Photo by Stephen Oduntan
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Rain drummed against the roof of a church April 26 where a small crowd — some in suits, others in sweaters and jeans — scattered across rows of empty chairs. The low turnout mirrored the storm outside, but inside, the urgency was undeniable.
The event, hosted by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, brought together faith leaders and community members to confront a wave of overlapping crises — from deportations and housing displacement to attacks on public benefits and labor rights.
The Rev. William D. Smart Jr., president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, welcomed the group.
“We have decided to start organizing and building a real strategy,” Smart said. “Things are happening rapidly — whether it’s homelessness, jobs, immigration, or access to resources. We can’t afford to stand still.”
Plans are underway for a summit in May to train advocates and coordinate action across Los Angeles.
Moderator Thembekila Crystal Coleman Smart urged the room to recognize the gravity of the moment, reciting a litany of struggles — racism, tariffs, health care, housing shortages — that she said were eroding the community’s foundation.
“This town hall is about the people,” she said. “It’s about raising consciousness, creating safe spaces, and getting ready to love each other enough to fight for change.”
Smart drew on history to frame the stakes, invoking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” where King urged clergy to stop criticizing and start organizing.
“You can’t change anything sitting at home,” Smart said.
The Rev. Oliver Buie carried the spirit forward, reminding the audience of their ancestors’ survival against greater odds.
“There was a time when it was against the law for me to read,” Buie said. “Now I stand before you with a master’s degree — not as a man enslaved, but as a man who moves free.”
Despite setbacks, Buie said, the future remained unwritten.
“We’ve come too far to give up now.”
Outside, rain poured as the Rev. Jonathan Moseley, western regional director for the National Action Network, who survived a stroke three years ago, stood at the pulpit. He used the storm as a metaphor for perseverance.
“Rain is trouble, and sunshine is trouble,” he said. “We cannot allow obstacles to stop us.”
Moseley stressed the church’s role as a place to talk, cry and come together.
The urgency surfaced clearly when Niki Johnson shared her family’s experience with immigration enforcement. She warned that deportations increasingly impacted Black immigrants and other minorities.
“My cousin went to Jamaica to bury his mother,” Johnson said. “He’s been a U.S. citizen since he was 11 — and he’s still being held in an ICE camp in Texas.”
In response, faith leaders emphasized that churches must be more than places of worship — offering health care assistance, legal advocacy, and sanctuary for vulnerable families.
“We must be everything to everybody,” one speaker said. “Because the community is depending on us now more than ever.”
Nyabingi Kuti, director of the LA Harm Reduction Network, warned that systemic inequities continued to deepen.
“We have the illusion of freedom, but too many of our people are still trapped by systems that deny health care, housing, and basic dignity,” he said.
Kuti, who said he was named in the spirit of Nigerian revolutionary musician Fela Kuti, emphasized radical self-determination and resistance to oppression. He pointed to what he called staggering disparities, citing the loss of more than 4,000 Black babies each year before their first birthday.
“We are fighting for our survival,” Kuti said. “And we cannot expect broken systems to save us.”
He also lamented the low turnout of Black leadership in today’s social justice movements.
“It’s disappointing to see mostly older white people leading these protests,” Kuti said. “The Black church used to lead the charge — and now we’re needed more than ever.”
That call for renewed solidarity was echoed by Gustavus McKenzie, who warned against separatism among Black Americans.
“We have forgotten the struggles we went through as Black people worldwide,” McKenzie said. “There’s power in numbers — and we must not separate ourselves from the fight for immigrant rights.”
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a union leader who spoke personally about immigration struggles in his family, expanded the conversation to labor rights.
“If they come for one group, they’re going to come for another,” Garcia said.
Representing more than 55,000 Los Angeles County workers, he described how nurses, social workers, and public employees faced retaliation during recent contract negotiations.
Union members launched a two-day strike at major hospitals and county facilities April 28, followed by a downtown rally. Now, more than 55 organizations are preparing a May 1 march to defend democracy, health care, workers’ rights, and immigrant families.
“If you believe in workers, if you believe in community, if you believe in standing up for what’s right — it’s time to rise up and fight back,” Garcia said.
The final voice came from an undocumented immigrant, standing quietly at the pulpit as his three family members watched. He shared how they fled violence in Haiti in 2019, only to be detained and separated at the U.S. border.
“Without papers, without protection, it’s like living in a house without a roof,” he said. Despite the hardships, he spoke of faith, resilience and gratitude.
“We want to work. We want to contribute. We want to live in peace,” he said. “Even so, I believe in God. I believe in a better day.”
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers.
