Fight for justice, not just prosperity
By Brandon Perry
For the NNPA
INDIANAPOLIS – Hundreds of individuals gathered at Eastern Star Church last week to hear an all-star list of national and local leaders during the National Dialogue and Revival for Social Justice in the black church conference.
The interactive conference offered a forum that black leaders and citizens could use to discuss solutions to various challenges facing African Americans.
One of several conferences presented nationwide by the National Action Network (NAN), a progressive civil rights group led by Rev. Al Sharpton, the event was designed to help black churches reclaim their heritage of social activism.
Too many pastors, Sharpton believes, have strayed away from the advocacy of such ministry leaders as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and have embraced a more materialistic version of “prosperity ministry.”
“Part of the problem is many people don’t understand why the black church was established in the first place,” Sharpton said. “The black church itself was formed in protest to segregation in the white church. We must realize that church work is not just about getting your praise on, it’s about getting in the trenches and changing people’s lives.”
Sharpton noted that some African Americans believe the time for civil rights organizations has passed, although many observers cite the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina and attempts to scale back affirmative action as signs of lingering discrimination.
Blacks, he continued, are still four times more likely to be incarcerated, five times more likely to be denied a loan, less likely to graduate from high school and have a higher incidence of illnesses such as diabetes and HIV.
“One day a lady wished me luck in ‘my struggle,’” Sharpton quipped. “I asked her, ‘When did they free you and keep me?’ We have made progress as a people, but the struggle won’t be over until we are truly equal and treated fairly like everybody else.”
Charles Steele Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, noted that the church is the best institution to take African Americans to the next level.
“The church is the only independent institution in the black community,” he said. “One of the goals with this national dialogue is to see to it that the church returns to its status as an advocate of our people.”
Comedian and activist Dick Gregory, the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III and Jonathan Jackson (Rainbow/PUSH coalition activist and son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson) were among the other speakers at conference.
A panel of local community leaders led a discussion about topics including the need to help more African-American families in Indianapolis become homeowners, preventing crime and disease prevention.
“I really enjoyed the spiritual and social element of the preaching, it was really inspiring,” said Lolita Locke.
For the Rev. Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church and one of several local ministers who spoke at the conference, the event offered hope in the face of social challenges.
“The same God who brought us through slavery and the Civil Rights Movement is the same God who is with us now,” the Rev. Harrison said. “If God is for us, who can be against us? Tonight we have learned that we can restore our community and reclaim our children.”