From: Overground RR!!© [hjaa@brcatl.ccsend.com] on behalf of Overground RR!!© [hjaa@brcatl.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 4:00 PM
To: hjaa@alexanderlawfirm.com
Subject: Volume 3, Number 14
SPARKS masthead 670px
Above All Things Ministry Volume 3, No. 14
December 5, 2007

Dear HJA,

The Sparks is the ORR's online communication tool. We hope that ORR members and friends will find this E-newsletter a great way to stay connected to the ORR family and promote your products, events and services within and beyond the Overground RR!!© community. Welcome aboard

in this issue
  • Providence Missionary Baptist Church Observes World AIDS Day Dec. 1
  • Faye Coffield Investigations: We Need To Develop New Buying, Spending and Business Habits
  • First Annual Congress on the State of Black Business in Metro Atlanta
  • Free Video Promotional Announcements For ORR Businesses, Churches, Community Alliances Are Available on New ORR Web Site
  • Noteworthy & Newsworthy Occasions From ORR's Members

  • Faye Coffield Investigations: We Need To Develop New Buying, Spending and Business Habits
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    Private investigator and ORR member Faye Coffield took a few moments to talk to SPARKS about her line of work, and to share some thoughts about economic development in African American communities.

    ORR: Tell us about what you do and how you got into this field,

    Coffield: I went straight into it after retiring from the Atlanta Police Department as a sergeant in 2003. I specialize in criminal defense cases, civil rights and police misconduct investigations. For those old enough to recall the old Perry Mason TV show, I do for defense attorneys in Atlanta what the Paul Drake character did for Perry Mason. I research the records, I conduct the interviews, I uncover and interpret the facts so that good defense attorneys can successfully defend their clients in court.

    Unfortunately, innocent people accused of crimes do go to jail when they cannot prove their innocence. That's the system. And regrettably, there are also enough cases of police misconduct and violations of civil rights to keep me working. As a longtime law enforcement professional I am thoroughly familiar with both the official and unofficial cultures of policing, by which I mean the rules and regulations law enforcement officers operate under as opposed to the way some officers actually conduct themselves, I can wade through volumes of reports and zero in on the key facts that make the difference.

    ORR: Do you operate as an individual or are you part of an agency, and do you only work for attorneys?

    Coffield: I'm licensed and insured to the hilt, both as an agency and as an individual, and in my case, I am the agency. These days I work pretty much exclusively for defense attorneys --- no domestic stuff, no missing persons, no death penalty cases. There are enough others who want that business.

    It's not like what you see on TV, and even though, as I said, I don't do death penalty stuff, it's still very serious business. Police work is a profession, and when you deal with cops you need somebody on your team who is familiar with the profession's rules of engagement. This is why private investigators like me are essential elements of many successful criminal defense law practices. I really like what I do.

    ORR: Talk to us about how you learned of the ORR, and what it means to your line of work and more broadly to the African American community.

    Coffield: Hank Stewart, who is a poet and an old friend of mine, led me into it. For some reason our people are reluctant to spend our money with black businesses, to go a step out of their way to keep the dollar in circulation in our communities. This is a piece of conditioning we have to get over. That's what the ORR is about --- helping us teach each other the kind of new buying, spending and business habits that are essential if we're ever going to turn the page and move ahead.


    First Annual Congress on the State of Black Business in Metro Atlanta

    $28 billion is spent each year by African Americans in five counties of metro Atlanta alone. Of this, only 2% stays in our neighborhoods, according to the Atlanta Business League.

    This Thursday, December 6, from 8:30 AM to 2 PM more than 300 business, professional and community leaders will come together at the Morehouse College Leadership Center to do something about it.

    At the Atlanta Business League's Congress on the State of Black Business in Metro Atlanta a groundbreaking study will be unveiled. This original research, conducted by Dr. Edward Davis, Dean of Clark Atlanta's School of Business will quantify and analyze the current and potential profiles of Atlanta's Black business community, and place metro Atlanta's Black consumer spending in metro in its proper context.

    "We're excited about this research and about the congress," ABL Vice Chair For Public Policy Joe Hudson told the ORR. "This is brand new information. This enables to us take the conversation from socio-economics straight to economics. There are huge Black consumer, institutional and business-to business marketplaces out here. Somebody owns them. It ought to be us.

    "This congress is not about 'what we're gonna do' any more. It's about what we are doing right now and will do in the future to get and keep control of our own African American consumer, institutional, governmental and business-to-business markets. This is a plan in which everybody has a part to play --- businesses as well as consumers on every level, and of course the churches."

    "Morehouse, at the Leadership Center is the place to be on Thursday December 6. Our own ABL president and CEO Leona Barr-Davenport will be joined by Georgia Tech's Professor of Economics Dr. Danny Boston, along with leaders of the religious and business communities. The study itself, Economic Impact of Black Businesses on the Atlanta Community will be made publicly available on our web site soon after the congress."

    "This is a new direction for our businesses,HJAA our churches, our communities," said ORR President and Interim Executive Director H.J.A. Alexander. "It's a goal we at the ORR, and many others including the ABL have been pointing to and working toward for a long time. The idea of us controlling our own market in the African American community is not a new one. It's one that's been talked about and theorized about forever. It's an idea that can and will change the world as we know it.

    "For that reason the ORR will be enthusiastic participants in the Black Business Congress. We urge everybody to come on down to Morehouse this Thursday, and to review the study when it's made available on the web, and to implement the measures that the Congress will recommend. It's time to take this from the realm of theory to the world of action."

    Registration for the First Annual Congress on the State of Black Business in Metro Atlanta is $25. Call 404-584-8126 for more information.


    Free Video Promotional Announcements For ORR Businesses, Churches, Community Alliances Are Available on New ORR Web Site

    The clock is ticking down to the debut of the ORR's new web site. ORR's new site will contain a wealth of information, connections and opportunities available nowhere else for member businesses, churches and community alliances.

    On the new web site, ORR church affiliates can show videos of their special events, pastoral greetings, sermons, lectures and more at no charge. Current ORR business members are invited to call for 404-346-0808 for appointments to film their own video web commercials, anywhere from 30 seconds to two full minutes. The ORR will even assist you in writing the script for your promotional video. Alternatively, ORR businesses may film and edit their own promotional spots or special events, and send them into the ORR office. Edited videos should be in .AVI or .FLV format. Call 404-346-0808 for details.

    The train is coming. Get ready to get on board.


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    Noteworthy & Newsworthy Occasions From ORR's Members

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    On Sunday, December 16 at 4:30 PM in the Ray of Hope Sanctuary, Urban Alliance, Inc. will present its Christmas benefit concert event: "Sharing Love Through Giving" which will benefit the families of Dunair Elementary School. featuring Christoper Lewis and Destiny Praise, along with Kevin Lemons and Higher Calling, Comedian "NATE", David Walker & High Praise. and Monica Lisa Stevenson, hosted and sponsored by Ray of Hope Outreach Ministry. For more information, call 770-696-5100. Click here for flyer.

    On December 8, 2007 at 6:30pm theImage Virtue Dance Ministry of International Christian Fellowship will pour out a performance of spiritual healing, of chain-breaking freedom and of purpose. The 14 member dance troupe, founded by ICF's former choir director include people from many walks of life all of whom are deeply passionate about the ministry of dance. Tickets are $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Contact Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield, 678-612-7651, or 404-363-3300 for more information, or visit www.icfministriesatl.org and www.africanexperience.org.

    From December 19 through December 30 True Colors Theatre Company presents its annual production of The Wiz, directed by Kenny Leon, choreographed by da wizPedro Harris and with musical direction by J. Michael. Featuring an all-youth cast, Frank Baum's classic Wizard of Oz gets a soulful makeover in this hip, funky, multicultural musical based on the William F. Brown book with lyrics and music by Charlie Smalls.

    Tickets are available online at www.truecolorstheatrecompany.com . Groups of 10 or more should call 404-588-0308, ext. 201. Groups of 25 or more receive one pair of complimentary tickets with each paid order.

    On Saturday, December 22 and Sunday December 23, Hillside Chapel and Truth Center's Youth of Truth Ministry presents its free Holiday Youth Summit. Saturday at 7 PM will kick off "Be Ye Transformed", as talented youth fellowship through spoken word, special guests, dance, and much more. Sunday at 10 AM service the special guest will be Mr. Fonzworth Bentley, entertainer, hip-hop artist and the author of "Advance Your Swagger". Roundtable discussion and book signing immediately after the service.


    Are you an ORR member yet?
    Board the Overground RR!!© and find out how you can practice "KTAA" Kitchen Table Affirmative Action ©. Visit online at www.brcatl.com or call our office today at 404-346-0808 to find out how you can become a member.


    Providence Missionary Baptist Church Observes World AIDS Day Dec. 1
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    We interviewed Dr. Gerald Durley, pastor at Providence Missionary Baptist Church last week. We asked him about Providence's observation of World AIDS Day, the Black church's role in combating the disease, and the historic mission of Providence MB Church. What follows are his remarks.

    I moved to Atlanta in 1984, where I was a dean at Clark Atlanta University until 1990. Eventually I was ordained at Ebeneezer Baptist Church, and from 1990 to 1999 I directed many of the health programs at Morehouse, dealing with HIV-AIDS, with hypertension, renal disease, cholesterol and such, always tying issues of our physical and mental health into larger ones that touch on our spiritual well-being

    December 1 is observed all over the planet as World AIDS Day, and Providence is part of that. Like hundreds of other churches around the country this weekend we are exhibiting two 12 by 12 foot panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a project of the Names Foundation. The quilt, which is now more than 20 tons and 22 miles long, was begun in 1987. It's purpose is to commemorate those who have died of the disease, and to foster healing, to heighten awareness and to inspire action in the struggle against HIV and AIDS.

    I got involved early on in 1989 or 1990 when the first few cases of AIDS began to occur in the African American community. We did not know what it was, and were as confused as most people. Many of us thought it was a gay white male disease, and if it did not impact us negatively in our own homes and churches we shied away from it.

    Now it has become the number one killer in our African American community, and takes an especially heavy toll among Black women. It's time for us to be much more assertive in our efforts to combat this disease.

    The African American church can no longer duck its head in the sand and engage in denial on this matter. I think it's a misconception that the Black church has been conspicuously silent. That is not true. We have always been concerned because we had to engage in counseling and comforting the sick among our own people in years past.

    The church has a vital role to play in promoting awareness about this disease. We can do a lot of things. To start with, we must enlighten our people in terms of prevention. We do understand how this disease is passed on and we've got to talk about the ways it happens, equipping and encouraging our people to protect themselves. Secondly we have to show compassion toward those who are affected and who are infected by this disease and their families. We have to counsel them and work with their families.

    We've hung up one panel of the quilt in the lobby of the church, where elementary and high school children will be able to go in one door, pass it, and go out the other door, and receive information that will make them think about what this means to their lives and communities.

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    Another panel of the quilt is in the sanctuary, and at our altar call this week we will turn and face the quilt, reciting the names of some of those who have passed on, acknowledging them and their families and praying for them.

    Finally, through the Deaconess Board here at Providence, I understand we are going to start our own quilt right here, uplifting the memory of some of those we know in this very community affected by AIDS, and hopefully inspiring others to take action.

    Providence has been around for 136 years now, and I have been blessed to be here almost 20 years. Providence has carried out an historic mission in challenging the inequities that face our people, in the areas of education and housing. We have an active prisons ministry. Until not long ago, we were located in the heart of the Atlanta University Center community. During the heydays of the student movement, many of the young people would spend the night in the safety of the church.

    Although Atlanta, just like every other city, is being gentrified, we believe that God has called us to remain right here in the city's urban core. We want to do this not just to service the needs of those of our people who have remained here all along, but for the sake of newcomers and those who are returning too. We are optimistic about the future of the city. This is the place to be. Transportation, sports, night life, entertainment, education and all sorts of infrastructure will experience growth right here in the cities.

    The BRC and the Overground Railroad have been a presence here in Atlanta for a few years now. What they've done is help to galvanize the business community and act as a sort of Better Business Bureau. I've seen the ORR look at the strengths and weaknesses of businesses and engage in problem solving, helping them to grow. By the businesses growing they can better partner with us, with the African American church. This is critically important because the church has always been a central repository of our people's wealth.

    We must understand that money ought to circulate inside our community several times in our community before it passes out. This is no where near what happens presently. If we can just begin to make sure the churches do their job in that respect, with their electrical and plumbing contractors, their paper products, janitorial supplies and books it would take us a long way toward making this a better community and a better world in which to raise our children and care for our elders.

    That's always been the message of the ORR and it's our charge at Providence too. We take it very seriously.



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