By S. Rotan Hale
Imagine a gathering of individuals, let’s say around fifty and they’re all assembled with the express purpose to brainstorm through dialogue on critical issues regarding justice as it pertains to the uplift of community and life itself. This was the case Saturday, May 18 as Roanoke Justice Ministries (RJM) hosted their Rethinking Justice Workshop held at Williams Memorial Baptist Church in northwest where Rev. Dr. David Jones is pastor.
Facilitating the 3-hour session was Rev. Jones, RJM president, joined by the group’s volunteer organizer Ray Higgins, Aidan Workman, IMACT member from Charlottesville and Rev. Vernie Bolden, pastor Fifth Ave. Presbyterian Church in northwest.
With sister projects in both Charlottesville and Richmond, the group states it’s mission as a “faith-based community organization working with about 20 congregations in the Roanoke Valley to bring an end to poverty and racism.” Nonetheless this conscientious group with their high-minded mission kicked of it’s official launch with a comprehensive focus on the issue of justice.
Known for his dynamic discourse, Rev. Jones opened the seminar discussing certain biblical scripture (i.e. Deuteronomy, Ezekiel and Matthew) as it relates to justice and urged a broader and more just and broad-based approach to biblical application and understanding.
“While we tend to read the bible in terms of what it says to us as individuals there is also a need to read the bible in terms of what it says to us collectively as a people. We need to expand the way we read the Bible because God did not call us just to be individual Christians,” he said while suggesting a more communal approach.
Among the issues discussed throughout his in-depth presentation, Rev. Jones referred to religion, politics and economics as the three basic systems that shape our values and our world view and broke down the many ways they effect justice itself.
Each presentation was backed by a series of onscreen powerpoint images. Aidan Workman, lead organizer with IMACT out of Charlottesville spoke on individual and community values and how they relate to justice.
His talk revealed a host of startling facts on mass incarceration, education, drug addiction, mental health, housing and how Virginia rates nationally regarding the averages.
“If Virginia was a country it would have the highest incarceration rate in the entire world,” Workman said. He reported several other dismal statistics relative to the state’s standing as Virginia having the lowest number of mental healthcare workers per capita nationwide and an addiction rate that doubles the national level.
Workman pointed to such grim statistics as the result of decisions made by those in power devoid of justice armed with their belief that “wealth is more important than human lives.”
“Justice should be part of all of our faiths and especially if you are a practicing Christian, justice is a core and central part of your faith,” said Workman. Continuing his fact-based presentation he also praised the universal and timeless tenet to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which is a staple of many of the world’s organized faiths and is unequivocally the crowning principle of justice.
“There are a lot of good things in Roanoke but also in Roanoke we have urban renewal, separation and division here in Roanoke,” Rev. Vernie Bolden passionately stated during his very energized presentation. “Poverty is in Roanoke and Lord knows there’s gun violence in Roanoke.”
Backed by a screen showing a list of poverty statistics Bolden launched a thorough attack on a host of critical issues plaguing areas that are in dire need off attention and elaborated extensively on various conditions surrounding each problematic element.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022, 19% of the population in Roanoke City lives in poverty,” he quoted and based the average against the state rate at only 10%.
His report showed disparities as Roanoke’s per capita income at $33,000 contrasted against the state’s $47,000 and the median household income of $51,500 against the state’s $87,250.
His talk went on outline deep disparities in various other areas as healthcare (the lack of) and housing. One of the more disturbing facts showed post pandemic Roanoke as experiencing a 54% increase in its unhoused population due to unaffordable housing with many residents paying $1,200 to $1,500 and up for a two-bedroom apartment… and the list goes on.
Reporting on racism he referred to a Virginia Tech study that showed Roanoke as the most segregated city in Virginia and pointed to the city systems in power with built-in racism. He referred to urban renewal as – “negro removal that decimated communities.”
“You can’t build balanced wealth this way. If you have isolated and decimated communities stripped of their opportunities to build wealth that is a trickle down situation,” he said emphatically.
Bolden’s dynamic presentation provided the perfect crescendo to this most informative and engaging gathering of energized and knowledgeable facilitators charged with empowering the people through this powerful and enlightening justice workshop.
