CAMDEN — The second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Community Organizing attracted more than 80 people on Jan. 17 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. to a workshop at St. Anthony of Padua Church, sponsored by Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP).
“There were many groups around the nation holding a day of service to commemorate Dr. King’s birthday,” said Father Jud Weiksnar, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua, “but we were the only place in the country to hold a day of Community Organizing.”
Father Weiksnar said those in attendance included community organizers, college students, immigrants, students from St. Anthony School, parishioners, and clergy from all around Camden.
Marion Jones, CCOP co-chairwoman, said the workshops looked at the man and what he did to get his ideas across and how he influenced people.
According to Father Weiksnar, the main point of the day of community organizing was that “community service is a good thing, but if it is the first thing that we associate with Martin Luther King, then we are doing his legacy a grave disservice.”
“Younger generations especially,” the pastor continued, “might think of King only in terms of getting a day off from school to volunteer at a soup kitchen, and never know of King’s message of radical nonviolence, and his challenging of unjust structures.”
Churches respond to layoffs
On Dec. 4 CCOP held a press conference on the steps of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral asking the governor, Mayor Dana Redd, and the municipal unions to show leadership during the city’s financial crisis and to avoid the layoffs of the police and firefighters.
At 1:30 p.m., near the end of the MLK workshop, a press conference was held on the steps of St. Anthony of Padua Church, mirroring one that was held on Dec. 4 in front of Immaculate Conception Church when the governor, Mayor Dana Redd, and the municipal unions were asked to show leadership during the city’s financial crisis to avoid the layoffs of the police and firefighters.
Marion Jones said at the time that she wanted the governor “to sit down with the mayor and with the unions to discuss public safety and how it applies to the people of Camden. We cannot put Camden and its people in jeopardy.”
But the layoffs went through and nearly half of the police department and more than 60 firefighters and some 100 non-uniform employees were laid-off to help plug a hole in the city budget.
“We still need to talk to the mayor and the governor,” said Jones after the lay-offs were carried out. “Nobody seems to be thinking about us with this triangle of the union, administration, and the people. Are we, the people of Camden, expendable because we’re poor? It looks that way.”
“Our position is that the people of Camden need to be assured of adequate public services and public safety,” Father Weiksnar said, “and that the city, state, and public employee unions have had plenty of time to come up with a plan that will protect the people of Camden, which is already the poorest and second most dangerous city in the nation. While Martin Luther King fought for our civil rights, Camden is still beset by civil wrongs.”
Jones said she felt that if there is a plan to lay-off a good percentage of the public safety personnel in the city then what is the backup plan?
“There’s supposed to be a plan,” she said. “What is it? If you cut police and fire you have to have a Plan B. Will there be other law enforcement agencies coming into the city?”
Rosa Ramirez, a former chairwoman of the CCOP, said people pulled together to tell city and state officials that Camden was in a crisis.
“Officials are going to have to come up with something to help this city,” she said. “We are scared. If you live and/or work in Camden you have a right to be scared. We don’t know what’s going on with our police and fire departments. We are the second most dangerous city in the country yet the moves our city officials are making don’t make sense. We have to come up with a plan. We haven’t given up yet because we need a plan. We have to find ways to improve our city. We need a plan to improve the city. There’s still hope for it.”
Jones said a meeting must be held with the governor and the mayor to discuss other issues, besides public safety. She wants to know how funds can be generated for the city.
“We were under state control at one time,” she said. “But we have nothing to show for it. You’d think things would be better for us if the state was running us at one time. And don’t forget those arrested in drug busts, for example, are not from the city. The majority of the poor in Camden are not from Camden.”
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