Los Angeles Wave: Ministers Vs. Maxine

The members of the venerable Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California are divided into two factions: One faction is mad as hell at Rep. Maxine Waters. The other faction is mad as @#$%^&*! at the congresswoman.

Why? Because the 400-member organization is outraged and deeply offended by protests Waters led against the ministers at two meetings they had scheduled Oct. 2 in the community with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Saying they were “violated” and “assaulted” by Waters’ protests — and her obvious message that they could only meet with the people she approves — the ministers convened Monday afternoon to vent their spleens about her demonstrations (and those of her attendant, 48th Assembly District candidate Mike Davis) and to plan action against her for leading a protest against them on the parking lot at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and for leading an earlier protest against another group of religious leaders who gathered earlier in the day at Dulan’s restaurant on Crenshaw Boulevard for a breakfast meeting with the governor.

Bishop L. Daniel Williams, president of the ministers’ conference, said he was en route to the Dulan’s meeting when he received calls on his cell phone from confused ministers and church members advising him that radio announcements were being aired stating that Waters was summoning community residents to Mt. Moriah, located on South Figueroa Street, to protest the governor’s meeting with the preachers.

Williams said he never made it to Dulan’s, but instead went to Mt. Moriah and, while traveling there, called the police about whatever was happening at the church.

“Yes, I called the LAPD,” Williams said. “I was shocked. I didn’t know what was transpiring. When I arrived at the church, I saw several personalities and I didn’t know why they were on the church property or what they intended to do. I told the police that the governor was expected at our meeting and I don’t know what’s going on outside,” Williams said.

Ministers arriving at Mt. Moriah for their organization’s weekly Monday morning meeting found Waters, Davis and a motley band of about 100 protesters milling about on the parking lot, carrying placards and yelling that the ministers were “selling out” to the governor, among other things.

At their “What-About-Maxine?” meeting Monday, Williams said several angry ministers reported seeing busloads of homeless, mentally ill and AIDS patients from a residential facility being dropped off at Mt. Moriah for the parking lot protest, at which Waters and Davis gave rally speeches denouncing the ministers’ meeting with the governor.

The Rev. William M. Campbell was one of those who attended the breakfast at Dulan’s with the governor, which was coordinated by the Rev. Joe B. Hardwick and a coalition of Northern California Baptist ministers and attended by a number of AME and Church of God in Christ pastors. Campbell said two or three ministers stood and expressed their support for the governor at the breakfast, “but the rest of us did not,” he said.

“I was there to make a face-to-face appeal for him to declare a health care state of emergency in South L.A. because of the King-Drew hospital situation, and everyone was making the case for increased resources for our underserved communities,” Campbell said. “Then we heard the voices of the protesters, calling us ‘sell-outs.’”

When the breakfast ended, the governor left and several ministers began ministering to the protesters. “We told them we were not ‘selling out,’ but were trying to get programs and resources to improve their lots,” Campbell said. “They told us they came to the protest because they were promised cigarettes and food.”

Williams said the governor did not come to Mt. Moriah from Dulan’s as planned because he and the police advised him not to. “I and the police told his people that it was unwise for him to show up at Mt. Moriah because of the riotous crowd on the parking lot. We didn’t know what they planned or what would happen,” Williams said.

Williams, a member of the more moderate faction of angry ministers, reiterated Monday the demand he made the day after the protests for a letter of apology from Waters to his conference, to the congregation of Mt. Moriah and its pastor, the Rev. Melvin Wade, “before we can continue the genial relationship we had with her in the past,” he said.

“It has to be a written apology so it can be disseminated to all the aggrieved congregations in unequivocal language — nothing verbal,” Williams said. “We don’t want these acts by the congresswoman to be a reflection of Rev. Ward’s ministry or a reflection of his church’s status in the community. After all, we work from the perspective of the betterment of our people, not on who can sway us.

“We don’t have to justify to the congresswoman or anyone else our meetings with anybody,” he added. “The congresswoman brought Phil Angelides to our meeting and we dialogued with him. We’ve had Steve Westly here. We do not endorse candidates, but we do discuss issues with them — all of them.

“I am very disappointed by the lack of professionalism of Maxine Waters and we will look at things in a different perspective as the result of it,” Williams said. “The Northern ministers were embarrassed by the congresswoman’s demonstrations against us and I’ve had to apologize to the governor for what happened here. His people expressed their understanding of the situation and we are working out arrangements to have the governor at one of our meetings before the election is held.”

The other, more militant ministers maintain that an apology is not enough. “There is much talk in the conference about mobilizing congregations and protesting against the congresswoman,” Williams said. (I actually heard ministers at the meeting Monday talk in terms of removing her from office and replacing her with one of their own.)

Speaking for the militants, the Rev. Norman Johnson addressed the ministers thus: “I require something stronger [than an apology]. I am not a child to be told who I may speak to and who I may not. We require a show of our righteous indignation to the events of last Monday, which was an affront to and attack on the clergy, which must say ‘no’ to compromises.

“I’m not worried about what politicians see in us,” Johnson added. “I’m worried about what my children see and what the community sees in terms of our leadership. I support a vigorous fight against all forces who seek to control and compromise us and our mission.”

I made three requests to Waters’ director of communications for a comment and/or an interview with the congresswoman about her protests, and I received no response. So I can only surmise a reason for Waters’ actions. I believe they had something to do with the fact that not only is she an avid supporter of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s rival, Phil Angelides, her daughter, Karen Waters, is employed as the Angelides campaign’s director of African-American outreach. How would the Waters family look in the eyes of Angelides and the Democratic party if black preachers in their hometown were openly and cordially meeting with their archenemy, Schwarzenegger? Hey, there’s nothing left to do but have a hissy fit and protest.

"“They told us they came to the protest because they were promised cigarettes and food.”

That's what they are promised if they vote for Democrats, too. Same ol', same ol' tactic.

Sounds awfully familiar - like how they come up with voters at their "massive" registration drives!

3 posted on 10/13/2006 6:55:56 PM PDT by cgk (I don't see myself as a conservative. I see myself as a religious, right-wing, wacko extremist.)

"At their “What-About-Maxine?” meeting Monday, Williams said several angry ministers reported seeing busloads of homeless, mentally ill and AIDS patients from a residential facility being dropped off at Mt. Moriah for the parking lot protest, at which Waters and Davis gave rally speeches denouncing the ministers’ meeting with the governor."

This is disgusting.

4 posted on 10/13/2006 6:56:40 PM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)

Practicing for election day.

Maxine Waters, trash personified. The only reason I can fathom for her continued reelection is the total stupidity of those that to vote for her.

Maxine Waters is disgusting. She is afraid blacks will leave the plantation . Afraid they may start thinking for themselves.

How would the Waters family look in the eyes of Angelides and the Democratic party if black preachers in their hometown were openly and cordially meeting with their archenemy, Schwarzenegger?

Wouldn't want helping people get in the way of politics, would they?

“I am very disappointed by the lack of professionalism of Maxine Waters and we will look at things in a different perspective as the result of it,” Williams said.

It's really too bad he didn't notice her lack of profesionalism much earlier, say 10 years earlier when she was visiting the home of one of the gang-banging hoodlums AFTER they famously tried to murder Reginald Denny.

I think I'll forward this article to Bishop Williams:

Malkin: The Party of Maxine Waters

10 posted on 10/13/2006 7:08:49 PM PDT by cgk (I don't see myself as a conservative. I see myself as a religious, right-wing, wacko extremist.)

Non-story...they'll get over it by election day.

The ministers are supposed to stay on the reservation and only obey the appointed leaders. After reading this article it is a wonder any blacks vote for a GOP candidate.

Hopefully people will wise up and vote for me.

--
Your Friend in Liberty,

Paul T. Ireland
Libertarian Congressional Candidate
California - District 35
paul@electpaulireland.com

http://www.electpaulireland.com

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