same gentleman .
Grantley MartellyAnd he looks at me and he says I guess you really showed me and I'm like I forgot all about this because I don't have time for him . I've been dealing with white people like this my whole life , wow , wow . And I said what are you talking about ? He says you're on the dean's list . I said I know . He said you don't remember our conversation . I said I don't have time for you and I left Right Because I'm not going to dignify him with a conversation . He didn't know who I was . He didn't know all my capabilities . He didn't take time to know me or ask me anything . He just assumed that I was inferior because I was black and I came from the Caribbean .
Andre SimsNo doubt , no doubt . Wow , I love that yeah .
Grantley MartellySo , getting back to this ministry call , you know , in school I wanted to be a doctor , so I focused on that , but the school required us to take some biblical literature classes . So every year I took biblical literature classes and I would always take advanced classes and , and you know , get into and really enjoy doing it . But I never felt I never , you know . People would tell me , you know , you should be in ministry and stuff , and I'm like no , god has my two brothers , my two older brothers or ministers , he's got enough , he's got enough and I got other things I want to do , you know . But I would enjoy these classes and I would take these classes and we would get into some . Really , me and my , by this time now there was two other guys from the Caribbean who would come . You know , in my path at that university there's about 12 people now who've come because of me being the first one to be there .
Grantley MartellySo we'd be in classes together and the professor would be teaching stuff and we'd be reading and we'd be like I'm not sure I agree with what you just said about that , right , right , we have these discussions in class and after class the other students will always come up and say why do you guys keep arguing with the professors ? You know they're always right . We're like no , they're not . And then we would go and talk to the professors and they'd be like , man , we really enjoy the questions you ask . You know , keep bringing it on . If we love the challenge .
Grantley MartellyWe don't like when everybody just sits there and just writes down everything . You know , you guys really ask these questions . So the professors were saying you know we like the back and forth . Okay , I understand . Okay , we're like uncomfortable . Because they were saying you know who are you to question the professor ? Right , yes , but it was the same thing we were taught growing up by home , right by our pastors Get into the word , get into the book and learn what it has to say and be willing to talk about it . Yeah , I love that .
Andre SimsI love that . Yeah , when I think about that professor that spoke to you both semesters when you were registering , I think of that first , samuel 16 , seven . For God does not look at what man looks at . Man looks at the outward appearance , but God looks at the heart . I just think that way , way , way too many believers are preoccupied with what does the world say I'm supposed to be , or how I'm supposed to look , act , think , walk as opposed to what God's worth , as opposed to what God's word says surrounding who I am , which you and your peers clearly understood at a very young age and walked out at a very young age , because you came to the States at 19 . That's still young .
Grantley MartellyThat's still very young , yeah , yeah . So you know it wasn't the so . So I got to college and we did , we did , we went on to graduate school . I was involved in the church my whole life and and volunteering at church and I started studying what they called the course of study just again , just to try to get into more of the word and doing men's groups and you know , promise keepers at that time and all that kind of stuff . And I it was 20 , the short answer to it was 20 years between when I people started telling me that I needed to think about being the call to like actually accepted , that it was actually a real call .
Grantley MartellyIt was 20 years , you know , and it was just a quick story on that and we may cut out some of these stories , but you know , I was in what it was called the course of study , which is for people who are working , who don't have time to go to seminary , and that kind of stuff , right , but it was really watered down and it was really sappy and it was just , you know , a lot of books and and questions that didn't make any sense , you know , and I was like , and I was talking to one of the pastors one day after doing the study of John Wesley and I said , you know , this whole study of John Wesley didn't have nothing to do with the Bible , has to say it . Wow , what do I care about what John Wesley's favorite passage was and what sound you wrote ? He says grant Lee , you just got to learn that you got to pay the price if you want to get there . You know , just do the courses passing , you'll be fine . I said , excuse me , but I don't have time to pay the price to please somebody else . This , this is not what God is calling me to . So I dropped out of that program .
Grantley MartellySo our district superintendent calls me up and he says grant Lee what's going on . And I told him and he said I said that thing is really annoying . He said yeah , I know we're going to revamp it and we're going to push it . You're not the only one who said that . So he said but I got a challenge for you . I said what challenge ? He said don't give up on your , on your call . I said I'm not , but I got to find something that works .
Grantley MartellySo a few years later , I went to a meeting and I was on a board and he was on . He called me into his office and he said this new program has just started , an online program for a master's degree in pastoral ministry . I think it would really challenge you . He says I know , if I put you in anything that's not challenging , you're just gonna tell me no . So he said call this person , talk to him about it , see what it is all about . So I did and I called him and he said I guarantee you you're gonna be challenged and if you're not challenged , I'm gonna apologize to you . And he was right . It was a master's level course , right ? So I don't have a bachelor's in religion . I've been in seminary and I enrolled in a master's level course and that was the challenge that I needed .
Andre SimsYes , that makes sense , Wow , wow . So 20 years in the making was the call , and from biochemical undergrad , passion and education to what I know to be a career in transportation . So talk about that transition .
Grantley MartellySo when I got out of college and graduate school , I first went into , like I said , research as an analytical chemist and doing some research for drugs to treat Billy Rubin and John Dyson and newborn babies , and it was a good job . Then we moved . My wife got a job in Salt Lake City and we moved there and I was working in a factory doing quality and again , analytical chemistry , but it wasn't making a lot of money . So one day we were talking to different people and I met some headhunters .
Andre SimsSure .
Grantley MartellyDidn't really know what they did , but one day it was at work and my wife got a call and , according to what she told me was , this guy said I am this person and Grant Lee's near was given to me by this other person and we have a job that we think he may be interested in . It's a field chemist . She said , well , he's not here , but how much does it pay ? And me told her and she said he'll be at the interview . So I came home .
Grantley MartellyShe said you got this call today for this person . It's about a job interview . I asked him how much it paid and I told him you'll be interested . So you have a job interview coming up . Give him a call . Wow . So that job interview took me then from the laboratory work into a laboratory in the field work . This was a hazardous materials field chemist for a company that went around cleaning up polluted sites . We clean up laboratories and factories and ground contamination and that kind of stuff that resulted from chemicals and stuff in the ground . This was a super fund era , what they called RCRA, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and brown fields and green fields and cleaning up all that stuff . So I got into that and I started doing that . While I was doing that , you have to learn transportation because you cannot . A lot of the materials that you're taking care of , especially in laboratories and factories , you have to send to what they call a treatment facility to be treated safely and disposed of . You can't put it in the garbage .
Andre SimsOkay .
Grantley MartellyYou had to learn the regulations for how to transport this over the highway . So I started learning transportation regulations , right , 49 CFR and the hazardous materials and chapter 40 of the code of federal regulation . The transportation laws are in the 49 chapter of the code of federal regulations and then I got put in charge of projects out there in the field , but I was traveling all over the country . Obviously , you can't , you know hazardous materials doesn't come to you . You gotta go to it , right ?
Grantley MartellyOkay , so I was gone a lot at that time my kids were young and my wife started saying well , you know , you're really gone a lot and you're missing . I miss some of the key things in my kids' life . You know , I tried to get the first day of school and some of those , but I missed some of the programs and stuff like that . So I decided I wanted to have a change and so I started looking for some other jobs . So I know hazardous materials , I know underground storage tanks , I know transportation right . And this job I saw came up for the Utah Transit Authority as a
Journey of Success and Blessings
Grantley Martellyenvironmental coordinator manager . Coordinator then became manager and the description was to help clean up the contamination that had been caused by underground storage tanks leaking underground storage tanks . You know oil and diesel , the same thing with junk yards and stuff . Sure , yeah that . So I applied for the job and I got an interview . And I got the first interview and the second interview and I never heard about it from her . So I kept doing my job , you know , sure .
Grantley MartellySo one day I'm in Texas , at Texas A&M University doing some cleanup and I got this call and it would say oh yeah , we're from Utah Transit Authority , are you still interested in the job ? And I said what job ? No , it had been that long . I said I know we take long , but you remember the job that you would really . I said yeah , I remember that . I said I thought you guys had heard somebody and I was like no , he says we're a public agency , we take a long time to do everything . So if you're interested , when you come back home we want to talk to you .
Grantley MartellySo the short of the story is that's how I get then , from taking all that field experience and then applying it to the public transportation agency , helping start the public transport , the environmental department , cleaning up stuff like that and then started learning then about public transportation and the other parts of that part of it . And you know , god really blessed us in that I was able to come home , get off the road and be more involved in my family life . And the thing about that is I became the first black executive ever promoted in that organization . Under my leadership we became ISO 14000 certified and then a group of us myself and the chief operating officer and a couple of us again got together and we led the organization to become the first ISO 9000 certified transit agency in the United States . Then I went on to lead it to become the first OSHA's 18000 one safety management system certified agency in the United States . So I was the first executive and we were the first triple ISO certified public transit agency in the country .
Andre SimsWow , wow , that's phenomenal , that is a demonstration of God's hand upon your life and the fact that , while you may not identify yourself as one of the sharpest knife in the drawer , the fruit of your skill set , certification degrees , job experience and , quite frankly , vision for what can be All came to fruition and manifest itself in this first organization to actually have those three ISO certifications , which is phenomenal .
Grantley MartellyYeah , you know God has led me in a very they look back on my life . You know I have a presentation that I do says walking in the footsteps of the books of my youth . So being poor , you got . You don't have a lot of money to do a lot of fancy things , but you can play games , yes , you can read books , you can go to the beach and you can imagine . None of those cost a lot of money .
Andre SimsYes , sir .
Grantley MartellyBecause you get the books from the library . So we did a lot of reading , my friends and I , and we did a lot of imagining , yes , and when we got through reading things like Robinson Crusoe and Animal Farm and all of those books , we started reading Encyclopedias just for the fun of it , wow , wow . And we would talk about these things the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower and all of this stuff and we would dream about being there , right and going to these places not having a dime in our pocket . We used to walk down the street looking for coins in the gutters so that we could buy a lot for bread at the store , right , literally , here we are dreaming about , you know , the Statue of Liberty and all of these places .
Grantley MartellyWow , we're going to Africa and safaris . But you know , as I look back on my life , god has taken me to India . We've seen the Taj Mahal . We've been to Jagpur . We've got a Latin rug in our living room that was made in Jagpur , india , that my daughter got to pull out . I've been to the Great Wall of China three times . I've been to the Eiffel Tower . I've been to New Delhi . I've been to Gabon , africa . I'm going to Kinshasa here in a few months . Right , I've been to the Statue of Liberty many times . So as I look back on that , the concept is all of those things that we were imagining .
Andre SimsYes .
Grantley MartellyI am checking off on my list of all the things that I have been able to do , and the blessing of it is that most of those things I never had to pay for out of my pocket .
Andre SimsWow , wow . The only thing you do them , but they didn't have to pay for them . They didn't have to pay for them , right .
Grantley MartellySo God has blessed me tremendously to be able to become a citizen of the world .
Andre SimsYeah , yeah , you know , I know I'm looking there . We have checked about 55% and it's so rich , like , like , it's going to need to like marinate a little bit for those who are tuning in . I believe we're going to have to have a part two .
Andre SimsYeah , we probably have to have a part two because it , as my grandmother says , it gets more gooder . But as the story goes along , god's hand on your life , his favor on you as his son , as his called servant , and on your family and I'm a staff I can't wait till we get this part two scheduled and come back at it .
Grantley MartellyYeah , I mean , I am too . You know God , like I said , god's been very good to us and you know , and my mother I think about my mother , you know she , she always encouraged me , right , and I didn't understand a lot of things I wanted to do in my life , right ? Yes , she would say to me you're , you're building castles in the sky . You're building castles in the sky . And I would always tell her , yes , better to build them in the sky , because if you fall , then you at least land on the cloud .
Andre SimsAh , when I left the United States .
Grantley Martellywhen I left Barbados to go to the United States , they were having a party for me and they said to me silver and gold have I none , but in the name of Jesus Christ , I send you . That's good brother . He will take care of you and he will help you to accomplish everything that you dream and you desire .
Andre SimsAnd and to the letter , she was spot on .
Grantley MartellyShe was spot on and I sent her to the United States with $159 in my pocket to go to a school that costs at that time about $10,000 a year . Right so $40,000 . I graduated from college with zero debt . So you know , god has brought me from from that to where we are today . Or children are grown . We have two biological children who are grown , and we have two adopted children who are grown , and we have less . See two , four , seven grandkids . If you put all of those together . While taking care of themselves , they're they're they're doing well , you know so . So God has blessed us .
Andre SimsAmen , amen . That is a high note to to finish on again that there's a legacy there . So just
Legacy and Gratitude in Podcasting
Andre Simsyes , you , you definitely want to tune in to part two of this podcast . For sure , there is more to come from the Martelly legacy in .
Grantley MartellyJesus . Thanks , Andre , I appreciate you , you , you taking the time to work with me to get this together and to put together this this time to share my story with all this . I was blessed brother .
Grantley MartellyRemember to subscribe and leave us a rating . Ratings are very important to help in our podcasts , succeed in the podcast universe and helping it become known to other people . Email us your comments at above the noise 24 @ gmail . com . Above the noise 24@ gmail . com . And follow us on Instagram and Facebook @above the noise 24 . Thank you for listening . Please share this episode with your friends . .
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