Black ministers feel betrayed

LIMA - After criticism Monday for not appearing in court for the verdicts that cleared Lima Police Department Sgt. Joe Chavalia, who is white, in the shooting death of Tarika Wilson, who was biracial, pastors from Lima's Black Ministerial Alliance are firing back.

One pastor, Dr. H. Frank Taylor III of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, said the community has little idea of the work the alliance did behind the scenes in the wake of the Jan. 4 drug raid and shooting that outraged much of the black community.

Taylor said this work did much in the way of preventing some potentially violent situations that could have caused major problems, perhaps even rioting, and it helped bring awareness to the case.

"We have been in the background all along, trying to keep the peace," Taylor said. "We wanted full accountability for everyone involved, no matter what level."

The alliance, consisting of about 30 churches with as many, or more, pastors, contacted the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Taylor said, to bring a national spotlight to the shooting, and they contacted members of the media, the Justice Department and civil rights leaders. This was in addition to work with numerous state politicians and community leaders, including Gov. Ted Strickland and former Attorney General Marc Dann.

"As result of our daily talks with Dann, we were assured justice would come as a result of this case," Taylor said. "We were promised justice. ... We felt betrayed."

At one point several months ago, Taylor said, they worked to stop a march of 40,000 to 50,000 people on Lima because they saw the potential for major violence and possibly more deaths.

"The march came about through several people, including a radio broadcast," Taylor said. "We flew to Memphis and approached [the Rev.] Al Sharpton and his board of directors and told them we didn't encourage any efforts to have 40,000 or 50,000 people march on the city of Lima at this time. We also contacted every major personality in radio who sought to make this happen. ... In any situation, where there's a great deal of emotion like this, you can't control that many people in a town this size. It only takes one little spark to break out and fully escalate things."

Meanwhile, Taylor said, the Black Ministers Alliance worked with numerous pastors from the white church alliances and formed a "coalition of peace."

"We managed to keep the peace in Lima and we were waiting for justice to be served," he said. "We were assured justice and the system would work. However, when an all-white jury was selected, we knew that wouldn't happen."

In regards to the criticism from a local civil rights leader Monday following the verdict in the case, Taylor said: "We are in the sprit business, not the courtroom business."

"We've been behind the scenes all along," Taylor said. "All this was done out of the limelight. We weren't seeking media attention."

Now that the case is over, Taylor said they aren't finished.

"Our next step is to organize people with whom we've been in constant contact to bring a united coalition of both the white and black community to bring a change in our community and allow justice for everyone - not just the privileged and prosperous," he said.