Community carries on MLK's legacy of social justice reform at forum [photos]

At the Eastdale Village Community Church Thursday night, 
Westside Baptist Pastor Timothy Careathers encouraged attendees to not just to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's  legacy by quoting speeches, but continue his work for social justice. Careathers and others spoke to nearly 150 people at the community forum at the church on Tunnel Blvd.
At the Eastdale Village Community Church Thursday night, Westside Baptist Pastor Timothy Careathers encouraged attendees to not just to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy by quoting speeches, but continue his work for social justice. Careathers and others spoke to nearly 150 people at the community forum at the church on Tunnel Blvd.

Westside Baptist Church Pastor Timothy Careathers told the more than 150 people in attendance at a community forum Thursday evening to not only celebrate the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life by quoting his speeches, but by continuing his work for social justice.

"We are here tonight because hard working people working full-time hours cannot afford a place to live. We are here because being Gig City and having fast internet don't fix leaking roofs," Careathers said as the crowd applauded.

The community forum held Thursday at Eastdale Village Community United Methodist Church was the second in the Unity Group of Chattanooga's week-long celebration of the civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Nationally known author and businessman Claud Anderson, president of PowerNomics Corporation of America, is scheduled to speak tonight at 7 p.m. about economically empowering the black community. The event, co-sponsored by Chattanooga Sankofa, will be at New Monumental Baptist Church at 901 Woodmore Lane. Tickets are $10.

On Thursday night, local Nation of Islam leader Kevin Muhammad moderated a panel discussion gathering input from the audience about getting elected officials to represent them on issues such as housing, development and economic development.

Panelists including Khristy Wilkerson, who ran against state Sen. Todd Gardenhire for his Senate District 10 seat, Concerned Citizens for Justice organizer Ash-Lee Henderson and Jermaine Harper, chairman and CEO of Everything Urban, gave opinions about the issues, and the people in the audience held green cards to agree with the statements, red to disagree and yellow if they were cautious or uncertain about what the speakers were saying.

Other panelists included the Rev. Charlotte Williams, pastor of Eastdale Village Community United Methodist Church, and Michael Gilliland, board chairman for the social justice group Chattanooga Organized for Action.

Aside from about three or four people sitting near the front of the church, most people held up green cards agreeing with panelist Helen Burns Sharp, founder of Accountability for Taxpayer Money, when she said laws need to be in place for companies that receive tax breaks for promising new jobs, but the public doesn't know if anyone monitors to see if the companies meet their commitments for jobs.

"Because of these tax breaks, our city and county did not collect more than $15 million dollars last year," she said.

She also suggested forming a task force to examine if another form of government would serve the city better, such as having a city manager.

Henderson taught about how a lot of the city budget went toward law enforcement and how the money could have been more helpful to the community if it was spent in other areas.

Muhammad thanked the crowd for participating in a process to let elected officials know what is needed in their communities.

"The message we want to make sure gets out is that the people actually have input into what they believe an agenda should look like," Muhammad said. "This whole thing is driven by the people and not driven by elected officials."

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at 423-757-6431 or yputman@timesfreepress.com.

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