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Warren pastor organizes forum for MLK Day

011617..R MLK@YWCA 1,,,Warren...01-16-17... Josiah Johnson, 7, of Warren , a member of "Chess Is Life" organization practices his chess skills while attending the MLK forum at the Warren YWCA Monday afternoon...by R. Michael Semple

WARREN — A Warren pastor who organized a Martin Luther King Day community forum Monday at the YWCA said he thinks the black religious community could be diluting its power by congregating in separate buildings.

The Rev. Todd Johnson, pastor of Second Baptist Church, said there are 65 to 70 black churches in the Warren area.

“It seems like everyone is doing the same things and going after the same pool of money,” said the man who made an independent run for the Trumbull County commissioner job last fall. “A consolidation of some of these churches would increase our economic power.”

Johnson, who received about 5 percent of the vote in his write-in county-wide candidacy, said the rise in the number of black churches doesn’t make sense since the city of Warren’s population has dropped about 25,000 in the last several decades.

“The manner in which these churches had gotten started were circumstantial, that is man-made rather than God-made,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s comments occurred while he was moderating a panel discussion titled ”Real Talk” featuring several young-adult community leaders. The discussion was part of a two-hour forum held at the Warren YWCA, which drew about 100 people, including political leaders likeWarren Mayor Doug Franklin and county Commissioner Daniel J. Polivka.

The young pastor said the goal of the forum was to connect generations of leaders and community organizations, promote constructive dialogue and develop a strategic action plan for the black community.

De’Andre Bowers, who had organized a volunteer cleanup effort in Warren’s 5th Ward, said he sees a level of discouragement crop up among blacks when talk of community revitalization efforts are begun.

DeAudra Edgerson agreed.

“You can get apathetic when you see that your efforts are being shut down or not supported,” Edgerson said. “I try to fight this by focusing on my thought processes. I try to do something positive every day.”

LaShonda Allen, who started The Little Hoopers program geared towards children in grades K-3 that focuses on healthy living through the discovery of basketball, said the state of the black of community may be the lack of “understanding what your power is.” Allen said blacks need to focus on the things that unify them as a community.

Accountant Sandy Thomas said blacks locally need to “have a plan and not just a speech.”

“Our community is under attack and being destroyed,” Thomas said. “We need to change the way we spend our money. We need to work to build black businesses and store fronts together and then support them.”

Councilman Eddie Colbert, D-at large, said he has noticed a large amount of voter apathy among the black population. He said the voter also needs to be informed.

“You have to know where the money is coming from and where it is going,” Colbert said. “But you have to participate in the process. (Potential black voters) can never, ever stay home.”

The Rev. Ronald Fowlis, an 82-year-old former pastor, welcomed the input from the younger generation, but warned the younger generation not to totally discount all the ways of the past.

“Whether it is the old folk or the young folk, there is a common ground where we can meet,” Fowlis said.

Warren G. Harding High School principal Dante Capers said he noticed some of the student body becoming frustrated over the new state requirements coming down, including a requirement for a second year of algebra. Capers asked parents for their help.

“If you see your child reach this point of frustration, please have contact with teachers and ministers to open up the veins of dialogue,” Capers said in putting out a call to community leaders “to stand in the gap” as mentors and or tutors.

Among the educational challenges in Warren are a more transient society with a growing “lack of parental involvement and no strong income coming through,” Capers said.

He said it is difficult to keep young black teachers in the community as potential role models when opportunities abound with higher pay in the Columbus area and sunbelt states like North Carolina.

“It is difficult when they come out of college with $50,000 in student loan debt,” Capers said. “They need to get paid.”

Johnson said he appreciated the input, saying he had not seen young and old gather in a room to talk about these type of issues. He said he plans on another meeting next month with many forum participants “to hash out some options for taking action.”

gvogrin@tribtoday.com

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