Pastor Corey Brooks and Project Hood
 |
| Pastor Corey Brooks and Family |
I first heard about Pastor Brooks before the Trayvon Martin affair. He was known at the time, as "The Rooftop Pastor" because he had decided that, in order to bring attention to the senseless loss of life among the young people of his neighborhod and others he would camp on the rooftop of a South Side Chicago motel. Pastor Brooks had vowed to remain on the roof until he raised $450,000, the amount needed to buy and tear down the building, which he says has become a magnet for drugs, prostitution, and violence. I followed his endeavour with interest and he finally came down after 94 days, after having received a donation of $100,000 from actor-producer Tyler Perry which put him beyond his goal. It wasn't just Perry though, he had also gotten donations of dollar, $5, $10, $100 and $1,000 and he sincerely thanked all who answered the call for assistance in his quest to eliminate gun violence which is epidemic in Chicago.
As amazing as this story sounds it doesn't stop there. Having torn down the motel Pastor Brooks still lacked the 15 million dollars needed to build a youth center on the site of the motel. To make a long story short, soon the word began to spread that "The Rooftop Pastor" was going to walk across the United States from New York City to Los Angeles in order to raise money and at the same time bring attention to the gun violence that is occurring all across the nation. I find it unfortunate that the mass media which appears to be so interested in the abolition of gun violence today, didnt find the story of Pastor Brooks walk across the nation, which he completed after 130 days of walking, worthy of their time. What about all these folks now crying for gun control, very few of these voices were heard when Pastor Brooks was walking across America. Who knows how things might have gone if they had glorfied this persons intent to try defeat the violence. Perhaps more would have been influenced to make an attempt to improve things or at least to help the good pastor towards his goal. People are all too content to stand by and do nothing, not even comming to the aid of those who are engaged in the struggle. Then when something goes the way it had to under the circumstances they scream for the government to take charge and force things to change. They want to find a scapegoat for their own lack of action, never thinking that any direct government solution will be the equivolent of using a blunt object to get rid of a headache. No people, this is our problem and we have to get together to work out our own solutions. Then tell the government what we've come up with using rational deduction rather than media frenzy inspired quick fixes.
Look at Pastor Brooks for example, here's someone who's been working to solve the problem in his own way. Maybe there is something we can glean from this man's experience that holds a key to bringing this violence under control or at least reducing it's occurrence. See Project Hood if you're interested in Pastor Brooks' brand of meaningful action.
Update January 10, 2013 BlackCelebrityGiving.com Awards Vote.
We can vote once every day on twitter and once on facebook
I believe, vote until January 18th.
Advocate for Nonviolence and Community Empowerment - A Pastor, businessman, philanthropist, mentor and visionary, Pastor Corey B Brooks Sr. founded New Beginnings Church of Chicago, as an urban ministry. He took a personal mission to combat the crime and constant violence in our communities. Chicago may reach 500 murders in 2012 and too often people are silent, but Pastor Brooks is about action. He camped out on a rooftop for months to raise money for a community center, he walked all the way across the country coast to coast and has been recognized for his work by Steve Harvey and Tyler Perry. I believe without a doubt that Pastor Brooks is the BCG Change-Maker of the Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment