Follow God's plan for service-leadership activism
My name is Margaritta Maria Fultz. I am a Christian, Black, afro-feminist poet and social justice advocate. I began pursuing community development, engagement and advocacy upon seeing college youth mobilizing to promote Springfield’s first in a series of prayer walks and community focus groups. I searched to find the website for the faith-based organization hosting prayer walks and environmental justice meetings … the Faith Coalition for the Common Good. Prior to joining the Faith Coalition, my most recent social justice advocacy and activism had only been one-and-done efforts in the school systems and at poetry readings for small groups and family. FCCG has provided me with an opportunity pathway that I did not know existed in service-leader activism for the east side of Springfield's families, community development and ultimately minority and low socioeconomic empowerment. God’s people recognize God’s people, and the Faith Coalition for the Common Good are God’s people doing justice in faith-based service-leadership activism.
Growing up, I was able to participate with my family in East St. Louis, as my father and brothers were preaching. My mother was teaching, and the whole family was providing ministry through music at local and regional churches. As a toddler to young adult, I traveled with my family and several gospel choirs out of East St. Louis’ Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church, Saints Community Church (Community of Christ), Wesley Bethel United Methodist Church, State Community College (now closed), and Echoes of Grace of Western Illinois University in Macomb. I was able to see the role of my faith commitment to Christ and the wonderful opportunity to connect and build community around music wherever I was and with people from every possible walk of life, color, orientation, gender identity and faith belief … whether they understood their God-given talent or not. God made us, and everything God made “was very Good! (Genesis 1:31).”
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Following God’s plan
Other prominent themes that emerged in my life are the harsh inequities, injustices, discrimination, hate and violence that creative, intelligent and gifted people have to suffer despite our God-given talents as a result of our race, ethnicity, our native language, economic status or some other historically marginalized or minority identity. That is not God’s plan. God’s plan is for us to worship God, be caretakers of this earth and to take care of each other. In other words, love God, love the earth and love one another. That is my life’s purpose.
There is no way we can love one another and block access to opportunity pathways at the same time. We cannot love one another and lock Black men, women and juveniles up and throw away the key at the same time. We cannot require cash bail for nonviolent offenders and make their families choose between paying their rent or releasing a loved one without the benefit of a trial. We cannot continue to overpopulate our jails and prisons with people of color and poor people who have historically been wrongfully convicted. We cannot block access to education and other ethical opportunity pathways and expect people to not turn to a life of crime just to eat and survive. Pretrial fairness is one of several requirements service-leader activism promotes to ensure we can carry out our life’s purpose to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Actions for empowerment
I encourage you to join the conversation with your ideas at one of FCCG’s upcoming East Side Community Focus Groups,receive training at one of the upcoming lobby-day events, and learn what we can accomplish through faith-based community engagement, advocacy, activism, and empowerment. I look forward to working with you in church and at the state Capitol!
Want to get involved? Attend the Pretrial Fairness Lobby Day at the state Capitol from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Participate in the Nov. 29 panel discussion about funding public universities which will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Lincoln Library. Attend the next Focus Group discussion about our community needs – call 217-544-2297 for date, time and location. Join the Faith Coalition for the Common Good! Email Fccg2208@gmail.com or visit www.faithcoalition-il.org.
Margaritta Fultz is a leader in the Faith Coalition for the Common Good who works on pretrial fairness, education equity and transformational justice issues.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Following God's plan for service-leader activism
