AAMIA Chair Speaks Out on Relief Efforts in Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA - In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, many AAMIA members have been involved in relief efforts by providing food, shelter, and other aid to evacuees. AAMIA leadership has also been involved in discussions with politicians and relief agencies about increasing the effectiveness of the response in the affected communities.
In Atlanta, AAMIA Chair Rev. Timothy McDonald has pressed the Red Cross to work more closely with black churches to administer aid to the estimated 50,000 hurricane evacuees who have temporarily settled there. The Los Angeles Times recently reported on his activities:
Red Cross, Black Pastors at Odds By Jenny Jarvie, Times Staff WriterATLANTA — When the Rev. Timothy McDonald arrived at a Red Cross shelter to serve baked chicken, collard greens and macaroni and cheese to hurricane evacuees, a Red Cross volunteer told him they could not accept his food.
McDonald, shocked and disappointed, approached a man who was serving food and asked him what group he was with.
"I'm with God," the man said.
"So am I," McDonald replied. "What organization are you with?"
"We're with the Southern Baptists," the man said, explaining that the Southern Baptist Convention has a partnership with the American Red Cross. McDonald's First Iconium Baptist Church, a modest African American church in east Atlanta, does not.
"That's the reason they didn't want my chicken," said McDonald, pounding his fist on the pulpit. He is chair of African American Ministers in Action, an advocacy group representing 5,000 clergy in 20 states. ...