Birmingham, Alabama: Putting People First

Mayor Randall Woodfin addressed faith leaders Thursday morning at the 54th Greater Birmingham Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast, praising attendees as innovators and pledging his full support to their ministries, no matter denomination.

Read the full transcript of his speech below:

Good morning. I want to thank the faith leaders and public officials that gathered here today in reverence of our nation’s Day of Prayer. It is truly an honor to be with you today for such an occasion.

As I look across the audience, a roomful of men and women of different ethnicities, races, and creeds — yet we are bonded by our shared belief in peace. And we are all united in our commitment to providing a voice of the voiceless and defending the rights of the less fortunate.

You see, historically, this National Day of Prayer dates back to President John Adams in 1798, however, the annual tradition of the Greater Birmingham Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast was established in 1964. And I assure you, Birmingham in the 1960s was in much need of prayer.

For America, Birmingham was the symbol of racial oppression. We were referred to as Bombing-ham and the Johannesburg of the South. And in the midst of the organized sit-ins and boycotts, Birmingham elected a mayor by the name of Albert Boutwell. You see, Mayor Boutwell was perceived by many as the opposite of the bigoted Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor and the rampant vitriol that was unfortunately all too common during the 1960s.

Mayor Boutwell was in need of prayer. And I humbly speak on behalf of the other mayors and the elected officials in this room when I declare that we also are in need of prayer, as well.

As I began to wrap my mind and my spirit around the significance of today, I often reflect on the lessons of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Prior to his assassination, Archbishop Romero made this timeless declaration: “A church that does not provoke any crisis, preach a gospel that does not unsettle, proclaim a word of God that does not get under anyone’s skin or a word of God that does not touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed: what kind of gospel is that?”

Given the historic role of the church in the movement for peace and equality, Romero’s words should resonate with you. Alabama has produced a long list of religious leaders like Ralph Abernathy, Joseph Lowery, and Fred Shuttlesworth. Each of these leaders possessed a willingness to provoke the crisis of Jim Crow and get under the skin of the status quo of the time.

But in 2018, for every religious faith leader in this room, now is our time. And Birmingham has it own crisis. But here’s where I am in my seat as the mayor. As members of the clergy, you represent our community.

The funerals of our young men and women take place at your churches. The grieving families are your members. The jobless, the underpaid, the underserved are members of your congregation. Many of your churches and mosques are located in food desserts surrounded by blighted homes and abandoned lots.

I believe wholeheartedly that as members of the faith community, you are the innovators. For generations, your churches, synagogues, temples, mosques — each of these holy places have served as incubators for social progress and economic justice for our community. And as mayor of Birmingham, you better believe that I will do everything in my power to ensure your places of worship will continue to serve in this important, sacred role.

But faith leaders I need your help. And I really need you to understand what I’m about to say. While the faith community and local government sit at the intersection of transformative change, tackling the problems of today requires a new model of engagement. A model where City Hall can look to the faith community for solutions. A model of engagement where a mayor like Albert Boutwell can follow the lead of 1960s faith leaders to a path where a vision for a city can stimulate change.

Before I close, I would like to highlight a group of clergy in New England referred to as the Boston Ten-Point Coalition. Founded in 1990, this group of Christian clergy and lay leaders worked to mobilize the community around issues affecting black and Latino youth. Issues very similar to what we are facing in our city today.

They established partnerships with nonprofits organizations, the government, and local corporations to create programs to fight gang violence and drug abuse aimed at troubled youth. After a few years, violent crime went down. Juvenile drug offenses decreased. And soon after, City Hall started paying attention. Boston Police Department also started paying attention. And together, with the City Council, Operation Ceasefire was created. And since its establishment, lessons learned from Operation Ceasefire have helped catapult new legislation that helped deter violent crime and gang violence at the very root.

What I submit to every faith leader in this room is that unfortunately violence has a grip on our community here in Birmingham. But what I love about what I just said about the Boston Ten-Point Coalition, every single thing I said about their solutions started at the church. Started with the church. Started with faith leaders.

I’m a born again Christian that grew up in the North Birmingham neighborhood. However, I don’t care if you are Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or Buddhist. If you are interested in advancing the everyday lives of families in Birmingham, you will have my full support.

I don’t care if your church has one member, 10 members, 100 members or 1,000, we have a community to serve. We have a community that is crying out, not for just prayer, not for just faith but real action to help our people.

Again, our programs call for a holistic approach. We all must work together and focus on our shared commitment to providing a voice to the voiceless and defending the rights of the less fortunate.

There are many things that make us different — gender, neighborhoods we grew up in. There are many things that divide us. Race, politics.

However, I will ask that faith leaders help elevate the conversation around faith leaders and the church wanting to serve all of communities.

My pastor taught me the importance of tolerance as a child and as an adult — and now community leader — tolerance of another person of faith is more important than ever. Let us move away from talking at each other and embrace talking to each other to better serve our community.