Tuesday, September 07, 1999
Health, housing head list of Baptists' concerns
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Although the number of new AIDS cases is falling nationally, black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to develop — and die from — AIDS, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Infant mortality is twice as high for blacks than whites. The longevity gap between whites and blacks is widening. And housing conditions for blacks are worse than ever, as white flight leaves inner cities predominantly black and poor — and full of substandard housing.
Those trends disturb E. Edward Jones, president of one of the nation's largest black religious groups. The National Baptist Convention of America Inc. represents 2.5 million people from 5,000 churches.
About 10,000 of the group's members will be in Cincinnati this week for the convention's 119th Annual Session, a four-day conference that starts today. The Rev. Mr. Jones plans to proclaim health and housing as the convention's primary missions as members move toward the new millennium.
Black ministers — already regarded as leaders in their communities — must use their pulpits to push for change, the Rev. Mr. Jones said.
“The black church is where leadership is looked for and given. Many of our social changes and educational changes have taken place in the black church,” said the Rev. Mr. Jones, who has headed the convention for 14 years and a Shreveport, La., church for 40 years. “Ministers are trumpeters for the message of change. Housing and health are two areas where the black community is most hurting.”
Specifically, ministers must raise awareness about health and housing needs and help link the black community with financial relief, such as governmental aid programs and community development block grants, the Rev. Mr. Jones said. Too many black citizens don't know how to access adequate health care and housing, he said.
Ministers also must encourage their communities to effect change through voting and activism. Churches should partner with the community — or encourage residents to partner with businesses or community groups — to alleviate problems, the Rev. Mr. Jones said.
The Rev. Calvin Harper, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Walnut Hills, said his church already has heeded that advice.
Concerned about dismally low achievement among many Cincinnati Public Schools students, the church decided to start its own school. The Ohio Department of Education last spring approved the church's plans to open a community school. The James Cecil Wynn Center for Excellence is scheduled to open in fall 2000.
The National Baptist Convention of America Inc. is not the same organization as the National Baptist Convention USA, whose leader, the Rev. Henry Lyons, stepped down in March after swindling more than $4 million from the group.
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