By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute hosted a virtual roundtable of Black mayors on Thursday, moderated by TV Evangelist and best-selling author Bishop T.D. Jakes, and came away with $3,000 in donation pledges.
After Jakes led a broad discussion with four Southern mayors of what they hope for from President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, and how they are dealing with coronavirus and other issues in their cities, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said he would donate $1,000 to support the work of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. He encouraged viewers of the Facebook Live video to consider supporting the work of the institute.
Jakes, pastor of The Potter’s House Church in Dallas, then pledged to match Woodfin’s $1,000 donation, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did too.
Woodfin noted that U.S. coronavirus deaths now exceed 240,000, more than the entire 210,000 population of the City of Birmingham. He noted that President Donald Trump has shown antipathy to cities run by Democratic mayors, and he hoped for more assistance and cooperation from a Biden administration.
Woodfin said there are two paths to choose from: hope or fear. “Fear has been exposed too much over the last four years,” he said.
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba of Jackson, Miss., and Mayor Frank D. Scott Jr. of Little Rock, Ark., also took part in the panel.
The video of the panel discussion is available for viewing on the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Facebook page.
This story appeared originally on the al.com website
