(
AL ASSEMBLY OF BlAe" CHURCHESTO PLA
C
· FIST
EW ORLEA S LA - How the
Blac Churches can u it multi-billi n
dollars in annu 1 re urces to address
concern in educational achievement,
economi devlelopment, per nal im-
provement and political po r, will be
outlined t the Fir t ational embly
of Black Churche at the e Orlean
Superdome, pril 4-6, ponsors of the
event, announced this wee .
Grea er utilization of the Church
in achievin the goal will be discu d
at the three day . on called by the
Rev. TJ. Jemison, pre ident of the 10
million member ational Bapti Con­
vention, U .SA., and the Right Rev.
Frank Cumming, secret ry of the B' -
hop's Council of the Aftic n ethodi t
Epi opal Church. Reverend Jemi n
i ba ed in Baton Rouge La., and Bis­
hop Cumming is he adquarted in w
Orle ns.
Over 65 000 churches i Black com­
munitie throughout the nation control
disposition of at lea t 50 million in
spending power each week in addition
billion of dollars in capital inve -
ments, the Rev. Jemison declared in
i ing the call for clergymen and women
to attend the historic e ssions in Louisi­
ana.
Some 50,000 clerical and lay leaders
have been invited to the embly
sponsored by the. Bl c Churche of
America Publications, Inc., in coopera­
tion ith repre ntatives of 25 religious
Editor's Note: Richard E. Brown,
22, of 233 Lake Ave., Benton Harbor
was shot and killed Friday, arch 2
in front of 217 Lake Ave. Benton
Harbor Police report a suspect in
connection with the laying, Jerome
Tate, 26, voluntarily turned himself
into the St. Louis police on Marcia 6,
and is charged with open murder in
the shooting. B.H. Detective Bill
Elliott is quoted as $Il)'ing the police
believe Tate was taying at 217 Lake.
----=---
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'Fi nancing Avai labl
o ams d t ms in . Negro minor I gues
Hornsby, one of b II's II' atest hitters,
•
I 926-69M I
ARCH 21 - 27,1984 THE CITIZEN PAGE FIVE
other of slain man faults
police pro actio
I want to know what kind of police who lived next to Richard went and got
e have in the city of Benton Harbor his shot gun and cocked it on � in the
that cannot op the crime when you middle of the street. So after that
tell them it's going to happen. happened, Richard's sister comes to
When you tell them mebody pulle d get Richard to spend the night with her
a gun on you twice right out in the public because she s scared for him. He
and threatened your life, they tell you pulled the shot gun again on Richard
to go sign complaint befor they can arid his sister. The police were called
do anythin bout it. to the scene again and still didn't do a.
Wh t' uppo to h ppen bet een thing about the man or the gun.
the time you have to . gn a complaint. So the next morning Richard goes to
The w y I e it, it's like thi "some- the police station to sign a complaint.
thing to happen b fore they can They told him to come back about 3:00
really do mething hen they could of p.m, During the time he aited to sign
prevented it from happening. • the complain t he goes in. the yard to
That' what h ppened Thursday talk with thi penon on the pro-
night before that Friday hen my n blem they �eI disputing abou t. He
Richard Bro n as ot and killed. pulled a gun, pointed it and pulled the
They ere called to 217 Lake Street trigger and shot Richard in the che .
after this guy had pulled a shot gun on It was a 38 caliver pistol.
him. They ld they couldn't do any- Catherine Brown
thing out it until Richard . ned a 180 Bellview Street
complaint the next day. The same night Benton Harbor
bout 20 minutes after that, the same
guy pulled the ot gun on him again.
The same police ere called and told
Richard he WI looking for trouble ..
when he. a just going home. The e:
cond time the gun wa pulle d on him
from one house down from here he
stayed,· (he tay at 233 Lake, one
house from wher the gun was pulled
on him).
It goe like this: Richard got into
an argument with these people at 217
Lake Street, an inlaw to the people
.,
denomination including the right major
Black organizati ns. The e in Jude the:
Afric n cthodist Episcopals ( E"
ati nal Baptist Convention U.S.A.�
ational Baptist of America' America n
Baptists: Black ethodist for Chur h
Renewal; ational Conference of Black
Churchmen; Christian ethodist EpiSCO­
pal; African ethodist Episcopal Zion;
ational Office of Blac Catholics;
ation of Islam � Coordinator of Black
Ministers of the Epi opal Church'
United oravian Church, and orld
Community of Al-Islam.
" ore money p sses through the
Black Churc h than any other Black
institution in the nation," said James E.
Hurt, Jr., publisher of Who's Who Among
c
rc
boro
WINSTO -SALEM, .C. - Critical
concerns about the current Greensboro
Klan/Nazi criminal trial were the catalyst
for a court visit earlier this month in
Winston-Salem by the Racial Justic e
Working Group of the ational Council
of Churches of Christ Divi 'on of Church
in Society.
"What is at take in Greensboro is
more than a Klan trial," explained loret­
ta Williams, Director of Social Respon i;
bility for the Unitarian Universalist
Associ tion.
Explained Williams, "The trial is
happening at crucial time in our history
as a nation, when many of our rights are
being eroded - right guaranteed in our
con titution - the right of freedom to
assemble, the right to organize for im­
provements in the community and' in
our work place ."
"The killing of five community
organizers, four of them active union
leaders, was captured indelibly in video
technology. It is ironic that in 1984
the nation's public is only now learning
from thi trial of the planned and or­
chestrated killing in 1979 of five people
working for change, targe'tted for their
multi-racial inroads in orth Carolina
factorie s."
The 'group also expre ed outrage st
the bastardization of 'Christianity" by
the Klan's and azie' symbolism of
blazing crosses with shooting rifles, to
intimidate people and promote terror.
"We see the cross as the symbol of
love and redemption, not as a symbol
of destruction and dehumanization"
expressed the Reverand Alfonso Roman,
chairperson of the Racial Justice Working
Group and minister of the United Church
•• • TMl SHOP THAT CARlS"
o LIVERY
SERVICE
COMIUlf
American nd or anizer
of the embly. begin to
channel the e fund for the bene It of
our member after years of talking about
it," the poke sman declared.
Hurt id he h s been in the .rroce
of organizing the embly for the p
five year in c operation ith members
of the variou religious denominations.
"We arranged for many of these religious
leaders to meet each other for the first
time and now they h ve started dialo­
gue of cooperation." Also, t Assembly
see s to upport th e long sta ding e orts
at ecumenical cooperation arte by
such organizations the ational Con­
gre of Blae Churche, Hurt added.
p
nt
a trial
of Christ, stated the Rev. Tyrone Pitts,
Director of Racial Ju tice of the ational .
Council of Churche of Christ "We
must continue our efforts for jusitce in
Greensboro becau e our Gospel mandate
is to do justice."
The presence of the Racial Ju tice
Working Group, which includes re­
presentatives of fourteen donominations,
i the re ult of the action of the ational
Council of Churc he 0 f Christ in th e
USA's Governing Board. In ovember of
1981 this body adopted a resolu tion
encouraging its memb communions to
"support civil rights action brought by
families and survivor of the victim of
Greensboro. "
The Council a1 co-sponsor d the
filing of an anicus curl e briet calling for
a special prosecutor i Greensboro.
The Racial Ju itce orking Group
will contin ue to monitor thi trial and the
sub quent civil trial and plans to work
with local churches to build community
support.
) I
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