SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY

Google defines Social Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges. within a society. “If a man doesn’t have a job or an income, he has neither life, nor liberty or the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Poor People’s Campaign)

The First Baptist Church of Highland Park’s Social Justice Ministry is committed to following the example of Christ as we engage the church and the surrounding community in identifying and eliminating systemic and systematic injustices that impact our lives. It is our effort to collaborate with community action organizations to answer the call for justice – in all “nine areas of people activity: economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war.” ~ Neely Fuller, author.

The Social Justice Ministry (SJM) was initiated in May 2019 to expand the efforts of its predecessor, the Social Action Committee. The Social Action Committee members continue to support the SJM to ensure that intellectual capital as well as community connections and relationships remain viable and accessible to new and expanded ministry efforts.

In addition to community and grassroots organizations, the SJM includes representatives from church Outreach Ministries. We believe Outreach Ministry workers — at FBHP and sister churches — hear and carry the personal experiences of injustice shared by the people to whom they minister. Analysis of these experiences reveal the institutions/individuals inflicting the injustice and who, therefore, will (through our effort) be engaged to reconcile differences and eliminate such injustice. In this way the SJM works to engage the passion and energy of the oppressed in the eradication of the injustices within their communities.

IFOCUS: Active Engagement Toward the Passage of H.R. 1, For the People Act

We will engage partner organizations to mobilize our community to demand the passage of H.R. 1, For the People Act. This bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government. Specifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access and limits removing voters from voter rolls. Click the link for details. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr1/summary

Our 2020 community engagement centered around census responsiveness, voter education, voter information dissemination, and registration. Activities included a community-wide call to census reporting, voter registration drives, and a celebration of the 57th March On Washington to include virtual forums with notable activists, professors, pastors, politicians, grassroots organization leaders, and media personalities. These efforts were facilitated to effectively
engage the community in identifying and discussing not only the injustices experienced but ways to participate in efforts to address/eliminate them.

In addition to the iFOCUS initiative, the SJM is seeking to engage the community, local schools, local leaders and sister churches to identify immediate areas of need that can be eradicated by resources and assistance from the local churches. The SJM seeks to collaborate with Outreach Ministries to readily identify, address and possibly eliminate specific needs within the surrounding community to include information and resources for employment, mental illness & substance abuse, food insecurities, housing, utility assistance, COVID-19, etc.

Luke 4:18-19 (NLT)

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.”

Equitable Access & Equal Rights for All.

For more information regarding the Social Justice Ministry, please contact the Administrative Office at (301) 773-6655.

E-mail: soci-just-ministry@fbhp.org

Officers, Subcommittees and Chairpersons
Rev. Dr. Rachel Boyd		Social Justice Minister and President/Programs Chair
Mrs. Audrey B. Chase, M.S.W.		Vice President/Communications Chair
Mrs. Anetha Christmas, J.D.		Secretary/Social Media Subcommittee
Mr. Lavon Harper		Secretary/Virtual Platform Sub-Committee
Mrs. Cheryl Crawford		Treasurer
Ms. Sidonie Becton, J.D.		Social Media Subcommittee/The Plug Representative
Mrs. Veronica Jacobs		Virtual Platform Sub-Committee

4th Thursday via Zoom at 7:00 pm

 

Color of Change
https://colorofchange.org

Know Your Rights Camp
https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com

Legal Defense Fund
https://www.naacpldf.org

NAACP
https://naacp.org

 

National Coalition of Black Civic Participation
http://ncbcp.org

Poor People’s  Campaign: A Nat’l Call for Moral Revival
https://www.poorpeoplecampaign.org

The Advancement Project
https://advancementproject.org