In partnership with The City of Dallas, Abounding Prosperity, Inc. hosted a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony in honor of the late, Ms. Irene H. Trigg-Myers, one of the founders of Abounding Prosperity, Inc., where the 1.2 acre Kimble Park will be renamed in her honor for her contributions to the Southern Dallas community. Commissioned by the City of Dallas as part of its effort to redress greenspace disparities and revitalize historically underserved neighborhoods. Dignitaries from the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department, the Dallas Police Department Community Liaison, and other city officials will be in attendance to mark the celebration.
State Representative Venton Jones issued a resolution from the Texas House of Representatives, while Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson issued a proclamation to honor this special occasion. During the dedication and ribbon-cutting, park renderings of the “Irene H. Trigg-Myers Prosperity Park,” were unveiled, memorializing Ms. Trigg-Myers’ efforts to introduce the future of the park by recreating its landscape, beauty and purpose. The highlight of the event was feature performances by world-renowned gospel artists Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Tramaine Hawkins. Armstrong.
Ms. Trigg-Myers was a local community activist who had a passion for assisting families in their transition from subsidized housing to self-sufficiency. During her career as a property manager, she became an advocate for fair, safe and sanitary housing practices for families in need throughout Dallas County and nationally. Her work ethic earned her numerous accolades and stellar reviews from the Housing and Urban Development Board (HUD). Her advocacy work led her to lobby for change for low-income and affordable housing and property beautification on many levels.
Renaming the park underpins this legacy Irene H. Trigg-Myers cofounded Abounding Prosperity, which is just a few miles from the park, on the very principles and morals that made her successful throughout her life; selfless vision and dedication to community. Abounding Prosperity Inc., a nonprofit organization, was founded to respond to social and health disparities devastating communities of color in Dallas County.
Friendship-West Baptist Church garners support from celebrities and foundations including Will and Jada Smith, The Schultz Family, Shaunie O’Neal, and Beto O’Rourke to continue to serve Texans following the snowstorm
The Social Justice Megachurch Has Received Support from some Celebrities and Foundations Including Will and Jada Smith, The Schultz Family, Shaunie O’Neal, and Beto O’Rourke to Continue to Serve Texans
When the recent winter storms that ravaged across the state of Texas left thousands of North Texas without power, limited access to food and water, and severely damaged homes, Friendship-West Baptist Church, led by social justice activist and senior pastor, Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, immediately jumped into action to provide imperative emergency resources. Through partnerships with companies like HelloFresh, Grand Husky Logistics, L’Moore’s Catering, LLC, Record’s BBQ, RJ’s BBQ, A Fresh Approach Catering, Oh Taste and See Catering, Sista Bay B’s Seafood Kitchen, and Gourmet Royale, from last Saturday, February 20 through Saturday, February 27, 2021, Friendship-West provided free food boxes with fresh groceries, as well as hot meals and bottled water to individuals and families. The hot meals were especially important as many Dallas-Ft. Worth families are still without power and access to clean water. In just over a week, Friendship-West has provided meals for more than 10,000 families as well as 3,270 cases of water or 104,640 bottles.
In addition to the food and water provided, Friendship-West is working to provide continued wrap-around services to be an inclusive provider for various needs of families still trying to restore after the winter storms. They have also received support to advance their relief efforts from celebrities and foundations around the country including Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, The Schulz Family Foundation (owners of Starbuck’s), Shaunie O’Neal, Beto O’Rourke Powered by the People Foundation, and many others.
Pastor, Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III waves cars on during meal and water distribution at the Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas
Pallets of water are delivered to Friendship West Baptist Church
Dr. Haynes converses with residents during food distribution at Friendship West Baptist Church
FRIENDSHIP-WEST BAPTIST CHURCH FEEDS MORE THAN 10,000 FAMILIES AND DEDICATES NEARLY $400,000 TO EXPAND FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND WRAP-AROUND SERVICES FOR NORTH TEXANS FOLLOWING SNOWSTORM AND MASS POWER OUTAGES
DIRECTORY OF PROFESSIONAL COMPANIES AND CONTRACTORS:
In an effort to protect people from falling victim to contractors who prey on citizens during crisis, Friendship-West Baptist Church is also building a directory of professional companies and independent contractors to assist North Texans in repairing their homes, businesses and other property damage due to the winter storms. Companies and contractors interestedin being considered for inclusion in this directory of professional partners can use the link below to registers. https://form.jotform.com/210488715803054
Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III, social justice advocate and senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dr. George Mason, senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, and Mayor London Breed, the first African American woman to become mayor of San Francisco, are joining together to host a national “Teach-In” in celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 4th Annual King Teach-In will be held virtually on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at 11 a.m. CST. The event will be streamed live on Friendship-West’s online platforms including the church website, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The 4th Annual King Teach-In will be a transgenerational conversation to reclaim the identity, ministry, and witness of Dr. King and offer actionable ways for Americans to engage in the social justice movement and creation of public policy. The purpose is to reorient and reclaim the essence of who Dr. King was and what undergirded his public ministry. This year the theme is MLK: Theology, Policy, and Protest. The event will also include a youth and young adult panel. Known nationally as “the drum major for justice,” Dr. Frederick Haynes, III, modeled his ministry like Dr. King’s on the intersections of faith and justice.
Dr. Haynes works diligently to stand up for justice and to create positive change, nationally, and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth community. In Southern Dallas, which lacks many resources for its residents, his vision is for a “new” Dallas where housing, gainful employment, fresh produce, clean air, safe neighborhoods, quality healthcare and access to sustainable resources, are available for all Dallas residents.
Dr. George Mason is an advocate for community work beyond the pulpit and is a frequent op-ed contributor to media outlets on subjects of public interest that intersect religion, such as public education, race relations and predatory lending. He also writes a monthly column on public theology.
Mayor London Breed has an outstanding record of making meaningful change in the city of San Francisco. A native of San Francisco, who was raised in a housing project by her grandmother, Mayor Breed has made great progress in increasing housing and providing solutions for the city’s homeless population. At the King Teach-In, Mayor Breed will share some of the tips and practical solutions she’s used to move the city forward.
Friendship-West is widely known for its focus on social, economic, gender, food, and environmental justice for everyone and has worked continuously in the Dallas community, nationally, and globally. The 4th Annual King Teach-In is free and open to the public.
For more information, please visit https://www.friendshipwest.org.
The Golden Gate Funeral Home hearse rest outside Concord Church in Dallas, Texas
The funeral program, limited to family and rostrum clergy.
Yesterday in Dallas,Texas the families of Yolanda Carr and Marquis Jefferson flanked by friends, and the community converged upon Concord Church in Dallas to celebrate the life of a light gone extinguished by injustice. Since news of the shooting broke, the Fort Worth community has been embroiled in relentless demand for justice. Less than two weeks after Amber Guyger was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for killing Botham Jean, the Dallas Fort Worth community was faced with another officer involved tragedy.
This shooting was different. Officers were called to the Carr home because the door was open. Jefferson was playing video games with her nephew well into the early morning, but a call for a welfare check garnered an “open structure” (burglary) response, resulting in the tragic loss of life. Atatiana Jefferson was eulogized as a caring and compassionate young woman who moved home to help care for her mother. The outpouring of love is perhaps the best response to the way she lived her life, with high regard for others.
The family wished to honor and celebrate her life rather than bemoan the tragedy and that wish was carried out in a touching service lasting about an hour and a half. Following a final viewing, the service commenced with a stirring selection from her cousin who remarked that “she would be up before the music even started!”
A number of resolutions were read and acknowledged during the service, including one from congresswoman Maxine Waters. Congresswoman Waters intimated that she felt a deep sense of connection when she heard of the tragedy. Not only has she been a justice fighter for years and a steadfast presence fighting for her constituents, her maiden name is also Carr. Though familial certainty is unsure, she offered her condolences, assistance and echoed the demand for justice in the name of Atatiana Jefferson. Other resolutions included submissions from the office of John Wiley Price, The United Methodist Women, The St. Luke Community United Methodist Church and Nicole Collier, State Representative for Miss Jefferson’s district.
Atatiana was remembered by her mother for her “humble boldness” and for the way she always felt that she would change the world and still believes that even through this tragedy, that her legacy will.
“…you my dear have indeed changed the world by your sacrificial love, unrivaled work ethic and your legacy that is yet to unfold.”
Yolanda Carr, in a written statement to her daughter
Her father was strengthened by his daughter’s life and memory saying that because of his daughter, his purpose is “clearer now than ever before…it is my hope that your life be remembered, honored and loved through others through the Atatiana Jefferson Foundation.”
Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
John Wesley
For a life whose light has gone out way too soon, senselessly and unjustly, what is a family and community to do? After the beautiful songs were rendered, it was time to tune our hearts to the prophetic moment. In messages replete with calls to action and demands for justice were reminders of God’s sovereignty and righteousness. The service was attended by several notables including: Fort Worth Police Chief, Ed Kraus and numerous FWPD officers, Fort Worth mayor, Betsy Price, Councilwoman Kelly Allen-Gray, noted journalist Bob Ray Sanders, State Senator Royce West, Attorney S. Lee Merritt, Former FWPD Chief Joel Fitzgerald and the Reverend Kyev Tatum and his wife.
Standing to deliver both a charge and words of encouragement were host pastor, Bryan Carter and Pastor Carl Ming, Southwest Region Conference SDA Youth and Young Adult Ministries. While Pastor Carter admonished attendees to trust God in trying times, Pastor Ming instructed attendees to ask hard questions!
We must stand up and begin to ask some serious questions like why is injustice sitting down on the throne while righteousness is cast in the dungeon? We have to begin to ask the question why is that we’re asking people to protect our people who are afraid of our people? Why is it that the pledge to protect and serve changes when they turn up and realize that the skin color is different?
Pastor Carl Ming
From his text found in Job 14:1-2,14, Pastor Ming expounded upon 1) the evidence of iniquity in our world, 2) the faith of God’s people and 3) the infinite wisdom of our God. and though he admonished the jubilant worshipers to steadfastly acknowledge God as the author and finisher of their faith, there is a dichotomous disturbance plaguing our humanity. This was illustrated in his introduction by the invocation of the poem “If We Die” by one of the first and foremost voices of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay.
If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursèd lot. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
Claude McKay
For tense moments like those expressed by Claude McKay, felt by the Carr/Jefferson families and the punctuated throughout the service, Pastor Carter shared that though we are tired, we can indeed trust God in trying times, knowing that as promised in Psalm 46:1-2, God is our shelter and strength and promises stability to his saints.
Many of us are tired. Tired of talking to our kids about the police. Tired of seeing tearful mothers on tv. Tired of having to protest to prove that black lives do matter. Tired of hoping that the jury will get a conviction. Tired of hoping that the bodycam will prove what we already know. Tired of gathering for funerals, tired of protesting, tired of praying, tired of incarceration, tired of underserved communities, tired of racial profiling, tired of checking the box on an application, many of us are tired!
Pastor Bryan L. Carter, Concord Church
The family of Atatiana Jefferson prepares to leave the sanctuary of Concord Church, in Dallas, Texas
Pastor Carter confirmed to the family that “God has been giving you strength. On days when you didn’t want to get out of the bed, God has been giving you strength.” For the family and surrounding community, strength is what will be needed as both a criminal and civil trial ensue in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy. Reverberating throughout the service was the pulse of the community whose citizens’ trust in law enforcement has been irreparably eroded. To that, Pastor Carter gave redress, saying, “we live in a broken, fallen, unjust world. But despite the world we live in, we can find strength in God who gives us help to deal with these struggles. And, at some point, He gives us the ability to move from why to what now?“
What now do you want me to do, God? How do I build my life back? How do I keep her legacy alive? What now God, how do I move forward and still honor the woman of God that she was?
Pastor Bryan L. Carter, Concord Church
These questions ring out from the sanctuary in Dallas to the 1200 block of East Allen in Fort Worth, to a waiting, watching world yet again looking for answers. Last night, citizens and city leadership again tried to sift through the rubble of the aftermath to find some semblance of answers but the meeting ended with much of the same frustration billowing through council chambers at city hall. Though the answer remains unclear, what is clear is the duress of the road to healing that lies ahead for both the family of Atatiana Jefferson and the city and residents of Fort Worth.
After performing a string of his wildly popular hits at the State Fair of Texas, gospel artist and pastor Tye Tribbett broke away from his hour long set at the State Fair of Texas to minister to the people of Dallas. The short missive he shared was in response to the murder of Botham Shem Jean, the ensuing trial and conviction of Amber Guyger, the act of forgiveness by Brandt Jean and the murder of state witness Joshua Brown. By seeing the abomination of injustice through the lens of the kingdom, Tribbett admonished the crowd to respond to these highly emotional moments using the protocol of the Kingdom instead of conventional practice which has torn at the seams of unity amongst believers as of late.
Tribbett, Sunday Best winner Melvin Crispell III, and many other gospel artists took to the Chevrolet Main Stage for the State Fair of TexasDay of Gospel and Inspiration, celebrating its fifth year. The threat of severe weather shortened the second half of the evening which made Tribbett the lone performer of the latter half, later joined by the Unity Choir toward the close of the set.
Tribbett acknowledged that his stance would be unpopular with many, even some of the believers in attendance. He began by addressing the thousands assembled at the Chevrolet Main Stage for the Day of Gospel and Inspiration as a black man. He interrupted the applause and continued by saying that though he is a black man, that’s not his posture…echoing the message and sentiment of Priscilla Shirer that rankled black believers this time last year.
The multi-faceted message from Pastor Tribbett affirmed that injustice is in fact an abomination to God (Proverbs 29:27), but the response is not posting…it’s prayer, as defined in 2 Chronicles 7:14. To that end, he says that believers should stop posting, humble themselves and pray. The wound is fresh and you could argue that the timing for the message is either perfect or insensitively inappropriate. But seeing how Tribbett’s schedule keeps him busy leading Live Church Orlando and hosting regularly on TBN, the timing was more than appropos for many still struggling with the sentencing phase and actions of Brandt Jean and even Judge Tammy Kemp who broke courtroom protocol to embrace the Jean family and Amber Guyger.
Following the more than eight minute impromptu homily, Tribbett brought the Day of Gospel and Inspiration to a thunderous close, followed only by light rain. For a city, region and even a country entrapped in the throes of civil, social and political tumult, one can only pray for rain that will wash away the stain of racism and hate that continues to keep our eyes away from the cross.
