Clergy to city: Fund our programs to fight violence, or else
Group wants $25 million or says it will slow stadium work
About 50 mostly black ministers threatened Wednesday to slow work on the new Colts stadium unless the city pledges $25 million a year for community-based anti-violence programs.
The message: A group of ministers, who say they represent congregations with an estimated 30,000 members, said Indianapolis officials are more interested in property than people. "The city seems enamored with bricks and mortar," the Rev. T. Garrott Benjamin (center) said. - MIKE FENDER / The Star
The ministers said they were frustrated that Mayor Bart Peterson has so far declined to commit to their plan to pour money into programs run by the faith community.
Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin of The Light of the World Christian Church said the group wants to work with the Peterson administration to help stop crime. But he criticized the city for supporting a $1 billion project for a new stadium and expanded Indiana Convention Center while not finding a fraction of that amount to invest in its citizens.
"The city seems enamored with bricks and mortar," Benjamin said. "We love our city and our Colts, and we're excited about the new stadium, but it becomes for us a symbol of our oppression."
The ministers submitted a plan to the mayor Wednesday. The plan suggested five "impact" groups: youth programs, job training, family services, gun violence and substance abuse programs. But it appeared to be more of a framework for managing spending rather than a detailed budget.
In response, city officials said they want to see a more specific spending plan from the ministers. They also want to wait until a blue-ribbon panel that Peterson convened issues its recommendations in December.
Peterson has worked closely with the ministers' group so far, joining them for peace walks and other activities to push community ties.
Their action Wednesday -- a closed-door meeting with the mayor, followed by a news conference without Peterson and in which they announced their plan -- signaled a chill in that relationship that could pose a public relations challenge for the mayor.
The ministers' campaign comes as early jail releases, a rise in crime and a slew of homicides this year have drawn attention to the need for greater crime-fighting resources. Last month, the City-County Council passed a $1.1 billion budget that calls for $36 million in new anti-crime initiatives.
But Benjamin said the city has focused more on property than people.
The ministers, who said they represent congregations with an estimated 30,000 members, said their coalition offered a "watershed moment" to stop the violence that rocked Indianapolis this summer.
The ministers first met with Peterson in August to encourage the administration to work more on treating the underlying causes of crime rather than its symptoms. The group did not give a timetable for action but told the mayor that a protest of the stadium was a possibility.
"If we don't get a positive response, we will get our people to demonstrate our commitment," Benjamin said.
He and the other ministers declined to state how else they might slow down work on the stadium.
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell called the ministers' outline of five focus areas for faith-based initiatives a good start. He said the mayor's public-safety panel should incorporate violence prevention programs into its study of jail crowding, crime and pension funding problems.
But Campbell disagreed with the idea of singling out the stadium as a symbol of misplaced priorities.
"We are confident the stadium and Convention Center (are) already producing jobs and will create permanent jobs down the road," Campbell said. "Protesting the stadium is protesting those jobs."
The city estimates the Convention Center expansion, stadium and the spin-off growth in the hotel and tourism industry will create more than 4,000 permanent jobs. Campbell said a lot of those jobs, including high-paid managerial positions, have gone to black workers and companies.
"I would be hopeful that attempts to slow down the project don't materialize," said David Frick, chairman of the state's Stadium and Convention Building Authority. "We're on a very tight schedule, and disruptions call into question the completion date."
Monroe Gray, the president of the City-County Council, said anyone familiar with the city's budget, passed in September, would know how little money is available.
"I'm on the front end of the idea that we need prevention, but I'm not committed to $25 million," Gray said. "I wouldn't consider participation in a protest against the stadium."
Gray said he supports the ministers but wants them to be realistic about city resources.
Charles Ellis, pastor of Twenty-Fifth Street Baptist Church, said the faith community is already doing its share by running a number of prevention programs.
"We didn't just put it all on him (the mayor)," Ellis said. "We have programs with a track record. We just need more size to get more results."
Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church, said the meeting with the mayor grew somewhat tense because Peterson seemed reluctant to accept the ministers' proposal.
William Shrewsberry, a former deputy mayor and businessman who co-chairs the panel, said the group has split into subcommittees to look at causes, available resources and solutions that have worked elsewhere.
He said its report in December will include recommendations about faith-based prevention program
MOSTLY Black? You see any white guys in this photo?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/LOCAL/610190467/1006
Group wants $25 million or says it will slow stadium work
About 50 mostly black ministers threatened Wednesday to slow work on the new Colts stadium unless the city pledges $25 million a year for community-based anti-violence programs.
The message: A group of ministers, who say they represent congregations with an estimated 30,000 members, said Indianapolis officials are more interested in property than people. "The city seems enamored with bricks and mortar," the Rev. T. Garrott Benjamin (center) said. - MIKE FENDER / The Star
The ministers said they were frustrated that Mayor Bart Peterson has so far declined to commit to their plan to pour money into programs run by the faith community.
Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin of The Light of the World Christian Church said the group wants to work with the Peterson administration to help stop crime. But he criticized the city for supporting a $1 billion project for a new stadium and expanded Indiana Convention Center while not finding a fraction of that amount to invest in its citizens.
"The city seems enamored with bricks and mortar," Benjamin said. "We love our city and our Colts, and we're excited about the new stadium, but it becomes for us a symbol of our oppression."
The ministers submitted a plan to the mayor Wednesday. The plan suggested five "impact" groups: youth programs, job training, family services, gun violence and substance abuse programs. But it appeared to be more of a framework for managing spending rather than a detailed budget.
In response, city officials said they want to see a more specific spending plan from the ministers. They also want to wait until a blue-ribbon panel that Peterson convened issues its recommendations in December.
Peterson has worked closely with the ministers' group so far, joining them for peace walks and other activities to push community ties.
Their action Wednesday -- a closed-door meeting with the mayor, followed by a news conference without Peterson and in which they announced their plan -- signaled a chill in that relationship that could pose a public relations challenge for the mayor.
The ministers' campaign comes as early jail releases, a rise in crime and a slew of homicides this year have drawn attention to the need for greater crime-fighting resources. Last month, the City-County Council passed a $1.1 billion budget that calls for $36 million in new anti-crime initiatives.
But Benjamin said the city has focused more on property than people.
The ministers, who said they represent congregations with an estimated 30,000 members, said their coalition offered a "watershed moment" to stop the violence that rocked Indianapolis this summer.
The ministers first met with Peterson in August to encourage the administration to work more on treating the underlying causes of crime rather than its symptoms. The group did not give a timetable for action but told the mayor that a protest of the stadium was a possibility.
"If we don't get a positive response, we will get our people to demonstrate our commitment," Benjamin said.
He and the other ministers declined to state how else they might slow down work on the stadium.
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell called the ministers' outline of five focus areas for faith-based initiatives a good start. He said the mayor's public-safety panel should incorporate violence prevention programs into its study of jail crowding, crime and pension funding problems.
But Campbell disagreed with the idea of singling out the stadium as a symbol of misplaced priorities.
"We are confident the stadium and Convention Center (are) already producing jobs and will create permanent jobs down the road," Campbell said. "Protesting the stadium is protesting those jobs."
The city estimates the Convention Center expansion, stadium and the spin-off growth in the hotel and tourism industry will create more than 4,000 permanent jobs. Campbell said a lot of those jobs, including high-paid managerial positions, have gone to black workers and companies.
"I would be hopeful that attempts to slow down the project don't materialize," said David Frick, chairman of the state's Stadium and Convention Building Authority. "We're on a very tight schedule, and disruptions call into question the completion date."
Monroe Gray, the president of the City-County Council, said anyone familiar with the city's budget, passed in September, would know how little money is available.
"I'm on the front end of the idea that we need prevention, but I'm not committed to $25 million," Gray said. "I wouldn't consider participation in a protest against the stadium."
Gray said he supports the ministers but wants them to be realistic about city resources.
Charles Ellis, pastor of Twenty-Fifth Street Baptist Church, said the faith community is already doing its share by running a number of prevention programs.
"We didn't just put it all on him (the mayor)," Ellis said. "We have programs with a track record. We just need more size to get more results."
Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church, said the meeting with the mayor grew somewhat tense because Peterson seemed reluctant to accept the ministers' proposal.
William Shrewsberry, a former deputy mayor and businessman who co-chairs the panel, said the group has split into subcommittees to look at causes, available resources and solutions that have worked elsewhere.
He said its report in December will include recommendations about faith-based prevention program
MOSTLY Black? You see any white guys in this photo?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/LOCAL/610190467/1006
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