“Obama cultivated clients like Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, the influential pastor of an 18,000-member black church and founding president of the Woodlawn Organization.”
The Woodlawn Organization was founded by radical Saul Alinsky
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Mr. Obama further expanded his list of allies by joining the boards of two well-known charities: the Woods Fund and the Joyce Foundation.
These memberships have allowed him to help direct tens of millions of dollars in grants over the years to groups that championed the environment, campaign finance reform, gun control and other causes supported by the liberal network he was cultivating. Mr. Brazier’s group, the Woodlawn Organization, received money, for instance, as did antipoverty groups with ties to organized labor like Chicago Acorn, whose endorsement Mr. Obama sought and won in his State Senate race.
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Some proponents were bused in by The Woodlawn Organization—founded by Leon Finney Jr., who sits on the Plan Commission.
Woodlawn Organization (T.W.O., later to become The Woodlawn Organization) began to lead a unified movement for self-determination in the community. Dr. Brazier was founding president of the organization.
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Georgette Greenlee-Finney, executive director of the Woodlawn Organization.
Greenlee-Finney’s the wife of the organization’s CEO and president, Leon Finney Jr. Finney, a big Daley ally, is a member of the Chicago Plan Commission
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Brazier’s group, the Woodlawn Organization, received money, for instance, as did antipoverty groups with ties to organized labor like Chicago Acorn, whose endorsement Obama sought and won in his State Senate race.
On the campaign trail, Obama hewed closely to liberal orthodoxy, positions that have become controversial in the presidential race. A candidate questionnaire from one liberal group, for instance, detailed his views on hot-button issues like the death penalty (opposed) and a ban on handguns (in favor).
Obama did legal work for ventures that included Rezmar Corp. The case of City of Chicago vs. Central Woodlawn Limited Partnership is one example. In 1992, that community group partnered with Rezmar Corp. to rehab the former slum apartment building at 6107-6115 S. Ellis Ave. As work was ongoing, city officials sued the developers, alleging 16 serious code violations at the property, including a dangerously dilapidated porch. Obama and a co-counsel filed appearances in February 1994, but the court records show they appeared on behalf of Central Woodlawn, Rezko’s non-profit partner
Obama Filed Incorporation Papers For The Non-Profits. The AP reported, “Attorneys there say Obama never represented Rezko directly. The future senator did represent community organizations that were Rezko partners in rehabilitating buildings to provide apartments for the poor…Judson Miner, a partner in the firm, said that Obama’s role was small. He said Obama did perhaps six or seven hours of work on such projects, mainly filing incorporation papers for the nonprofit groups.”
Dr. Arthur M. Brazier
Pastor
Apostolic Church of God
Bishop
Apostolic Church of God
Founding Chairman
Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp.
Headquarters Address:
6101 S. Evans
Chicago, IL 60637
USA
Founding Chairman
Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization
Founder and President
The Woodlawn Organization
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Bishop Arthur Brazier, pastor of the Apostolic Church of God, said the pastors felt they needed to let the public know that the black church supports Obama. “The black church was unfortunately brought into this, but the black church has nothing to do with this,” he said.
Brazier said many church members had expressed concern about the political effect of the Obama-Wright dispute. “Every African American I know is concerned. . . . We are concerned that this controversy arose at a most crucial time,” he said.
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Bishop Arthur Brazier, described as “a powerful ally of the mayor” by the Sun-Times, founded the Woodlawn Preservation Corp and the Fund for Community Redevelopment.
He is also the founding Chairman of The Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization which pools the resources of community and institutional leaders to rebuild both human infrastructure opportunities and physical conditions of residents in two communities — East Woodlawn and North Kenwood. In 1999, Bishop Brazier established educational program providing $100,000 in annual scholarships to African-American youth.